STUMP LAMP

CONCEPT

The idea sprouted from nature-made-design. This stump came from Florida, from my grandfather's house. He offered me this log that was ant-infested at the time and I said “sure, why not.” The log stumped me for a while (pun intended); it stayed in my garage for about a year. I knew pulling it apart and using it as liner material wasn't going to be a consideration. I went ahead and used its natural aesthetic to guide my design. I enjoyed using the arm/branch that jetties out as the most distinctive feature of the lamp. I then gathered scrap plywood to laminate together to get the forms I wanted for the arm of the lamp. The concept of the lamp is that natural and man-made materials can grow together harmoniously. The cantilevering aspect of the lamp posed some structural challenges especially because the shade is wood as well. The lampshade has an organic lopsided shape, so it can pivot to distort the direction of the light. The stump can function as a side table to hold one’s drink or as a stool to sit on. Giving a stump a new life and letting it grow into something that isn’t its intended use is my favorite part of this project.