BUBBLE LAMP

For Herman Miller, available from HAY

Design by George Nelson

Designed by pioneering American designer George Nelson

in 1947, the Bubble Lamp represents an iconic moment in

the history of design. Produced using a technique that was

extremely innovative at the time, these elegant, floating orbs

are lightweight and versatile. They are now available from HAY

in both pendant and wall-lamp styles and an assortment of

sizes and shapes, enabling our customers to enjoy the soft

glow of Nelson’s revolutionary design in their own homes.

George Nelson was one of the most influential figures in the

crucial early period of modern design. Trained at Yale as

an architect and a fine artist, he believed that a designer’s

job was to better the world, using the perfection of nature’s

creations as his guide. Nelson’s creation of the Bubble Lamp

was inspired by a set of silk-covered Swedish pendant lamps

he wanted for his office, but found to be too expensive.

Employing the resourcefulness that characterized his

working process, he decided to use a self-webbing plastic

spray developed by the U.S. military, and applied it over

a lightweight, rounded-steel frame to produce these soft,

glowing fixtures.

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