Steampunk desk lamp – ‘The Optimus’

Anyone that knows me well will be aware of my copper pipe lighting creations. . . For ages now I’ve been working on developing a range of one-off/bespoke steampunk-styled creations from scrap copper plumbing, bits of brass and sundry found items. Finally, after a long time of refining my technique, sourcing just the right power supplies, bulbs and fittings, and finding what I hope is an original ‘voice’ in the field, I’m ready to release them onto the world!

As an introduction, here’s my latest piece. Smaller than most of my creations (which tend to be large floor-standing works) this neat little work lamp is named The Optimus, after the Swedish-made brass stove that forms the base of the lamp. I’m really pleased with the general look/feel, the proportions of brass to copper elements (some of my earlier pieces maybe had a bit to much copper and not enough brass to suit a steampunk purist) and the elegant touches that the stove base brings to the work (including folding brass legs, the moving pump assembly, various screw caps etc).

The Optimus steampunk desk lamp

The bulb shown in the picture is a large 50W halogen, but this can be replaced with a smaller 20W bulb if required. The telephone (a fantastic photographic prop owned by the StockdaleMartin agency) was just put there as an indication of scale, but actually complements the piece really well.

I may add a few bits to the piece before it goes on show/sale – the brass fitting half way up and a triad of crevices around the base are just crying out for some additional doohickeys!

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is the precursor to my new range, and I’m working on the website to display/sell them as we speak (naturally I’ll post the full details up here when it’s ready to launch). As always, I’d love to hear what anyone out there thinks, so please feel free to drop me some comments. . .