New Zealand Tap Lamp Company

Sometimes this "job" is just too easy. The editor of the Alrededor del Mundo “Steampunk” Spanish language blog linked to The Steampunk Home (I know this because I scour the web looking for mentions, of course) and he had a number of interesting posts. My favorite was the Tap Lamp Company, in New Zealand.

At this very moment in a picturesque, provincial New Zealand town named Christchurch there labours a skilled, mastercraftsman creating superb, functional artworks with a most unique purpose. He pours scores of hours of fastidious concentration into his creation of objets d'art which serve not only as items of collectable beauty but also as sources of evocative, mellow lighting for key areas of your home or business. The craftsman is Gareth Donnelly, founder-owner of the New Zealand Tap Lamp Company Ltd. His craft is also his artistic passion, and he is offering to the public the opportunity to peruse his recycled, lighting masterpieces.


The Lolly Jar -- Each of the 6 pipe elbows used in this lamp were sourced from a vegetable-processing machine imported earlier this century from Sweden.


Pigtail -- This Tap Lamp features what is called in the industry a 'pig tail,' a looped pipe which before it was found by Gareth operated as a protecting device between a pressure measuring guage and a main steam pipe. The loop was filled with water which absorbed the shock waves caused when quantities of steam were withdrawn from the system.

I like how the square elbows in the Lolly Jar echo the squareness of the glass shade, while the Pigtail's curves are echoed in it's spherical shade.