In collaboration with 100Watt Network, I have designed some new glass pieces which will be the foundation for a new line of lighting, called Bodega. These pendants are all handblown into molds that we built in-house (see a brief video here). The geometric forms are a blend of art deco light fixtures, crossed with mod glass of the 1960s and ’70s. I’ve tried to update the ideas using the magic of CAD to develop the forms, more contemporary colors, and really excellent hardware.

100 Watt is putting the final touches on the lighting components to go with this glass. At present we’re expecting to be able to offer the lamps with either traditional incandescent, medium-base sockets or the new, super-swank LED emitters which will draw only a couple watts and will NEVER NEED A BULB CHANGE.

Please direct inquiries to 100 watt network – they will be handling all retail and wholesale lighting orders.

The post Let there be LIGHT first appeared on StudioBlog :: Jeff Benroth Glass.

These metal forms are new blow molds we’re building; they’re the beginning of our new lighting that will be formally introduced later this year. I’m really excited about this as a new line; I’ll give more specifics later, right now these are just a little eye-candy to whet the appetite.

I hope that these pendants will become a contemporary riff on the geometric forms that have preceded them starting with white glass Art Deco fixtures, brass-camed stars built from flat glass, and the crystalline geometric  molded forms from Venini during the 60’s and 70’s. These pieces will be available in clear as well as a couple of colors, and we plan for the hardware to feature a new design of LED light source that will debut with these fixtures – ultra-low wattage and no bulb changes, ever.

Stay tuned for more info. I’ll post more pics as we start to produce the prototypes.

The post Geometry is useful, after all first appeared on StudioBlog :: Jeff Benroth Glass.

venini polyhedral chandelier

As we do more and more custom restoration projects, we are beginning to amass a collection of interesting molds. They are a great way to produce complex forms, but mold-formed designs also require that replacements be made in the same mold, or one produced to the same specifications. One in particular that has been worthwhile is a mold for reproduction chandelier elements – they’re called “Polyhedrals”, and the Venini factory made a ton of them for all sorts of chandeliers and sconces. These faceted blown forms are designed to be tightly arranged in a matrix, with their broad faces aligned. It makes for a beautiful design, but one that rattles a lot when handled or shaken by an earthquake. That also makes for a lot of broken pieces, which has created a demand for replacement elements.

I decided it would be manageable and fun to build a mold specifically to reproduce these polyhedrals. As far as I know Venini no longer makes the elements, and no one else seems to have wanted to approach the replacement market for these. The mold is a simple two-part affair, cast from iron and hand-finished to the same dimensions as the originals. Some of the pieces were blown into this form straight from the furnace, while others were first dipped in an “optic” mold to give them ribs or other variations in wall thickness.

JBG mold

So, now we have become an aftermarket-manufacturer of near-OEM Venini components. If you know anyone who sloshed one of these lighting fixtures around and lost a few pieces, pass on our info and we’ll be happy to talk to them about getting some new pieces made.

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