new lamp idea

I've been wanting to design a lamp with an integrated shade for a while now, but the idea just never came to me. Finally I had an idea and a few days ago I started making models.
As far as what I design to sell on Etsy, I like to keep everything flat-pack and easy to ship. Lately, I've been wanting to create a volumous form using just two-dimensional planes. So, at this point I had a form that looked more or less like a rocket. Initially I was envisioning the light bulb being somewhere near the top, but still contained inside of the ribs. Here's a view showing how everything fits together:

I thought a fabric covering would soften the light a bit, so I stretched Nylon over the form:

Obviously I needed a more opaque Nylon to soften the light, but it was a start. I still didn't feel quite right about the form. I was excited about it and felt it had great possibility, but it wasn't quite there yet. Eventually I decided that the form I created would make an excellent base, but I was missing an upper shade (more like a traditional table lamp). So, the top portion of the lamp could be covered with a fabric to diffuse the light, and the base could remain open.

fun with FDM!

Recently I designed a lampshade to be 3d printed. I love the idea of using this technology to produce forms that would otherwise be impossible to make. When setting out to design this lampshade, I did research on light itself. I hate to just design something pretty without any thought behind it.

Anyway, here's my little write-up about it:

"In 1803, English physicist Thomas Young passed a beam of light through two parallel slits in an opaque screen, forming a pattern of alternating light and dark bands on a white surface beyond. Young’s “double-slit experiment” proved that light travels in waves. The PARTICLE DIVIDING LAMP was inspired by the wave-like reaction of light when encountered with slits too small to pass cleanly through."

The lampshade is comprised of two concentrically articulating shells that rotate open to project light beams onto surrounding walls or closed to softly diffuse light through the shade.

AVOCADO -ripened!

I'm more than pleased with how it all turned out. I'm in love with the Walnut legs and the green OSB. What a great feeling to finish school with.