{"id":928786,"date":"2026-10-11T08:12:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T08:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928786\/"},"modified":"2026-10-11T08:12:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T08:12:55","slug":"ettore-sottsasss-convention-bucking-valigia-desk-lamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/928786\/","title":{"rendered":"Ettore Sottsass’s Convention-Bucking Valigia Desk Lamp"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ever since the Anglepoise lamp’s introduction in 1933<\/a>, desk lamps typically cantilevered the light source outwards from the base.<\/p>\n

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Roughly four decades later, Ettore Sottsass threw this convention out with his irreverent Valigia<\/a> desk lamp. <\/p>\n

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There is no counterweighted base, just four legs that support the lamp head as if it’s a tabletop. The form demands commitment, sitting directly above whatever you’re reading.<\/p>\n

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Sottsass added a handle at the top, envisioning this as an object you’d carry from place to place. (“Valigia” is Italian for “suitcase.”)<\/p>\n

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It’s worth noting that Sottsass designed this in 1977, foreshadowing the Memphis movement by a few years. Here in the 2020s, original manufacturer Stilnovo has brought it back onto the market. But I think they missed a trick: While they’ve changed the lighting to LED, they failed to add a rechargeable battery as the power source. Had they done that and removed the cord, the design would’ve been closer to what Sottsass would’ve wanted. <\/p>\n

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