A small but notable trend the last several years has been the ubiquity of portable and rechargeable designer lighting. Spied in homes, restaurants, and event spaces, designs like the Wick and Umbra’s Cono have taken advantage of improvements in rechargeable battery and LED technologies, delivering illumination in measured doses to anywhere a bit of mood lighting is desired. And now there may be no more glamorous representative of rechargeable lighting’s proliferation as Tom Dixon’s Melt Portables.
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Dixon’s iconic and molten half-metallized Melt was originally designed in collaboration with Swedish design collective FRONT, a design inspired by the interior of a melting glacier and the exploration of deep space that went on to take form as pendants, chandeliers, floor, surface, and table lights. The luminous swirling effects are created in a process of blow molding and vacuum metallization of a plastic polymer, resulting in a kaleidoscope of unctuous orbs that capture and manipulate light from inside out.
The portable Melt is being angled beyond the residential market and as a captivating ambient piece for hospitality.
Now that same concept and process has been miniaturized into proportions ideal for a tablescape centerpiece, side table ambiance, or even taken outdoors as a luminous al fresco companion. The portable edition of the Melt delivers the same mesmerizing melted orb shade and diffused light source using blown polyethylene terephthalate, but now untethered from a power cord, delivering up to 10 hours battery life per charge.
The Melt Portable’s 2.5W LED glows 100 lumens with a soft white color temperature of 3000K, and can be dimmed by touch. The light recharges via USB-A to magnetic connection, requiring about 5 hours to top off from empty. And if you’re wondering how the light might endure the outdoor climate, Dixon’s light is IP44 rated, meaning it is “protected against solid foreign objects of 1.0mm and greater” and is “protected against splashing water,” so it should endure the occasional evening cocktail faux pas with aplomb.
The Tom Dixon Melt Portable LED is currently available in black, silver, gold, and copper for $330 at tomdixon.net.
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Source: design-milk