Main Project: Bamboo Lamp

The inspiration for my project came from a short reflection I had while sitting in my desk chair. During junior year, one of my friends went abroad and lent me a lamp. The lamp had the shape of a gourd and featured ornate designs etched into the clay-like material that made up the base. The lampshade had a vintage, coarse, twilled texture. This lamp provided a familiar and warm orange lighting with a brightness that perfectly complemented the other lamp I had placed in the opposing corner of the room. Alas, the perfect light harmony of the room could not last forever. She returned from abroad and retrieved her lamp, leaving me with an imperfect light balance that has existed since last year. Finally, I now have a reason to fill the corner devoid of light. So, I decided to make a lamp for this project.

For this lamp I wanted to make something that matched the brown and woody colors of my room. I got inspired by the idea of using bamboo for the structural portion of the lamp to give it a natural feel.

For this project I will need need a few materials:

A lampshade,

bamboo sticks,

a lamp cord,

a lamp socket,

and a piece of wood for the base.

The photos above are some basic materials that I found online that I thought would be good for color and inspiration for the project. I found online that a couple of lamp cords come with a socket built in which would make my job easier as I create the lamp. My basic plan for the project is to cut three holes into a square piece of wood. These will be fit to the dimensions of the bamboo sticks I purchase. The bamboo sticks would be pressfit into the wood to secure them. Assuming the bamboo sticks are empty I would thread the cord through one of the shoots and place the socket in the top. If the socket does not fit directly in the top of a bamboo stick I plan on 3d printying a part that would work as an adapter between the stick and the socket. Then I would just need a nice lampshade to tie it all together.

Sources:

Figure 1: Inspiration

https://www.selency.nl/c/lighting/table-lamp/bedside-lamp-and-table-lamp?materialTitle=zinc~bronze~rattan%20and%20wicker&sortBy=PRODUCTS_EN_BS2&page=16

Figure 2: Lampshade
Opaque Paper Empire (w/ Gold Interior)

Figure 3: Bamboo

Figure 4: Lamp cord
https://www.build.com/product/summary/1443478?uid=3398700&jmtest=gg-gbav2_3398700&inv=1&&source=gg-gba-pla_3398700!c1710655145!a67979306878!dc!ng&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvr–BhB5EiwAd5YbXqu0yjt1vhRBp2DXs1Lv6R1cxRjEMXLPmP6BQCQ3XkY98ti2NuXn5xoCVkkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Figure 5: Lamp socket