Sunday, September 14, 2008


Monday, September 8, 2008

Friday, August 15, 2008

Greetings, lovers of exceptionally cool art! Welcome to INDUSTRIALAMPS!

This blog is dedicated to my mentor, Scott Potter, who showed me that esthetically pleasing light sculpture can be created from co
mponents that people might deem to be “unattractive and blue collar”.

I have been designing and constructing one-of-a-kind lamps for 3 years. Generally, I find explosion-proof lights, lamps and hardware off EBAY, and I search for interesting pieces of scrap metal in my local junkyards.

What is “explosion-proof” hardware? “Explosion-proof” or XP, is a categorization of electrical components and hardware on the market that are generally used in hazardous environments. No, they are not used on the surface of Venus, but rather in places such as petroleum refineries, paint and solvent factories, wheat pools and any other area where the surrounding environment contains air that is highly flammable.

These heavy-duty pieces of beautiful hardware are built to prevent sparks from electrical conduit systems from escaping and igniting the dangerous and unstable particles found in these kinds of industries. The glass globes surrounding the bulbs in XP lights contain any spark that wishes to escape, and in XP switches and junction boxes, their design ensures that sparks do not escape from their housing. Super-tight threads and ultra-strong screws keep these rogue sparks at bay. In event of an explosion in these types of production facilities, these XP products would most certainly remain intact due to their almost tank-like design.

The XP products I find on EBAY are mostly used, but still work to perfection. Occasionally, I will luck out and find brand new components at cheap prices. When this happens, I feel like I just won the lottery! For the used ones, all it takes is some elbow grease or a new coat of paint to get them looking super fine!

If you are interested in purchasing one of my lamps, please send an inquiry to smilingpug@shaw.ca. A sturdy shipping crate will be custom-built for the lamp, and their almost indestructible design will ensure that they will reach your waiting hands intact and ready to beautify your World!

If you work with these kinds of XP products or just simply like my lamps, drop me a line! Thanks!

So here are my lamps in chronological order of their creation. Some are sold but the rest are for sale.


(Lamp is turned on by rotating red gate valve)























(Lamp is turned on by rotating red gate valve)















































(Lamp is turned on by rotating red gate valve)































































































































































































































































































































































































Here's some footage of Pan. Sorry about the angle!
I am the world's WORST photographer!




Here's some footage of the Dragon Lamp.