Putting cords in the shade: Sustainable, dimmable and beautiful – the future's bright for portable lamps
My legendary relative, Flora Vere O’Brien, was a little bit eccentric. She represented Ireland as a poet and an artist in the 1948 Olympics, but lived very simply at home. She wore a horse-rug, secured across her chest by a kilt pin, and had a single light bulb to illuminate her cottage. The bulb was on a very long flex and she used to carry it around with her to light the room she was in. When people came to visit, they were offered the light bulb to take upstairs, so they could read in bed. Flora’s habits were formed in the days of oil lamps and candle but, from another perspective, sh...