Along with his studio George Nelson Associates, Inc., Nelson designed furniture, lighting, and accessories that comprise some of the most iconic modern designs, including pieces that he designed while serving as director of design at Herman Miller. Featured here, his series of Bubble Lamps successfully capture the possibilities of modern materials and production.

Nelson’s inspiration for his Bubble Lamps was a practical one—when seeking a lighting fixture for his office, he sought a silk-covered Swedish pendant, but found the cost to be too prohibitive. He recalled a newspaper photo of ships being given a mothball treatment in which the decks were covered in netting and then sprayed with a self-webbing plastic. Uniting the visual inspiration of the Swedish hanging lamp and the material technique of the ship decks, Nelson and his associates designed the first Bubble Lamp in 1947.

Produced in several different shapes, including the classic spherical ball shape and elongated cigar shape, each Bubble Lamp has an interior steel wire skeleton. In order to complete the lamp, the wire frame is spray coated with a translucent plastic polymer—the self-webbing plastic that inspired Nelson in the newspaper photograph he saw. The result is a lamp that is at once opaque and transparent, functions as a work of sculpture, and creates a consistent, glowing light when illuminated. The Bubble Lamps are available in pendant, floor, table, and wall lamp styles.

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A Closer Look at the Iconic Bubble Lamp