→ Thread Count Lab Co-Founder, Eleanor-Jayne Browne, and her design team have certainly illuminated a few conversations recently with their latest bio-inspired creations: MothEaten™ Lights. ‘Nature as muse' is a way of viewing and valuing nature: it introduces an era based not on what we can ‘extract’ from the natural world, but what we can ‘glean’ from it. Deeply embedded within the MothEaten™ Lights ethos is the combination of traditional cultural activities, for example those which represent artisanal uniqueness such as lacemaking; and technology. → Society places strong emphasis on the health, energy and future of our habitat; and since governments have taken measures, such as the phasing out of incadescent lightbulbs, in the aim of encouraging more energy efficient lighting like LED lights, the classic incandescent glass lightbulb has begun to take on a new significance and charm; and in the same way that moths have an inexplicable attraction to bright lights, hence the expression "like a moth to the flame", individuals are now attracted to this once commonplace household object. Exploiting the decorative potential of lace and its delicate threads, and bio-inspiration as direction for form development, these designs tells the story of the amalgamation of culture, nature and technology where these extremes co-exist. The moths and their survival instinct, along with the cultural tradition of lacemaking have made a pact to survive in the same way that the classic incandescent lightbulb will continue to glow long after their carbon filaments have been banished.
→ Paradoxically though, ‘objets’ that cannot be created via copy and paste are experiencing renewed appreciation from individuals; yet designers are bound by commercial constraints, unlike artists who do not have to adhere to any given rules. However, these lights elegantly pose the question:isn't it possible to be both ‘artist’ and ‘designer’?
