Photo by Paul Keller

What if everyone were to switch to CFLs today?

Last week it was time for the national annual innovation contest in Argentina, Innovar, and we were happy to know that the environment was one of the main interests behind the products presented this year.

Image credit: [re]design

Planilum Lights by SAAZS
Designed by Tomas Erel of SAAZS, these Planilum Lights not only look beautiful, but they are long-lasting (about 20 years, or 500,000 hours), efficient (more than incandescent, though we couldn't get exact info on how they compare to CFLs and LEDs), and they use non-toxic gases and materials....

LEDs used to be rare and noteworthy; now they are just expensive. There were a couple of rows of LED vendors on display at IIDEX, most clunky and inelegant, still put together by engineers instead of designers. A rare exception was MP Lighting from Vancouver, Canada. They had a booth full of LED eye candy that really stood out. Shown above is an integrated wine rack and LED illumination that would look lovely in my wine cellar....

Photo Credit: Firewinder

The Firewinder is a new(ish) gadget that puts a cool twist on outdoor lighting. While we’ve been hearing about it for quite some time, it is finally here for the taking!
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Some say that bananas are going extinct, in which case Anneke Jakobs' chandelier made from Chiquita cases might become quite a collectors item. She made it while she was in school (and is probably sick to death of bananas), but you can download the plans and make it yourself. ...