The manufacturer with the likely name of Goodbye Edison and the designer with the unlikely name of FX Balléry have teamed up for the fine lines of Les Fines LED lamps. Given the juxtaposition between the trendy technology of LEDs and the formal innovations of Les Fines, the confluence of the names certainly seems apropos. No word on what “FX” might actually signify, but, to my American ears, it references cinematic prestidigitation of an old school sort. Just so, Les Fines builds on 130+ years of electric luminescence for this homage, simultaneously saying “thank you” and “goodbye” to one Thomas Alva, pioneer of the omnipresent glass bulb.

Les Fines. Designed by FX Balléry for Goodbye Edison.

Bold New Shapes in Task Lighting

My interpretation of the manufacturer’s name is that they are indeed bidding adieu to the familiar curvature of the bulb in favor of shapes of light previously unimaginable. And by previously I mean just a few short years ago, before burgeoning interest in the versatility and efficiency of LEDs encouraged the imaginative leap into Les Fines funky parallelepiped of light.

The Les Fines line comprises a pair of differently-sized desk lamps, each of which share the same six-sided intuitions, coming together in a high wire act of daring geometricity to form desk lamps that look like the structural steel skeleton of some fortress of the future. This is to say that Les Fines 400 and 600 possess pronounced architectural appeal. They also have the advantage of a seamless emission of light from a subtly integrated aluminum diffuser, and the further boon of taking up almost no space.

This last attribute is a godsend for aspiring neatniks, as it allows the double duty of soft, affable, ambient light and focused display. As Goodybe Edison’s images show, the negative space beneath Les Fines facilitates storage of all things small and functional in the office environs: pens, pencils, holders for pens and pencils, tape dispensers, pez dispensers, that cherished letter opener from a dear departed uncle—any adornment looks fine beneath the innovative illuminations of Les Fines. So say goodbye to Edison and hello to a brave new world of new shapes in lighting!

Via MocoLoco.