Remember the old elementary school anecdote about how elder statesman Ben Franklin discovered electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm? According to manufacturer Outofstock, the story is apocryphal. The truth is that Franklin proposed the experiment but never conducted it-an historical absence that Outofstock intends to rectify with their lively Up and Away Light.

Up And Away Light. Designed by Outofstock for Saazs.

A Luminous Diamond-Shaped Fixture with a Whimsical Aesthetic

Each of the three members of Barcelona-based Outofstock design hails from another country entirely, so it's not place of origin that has brought them together but rather their similar memories of the universal pastime of flying a kite: "By attempting to humanise a new lighting technology through an image of a kite-an object that is closely connected to our childhood and memories, is perhaps our way of completing the story."

Maybe had Franklin sufficient foresight he would have anticipated Up and Away's bright wall of pure white light, or foretold of the "LED -in-glass" technology that facilitates Up and Away's uninterrupted and illuminated glow.

Fresh off this year's incarnation of Milan Design Week, Up and Away has nowhere else to go but up. Exhibition attendees admired the piece's unusual look, its ability to essentialize the easy vibe and poetic feel of a white-winged kite floating on the wind. They also appreciated Up and Away's clever incorporation of its power cord, which drapes back jauntily just as if this tail end were caught on the last soft breaths of a gentle rush of wind.

Via MocoLoco.

About the Designer: Outofstock hails from the lovely lovely city of Barcelona, Spain, an exquisite and inspiring locale, where, one imagines, it just might be refreshing and relaxing to sit back and fly a kite. The city has enough parks so that this would be no mean challenge. And though you might be tempted, resist the urge to "fly" Outofstock's iconic Up and Away wall/pendant lamp. The company intends for this intriguing piece to be a bellwether for their credo of "humanizing new lighting technology." And so it is. What better way to enjoy a smart and slick new fixture than by hearkening back to one's halcyon days? And what better way to bring a new shape in ambient lighting into the public purview?