On a day when I went out of my way to return the empty CSA co-op boxes and egg cartons that have been in my car for about a month, Joon & Jung’s Smart Egg Lamp seems especially apropos. The inventive piece has got me feeling good about myself as well—it confirms this morning’s hunch that there’s an infinitely better number of applications for an empty egg carton besides carting it off to the recycling bin.

Smart Egg Lamp. Designed by Joonsoo Kim, Hyunwook Lee, and Jungyou Choi. Manufactured by Joon&Jung.

Joon & Jung’s Smart Egg Lamp is an Eco-Friendly Lighting Solution

Besides its inherent environmental-friendliness and self-evident charm, the other thing I love about the Smart Egg Lamp is that it evokes one of my all-time favorite films: though it may seem a stretch to some, the Smart Egg Lamp reminds me of the mysteriously back-lit contents of the much coveted briefcase that stood center stage in 1994’s Pulp Fiction.

As astute—or semi-obsessed—viewers will recall, the never-glimpsed yet most likely contents of same was the eternal soul of one Marcellus Wallace. In light of the egg’s celestial and spiritual connotations, I find this correspondence particularly enlightening.

Of course, the Smart Egg lamp is enlightening in more ways than one, for the contents of this particular recycled egg carton shine resplendent with Joon & Jung’s recyclable energy-efficient glass bulbs, which are, incidentally, dead ringers for the creamy yolk-in-alabaster of a perfectly poached egg.

The arrangement of same—as if the lights were any typical dozen eggs in a carton—creates a strange and enticing effect. Light pours forth from every one of the 12 apertures to create a warm ambient glow that may remind you of  Tim Roth’s peak at the unknowable in the film referenced above, to which the rapt hapless hoodlum could only reply, “Is that what I think it is? It’s Beautiful…”

Via Inhabitat.

About the Manufacturer: South Koreans Joonsoo Kim and Hyunwook Lee met in 2008 at the somewhat unlikely locale of Eindhoven, Netherlands while studying at the renowned Eindhoven Academy. Since then–and along with cohort Jungyou Choi–they’ve pooled their talents into Studio Joon&Jung. The duo focuses on creating abstract yet relevant designs that enhance the connection between people and the surrounding environment. The designers’ experience in two vastly different cultures has given them a unique perspective and a singular style: “The influence of Dutch Design and our native Korean aesthetic makes us storytellers with a marked formal language and strong design identity.”