Israeli Designer Uses Seaweed To Create Cool Lamps

When you think of seaweed, chances are you picture a trip to the beach, or a tasty roll of sushi, and not interior design.  But as designers around the world are pushing the boundaries with unexpected materials, so is Israeli designer Nir Meiri, whose Marine Light project uses seaweed to make lampshades.

The result is a calming green light with an organic feel to it.

“Between the artistic and the commercial”

Meiri explains: “Through the unconventional use of seaweed as a main material for a domestic environment, the product plays on the tension between the artistic and the commercial.”

Presented at the Milan Design Week

Meiri writes on his website that seaweed has been used by mankind in ancient cultures, and today, are harvested on a commercial scale, “as a result of a growing interest driven by environmental concerns.”

The green light of the Marine Light lamps

The Marine Light lamp combines a metal base and a structure of thin metal strings for the lamp-shade. The seaweeds are applied on the metal strings while still fresh. As they dry, they shrink and obtain the form of the lamp-shade. A mixture of preservatives are applied to preserve them.

Meiri presented his creation at Milan Design Week last month.

Photos: Nir Meiri