23 September 2009

Have you seen this pendant light?



This is a Panton Moon Pendant. It was designed by Verner Panton and introduced in 1960. The Panton Moon became an overnight sensation and a classic was born.


I received an e-mail from a reader yesterday. She found an original Moon Pendant at a store near her home and picked it up for the unimaginable price of $150. Original Moon Pendants typically sell for ten times that. Somebody got a bargain to end all bargains. She wrote to me and asked if I know of a source where she can buy a licensed reproduction of her Panton Moon Pendant.

The answer is that no, I don't. All of my usual sources for that sort of thing come up blank when I look for that lamp. So I'm writing a post to ask if anybody out there knows where to look for a reproduction. A licensed reproduction will match her original exactly as opposed to a knock off that won't. Her plan is to hang the original alongside a reproduction over her kitchen island. It sounds idyllic frankly, and I'd like to help her out if I can.


Verner Panton (1926 - 1998) was a Danish furniture and interior designer. He's most remembered for his wild use of color and his radical thinking about how form and function interact. Some of his edgier creations, like this environment called Phantasy (1970), preserve his time in the spotlight perfectly.



In 1970, everything was up for grabs, or so it seemed. Who says that there needs to be a clear delineation between walls, floors and ceiling? Who says that furniture can't be structural and that structures can be furniture? Who says indeed? Panton and his contemporaries blazed a trail and carried the whole of our culture with them. Despite the initial negative reaction on Main Street to Phantasy, within a few years the men on Main Street were wearing four-inch-wide paisley ties. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Not all of Panton's work has been left behind in the era when he created it. A lot of his furniture is still in production.



This is his S Chair, also from 1960. The S Chair was the world's first injection-molded, mass produced object and it's been in continuous production ever since. The S Chair proved that injection molding was possible and viable and the world has never been the same.


Panton and the designers of his generation left behind a legacy that lingers, even if his aesthetic is not longer popular. I'm excited that somebody wants to use some of his pieces in her home and the question remains: has anybody seen this light?

8 comments:

  1. A lot of Verner Panton Lamps are in production again under licence. Have you tried the Conran Shop? I used to work in the lighting department at the branch on Fulham Road, London, and we had a collection Verener designs. If they don't do this one, ask them if they know where it can be sourced as their supplier for the VP lights was always the same if i remember correctly and the might be able to do a special order for your friend. They have 3 branches in London, one in Paris, one in New York and one in Tokyo. Good luck.

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  2. Boy, that was fast! Thanks for the pointer. Did you catch that Sherri?

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  3. I found three places. www.einrichten-design.com, www.madeindenmarkvintageporcelain.com and www.design-museum.com.

    I can not attest to their quality as e-stores.
    Good Luck,
    KitchAnn

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  4. Wow, Paul, this is awesome! Thanks for your help on this one as well as for getting out the word to your readers. I'll be sure to check out the sites noted above, AND send you a picture of the kitchen when it's done. Thanks, again!

    Sherri

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  5. Keep checking back on this post today. Who knew that those lights would be so hard to come by. George Nelson would have been easy, but Verner Panton's a real head scratcher. And yes please, send me pics of your kitchen when it's done.

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  7. Commercial Lighting: My blog is not a place for you to leave your spam. Please steer clear of here or your client is going to have the campaign they're paying you to conduct backfire in a very big way. If you want to buy an ad then buy an ad. Otherwise, get lost.

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