Poulsen Pendants
Who doesn't love these pendant lamps designed by Danish mid-century designer Poul Henningsen?
The design is iconic, but unless you look at the patent drawings for it, it is easy to miss the most important thing about it.
The multi-shade system works to baffle and direct the light from the source, pushing it out/down/up without any glare. You don't see the bulb, only warm soft light.
PH made several other designs with similar design principles for manufacturer Louis Poulsen's production lines - including the Artichoke and the Snowball - but the PH 5-6 is my favorite.
Henningsen did not have an easy life - he dropped out of architecture school without earning a degree, during the war he had to flee occupied Denmark for his political views, toward the end he developed Parkinson's disease and had tremors/difficulty talking/depression.
But he left us with something luminous and beautiful to remember him by.
