It seems like you can make a beautiful chandelier out of just about anything these days – and it makes us wonder why society stood by the monotony of hanging crystal pendants for so long. These recycled bic pen chandeliers by En Pieza look just as classy (if not classier), refract light in the most gorgeous way, AND are far more creative and eco-friendly than their staid crystal counterparts. What more could you ask for in a chandelier?
The Volivik Lamp, by En Pieza, is painstakingly hand-made using primarily the little plastic icon of 20th Century design. The chandelier comes in both orange and clear, but we much prefer the clear, as the orange doesn’t have the same reflective/refractive qualities. Whatever your preference, the Volivik comes in a limited edition of just 30 pieces, so if you want one, you better act fast.
It seems like you can make a beautiful chandelier out of just about anything these days – and it makes us wonder why society stood by the monotony of hanging crystal pendants for so long. These recycled bic pen chandeliers by En Pieza look just as classy (if not classier), refract light in the most gorgeous way, AND are far more creative and eco-friendly than their staid crystal counterparts. What more could you ask for in a chandelier?
The Volivik Lamp, by En Pieza, is painstakingly hand-made using primarily the little plastic icon of 20th Century design. The chandelier comes in both orange and clear, but we much prefer the clear, as the orange doesn’t have the same reflective/refractive qualities. Whatever your preference, the Volivik comes in a limited edition of just 30 pieces, so if you want one, you better act fast.
It seems like you can make a beautiful chandelier out of just about anything these days – and it makes us wonder why society stood by the monotony of hanging crystal pendants for so long. These recycled bic pen chandeliers by En Pieza look just as classy (if not classier), refract light in the most gorgeous way, AND are far more creative and eco-friendly than their staid crystal counterparts. What more could you ask for in a chandelier?
The Volivik Lamp, by En Pieza, is painstakingly hand-made using primarily the little plastic icon of 20th Century design. The chandelier comes in both orange and clear, but we much prefer the clear, as the orange doesn’t have the same reflective/refractive qualities. Whatever your preference, the Volivik comes in a limited edition of just 30 pieces, so if you want one, you better act fast.
36 Responses to “BIC BALLPOINT PEN CHANDELIER”
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I was in love with it until I saw that price tag. A thousand bucks?? I understand that it’s a limited edition, but I could probably make one for $50! Does En Pieza even understand how much pens cost? Like 3 cents. And if he’s using spent pens from offices, they’re free.
Hey Ryan-
I totally hear you on this – the cost is way more money than I can afford for something like this, but you have to understand that even though the materials are dirt cheap, the LABOR involved in putting something like this together by hand is insane. The reason that we can buy cheap homewares at places like Target and Walmart is because of mass- production and cheap labor in China. When you have designers making things by hand themselves in their studios, their work is bound to be expensive. And honestly, $1000 for a very cool and very functional recycled pen chandelier sounds like a lot better deal than $1000 for a painting that doesn nothing other than adorn your wall. Just to try to put this in perspective….
True, I know. You’re also paying for the design. There’s nothing else like this out there, so it’s an original piece of artwork. I was just shocked at that price considering the materials. Makes me wish I had some good ideas like this.
There’s really not much labor involved. Simple jigs would make prepping the pens a task you could do while watching TV. The high cost is because of the elitism of ‘design’.
Very htoughtfull design and idea but I cannot believe you can compare a chandelier to a painting and say that the later does “nothing other than adorn your wall”. Obviously you are not interested in the esthetic of your designs but merely in the practicality. it’s like saying that a chandelier from target would still do the job of keeping your room well lit, which you are opposing to as you believe the “design” is what matters. a painting or a design have the same impact on our senses. it’s just a matter of how good the painting or design are?
I like the idea and the look, particularly when used with the clear barrels (first photo) but I’m surprised at the lights which appear to have been used in it. Judging by the latter two photos, they would appear to be using some standard filament bulbs rather than some low energy/discharge/LED lighting.
As for the price, I think that everyone needs to look for “the middle field”; if designers keep the price high then few people will buy it (so needing them to charge more to cover their own costs) but consumers need to be prepared (and willing!) to pay more in the brave new green world. So often have great ideas (and even government “initiatives”, at least I know in the UK) thwarted by too high a price hurdle such that the common-man cannot afford them.
Funny how a certain breed of people who post on forums are compulsive naysayers and/or are typically the first to complain about price. They are always quick to say ‘I could have done this for $50 in two hours’…but wait a second… you DIDN’T did you? That’s the $950 difference.
I happen think people deserve to be paid for their creative, original ideas. They should be celebrated and rewarded and encouraged to continue. They add to the world and make it a much more interesting place.
This is an extremely clever, attractive AND practical design for a luxury item (chandeliers are generally very expensive items, mostly because of all the small pieces involved and the labour required to put them together by hand–mass prroduced or not). If I was in the market for one, I would seriously consider this item. And what a conversation piece too. It’s just a great piece of design.
Another quick note — i f you don’t feel paintings have any value, don’t buy them. Cover your walls in pet photos and knock yourself out. But it doesn;t make it art and I happen to think that ART MATTERS.
HI
I saw a very innovative light fixture made out of metal grid and zip cords for $800. I decided to do it myself but gave up after the labor and arm scratches were just not worth it – so if I had the money I definitely think it would be worth it. Also while I own many paintings and am an art fanatic – this light could be considered industrial art -pet photos also have there place – good decorating is what makes the person who lives there happy.
For stuff like this that’s hand made by the designer who may sell a half dozen pieces, this is a reasonable price. This is art. It’s not getting mas produced.
What gripes me are the high “design” items like in the Design Within Reach (of the Very Wealthy) catalog that are mass produced and still sell for 3 to 10 times what they realistically should. Things like this have status based pricing. You stick the designer name out front and kick the decimal point a notch to the right and if it’s pretty, the wealthy conformists will beat a path to your door. If the design world could just remember that “Form FOLLOWS Function” half of that stuff would never make it into the show room. On some of it, function was never even cosidered in the first place.
My only concern is the plastics in the pens – how do they degrade with the light/heat source so near. I’m assuming the ink shaft has been removed – but even so these may be toxic lamps. Anyone have any information?
It might be the wrong application for a cheap plastic that was never meant to deal with heat and direct light degredation.
Those pens don’t look so “recycled” (i.e., they’re still full of ink). I think somebody along the line just misread the En Pieza text; they say the lamp “recycles the original use” of the pens, not that it uses recycled pens.
[...] Very unique and attractive chadelier by en Pieza. This is just good design all around.Check out the chadelier.en Pieza website. [...]
The word CHANDELIER, comes from candles, as before electricity, that and lamps were the only source of light.
Um…the materials in most Great Works of Art don’t cost very much. A $100 million painting uses less in materials then the pen chandelier. And a traditional chandelier uses maybe a couple of bucks worth of glass.
[...] From Inhabitat: It seems like you can make a beautiful chandelier out of just about anything these days – and it makes us wonder why society stood by the monotony of hanging crystal pendants for so long. These recycled bic pen chandeliers by En Pieza look just as classy (if not classier), refract light in the most gorgeous way, AND are far more creative and eco-friendly than their staid crystal counterparts. What more could you ask for in a chandelier? [...]
Wow what a bunch of namby-pamby cry babery!!!! Almost everyone who is whine about the $100 dollar price tag should take a moment to calculate how much they spend on an average weekend in drinks and beer. Light fixtures are insanely expensive. Having something as ingenious as this piece…and HANDMADE!!!! What is with all the whining. You invest your money in what is great and not some cheap knock off or ugly mass marketed cha-cha. So next time you open your mouth to bicker, consider how much you spend on disposable clothing, take out food, IKEA furniture…just think about the the amazing original designed art, furniture, and clothing you could own! Support Art and not mass production people…and GROW UP!
It is a very novel idea and fresh and attractive. It’s worth a thousand dollars to a person who would want it enough to pay a thousand dollars for it. I definetly am not near the top of the salary scale, but know plenty of folks out there who earn the same as I do and spend way more on stuff I consider crap. It’s all in how you look at it. I wouldn’t pay for it, but hey, I’d also admire it in someone else’s home.
And in response to the comment on how cheap art materials are — HAH! Good archival quality art matierals that will make a painting last long enough to be in a museum collection certainly DO cost more than a bunch of pens. Have you ever bought a good brush or solvent or a tube of paint or canvas stretchers, etc? And do you realize how long it takes to make a good piece of art, and how many lesser pieces were gone through to create that one good one you need to sell to make up for it?
[...] Lights that make a bold point. Published January 15th, 2007 in Category 1 A chandelier by En Pieza named Volvik Lamp. $1000. Via Inhabitat. [...]
Have you ever stuck a bic pen in a pocket and forgotten about it?
It warms up. When it warms up, the ink runs.
I notice that all the pens in the chandelier still have their ink in them.
Light bulbs get warm.
I can just imagine my $1000 dripping ink all over my guests at the dinner table.
Yum.
[...] Think Bics are only for writing? Think again! Enpieza have made an interesting chandelier called Volivik using ballpoint pens. It gives a nice constellated lighting effect but the fact that the pens are still new makes me cringe a bit. [...]
The design and handiwork is worth the money, though how much- it’s really always difficult to say when it comes to art and design. The people who whine about the cost of materials is a bit off the track, because the whole point is to be able to come up with something beautiful and useful using trash. Ideas are worth a lot!
Though to be honest, that the pens have ink in all of them deserves plenty of skepticism. I particularly don’t understand why she would use new pens anyhow as used up pens would probably reflect more light and cause less mess??
HOW IS IT RECYCLING WHEN THEY ARE NEW …. DEFINITION OF RECYCLED=A term used to describe material that has been separated from the waste stream, reprocessed into a new product (often taking the place of virgin material), and then bought back by the consumer as new item.
THESE PENS HAVE NOT BEEN USED AND SEPERATED FROM THE WASTE STREAM!!! THEREFOR NOT RECYCLED….
just an other mad artist… but a nice chandelier
)
Lustre feito com canetas bic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plastic Pens, Plastic Rulers, AOL cds or new coffee cups. Is this really so “cool” or a reflection on the primary problem?
It seems more like a concept for a display at OfficeMax than something you would really want hanging around the house for more than a few months. Chandeliers of plastic “iclicles” have been around for decades and are hedious.
Ikea is full of hideous plastic lamps, you get what you pay for – buy a quality lamp , one that is made of solid elements (metal – ceramics) and will last a 100 years.
The best reuse of most plastic is as a fuel not as another disposible “whim”.
Wow. Thats pretty cool. you should show these to Spectrum Home Furnishing. You can find them here: http://www.greatchandelier.com
[...] Bic pen chandelier Absolutely gorgeous. Makes you want to slap yourself for being so darn uncreative doesn’t it? By En Pieza via notcot.org [...]
If that isn’t one of the most original unique recyling ideas!! I love it!
It’s very pretty and clever!
I love to see creative things like this. If I had more money I’d buy things like this, as it is, I can only admire the creativity.
The pens should be fine with the heat from the light bulbs as you can put them in an oven at 275 degrees and they are fine… I know I cover them with clay and bake them all the time. And these are, I believe the hard, clear plastic which are probably more durable than the soft plastic ones. As for fumes or toxicity, I’m not certain about that. Probably less dangerous than the emissions from a cell phone!
I think it’s fun to see where discussions like this go… is it art, what is art, what is art worth…. I just like to see new and creative ideas… eventually if someone likes it enough it gets copied and duplicated, albeit usually watered down somewhat, and dispersed to the general public via mass marketing…. it’s our way. But I love when I see something for the first time… a new idea, a creative idea… and I go… gee, I wish I’d thought of that… or How cool is that? Even if it isn’t something I’d put in my own home… I appreciate the idea and creativity that went into it… maybe it sparks an idea for me… hey I could make a chandelier out of….xxx! Ideas are great fun… seeing them well executed and shared is even better!
I just wonder why he left the ink cartridge in the clear pens and if they are truly recycled why is the ink level the same in all of them. Novel idea but don’t try and sell the recycle idea when the pens are new.
Re: “dripping ink”….
If you will notice, the writing tips of the pens are pointed upward, inside their caps; so, it is not likely the ink would drip from the sealed end.
[...] Volivik Lamp by Enpezia. Clear and classy chandelier made from recycled Bic Ballpoint pens. Via Inhabitat [...]
the knowledge of this form of sculpture is very important and would encourage that education on it should be extended to Africa and it under developed countries.
I did buy one and it is truly a conversation piece. However, I did not realise it was wired for European lights. Oh well, we are art collectors and bought it because of how fun it is. We bought a really fun lamp to go with it. It hangs in our loft office! W ehave had it for a few months and there is no problem with dripping of the pens. Even one fo the pens is signed by En Pieza and they were fantastic to work with. By the way it was much more than $1,000.
I can’t afford a huge and wonderful thing like this but i really need one for my project.can you lower the price?
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