FILAMENT by NEW LIGHT POTTERY

Nara-based lighting studio NEW LIGHT POTTERY, led by Hiroyuki Nagatomi and Chizu Nara, has released an original series of light bulbs named FILAMENT.

When we asked Hiroyuki Nagatomi why they added incandescent bulbs to their product range in the LED era, he said, “Initially, many of our light fittings used bare bulbs, and we wanted to develop bulbs one day. We also had the opportunity to talk to non-professional users in our showroom and found out that many consumers do not use dimmers. So we decided to make a light bulb that is not glaring when the user sees it directly. Moreover, one of the reasons behind the development of the product was a crisis of technology loss in Japanese factories as LEDs replaced incandescent bulbs.”

Based on the concept of a warm incandescent bulb like the faded light bulb, they searched for a factory in Japan that could manufacture it. Besides, the filament design was also inspired by his beloved former bulb for the American market.

“When using an American standard 130V bulb with a Japanese 100V outlet, it glows as if it were dimmed to low. Based on this experience, we thought it would be possible to make a bulb with less glare by using a filament for high voltage. In addition, it has the effect of making the light last longer because it glows at a lower voltage than the designed voltage”, Nagatomi said.

Alongside these basic ideas, the bulb has two key features. The first one is a gradation on the surface. When asked why, he said, “When we developed glass shade fixtures in the past, we found that a grey shade could effectively reduce glare. So we decided to add colour to the bulb itself, like sunglasses. Then, the light bulb factory could not process the surface, so we searched for a factory in another prefecture and offered to deposit the metal. The grey gradient is darker at the tip of the ball to avoid glare when looking at the light, and lighter on the socket side to allow a moderate light to glow upwards.”

They have designed the filament to be nine-sided, to reduce glare when viewed directly.

Another feature is the shape of the filament. “A regular incandescent bulb uses a highly efficient, short filament. On the other hand, this bulb has a nine-sided filament with seven anchors, using the technology of shockproof bulbs. The filament was designed to reduce glare as much as possible by increasing the number of anchors and lengthening the filament compared to existing shockproof bulbs.” Nagatomi recalls that skilled craftsmen achieved this delicate shape.

He added: “I am happy to see the product being used in light fittings made by other brands. We want this bulb to be used in stands and pendants that are close to the eye.” The brand concept of NEW LIGHT POTTERY is well expressed in his words: “The aim was to offer a standard product.” They did not approach the incandescent bulb out of nostalgia. At the same time, they were also developing LED bulbs based on the same concept, but they were not satisfied with the light ambience and decided not to release the LED version.