HOW OUR LAMP BONNE NUIT WAS BORN

«If someone tells me something is impossible, I feel challenged to find where and how and when it may be possible.
The world needs a new outlook on what seems forever unchangeable.» Michele De Lucchi, April 2009


Bonne Nuit is intended to put the lid on light.
The light is served on the table but inside the glass, a fine goblet of the elegant sort, and then covered with a sandblasted glass cupola to diffuse it. Housed in the top of the cupola is a small transparent glass chimney, with which the lid is lifted and the light revealed.

IRREPRESSIBLE INTUITIONS


"First intuitions", pencil on paper, Michele De Lucchi 2008

The Bonne Nuit table-lamp was born from one of those irrepressible intuitions that give you the ability to see the light from a new point of view and with new eyes. The idea of "serving the light" and to diffuse it with a removable sandblasted glass cupola, is far from your everyday concepts and logics of industrial production.

The first drawings by Michele De Lucchi recall the idea of a game, knowledge and playfulness typical of a craftsman. De Lucchi explores the spirit of curiosity and his dedication to the search of new ways of glass processing with the Bonne Nuit.


Bonne Nuit, very first drawing, pencil on paper, Michele De Lucchi 2008

Bonne Nuit is made of borosilicate glass, a preferred material by Michele De Lucchi for being «an industrial glass but not be industrialized» (Michele De Lucchi 2009). Its charm comes from the reduced thickness that could be obtained by blowing melted glass into vials and shaping it into molds. The collaboration with a Venetian glass artisan, active for nearly half a century and specialized in borosilicate glass, permitted to give birth to our Produzione Privata table lamp.


Examples of blown borosilicate glass experiments

Now let us introduce you to this magical story that is:

 

"THE BIRTH AND LIFE OF OUR BONNE NUIT"


These few steps illustrate the birth and life of Bonne Nuit lamp from a lump of melted glass to a finished unique masterpiece.

1 | The birth and delivery onto paper by Michele De Lucchi


Sketches by Michele De Lucchi in the design phase of the product are overcome with each other. It triggers a continuous direct and learning process, from concept to production.

«The shortest path between the brain and the work cames from the hand» Michele De Lucchi 2009



Bonne Nuit drawings for Produzione Privata, tempera on paper and pencil on paper, Michele De Lucchi 2008 - 2009

2 | Michele de Lucchi and the Produzione Privata team brainstorm the production processes


«The small series highlights an experimental approach to the object from the standpoint of the enterprise as well as of the designer himself.» François Burkhardt on A protected place where Michele De Lucchi let his sun shine, AND n° 17, January - April 2010
 

3 | The vials are heated with a blow torch, then the 'Master Glass Blower' takes over his job


The borosilicate glass is worked in the flame, then it is cut, blown and shaped with simple clamps and blocks of graphite.


«The field of such a handcrafted operation – one that is very specialized – gives an added value to items created this way that i totaly unique and irrepleceabele»  François Burkhardt on A protected place where Michele De Lucchi let his sun shine, AND n° 17, January - April 2010
 

4 | The glass is re-heated, re-blown and re-heated until the right shape is achieved

The glass in the blowing process is re-heated and made moldable by blowtorch for further blowing, this is again repeated until a desired shape is achieved for the lathing process.

6 | The lathing process is the critical step that gives the glass its Bonne Nuit look


The rotation of the molten glass on the lathe is used to obtain the curved shape that is characteristic of our Bonne Nuit lamp.
The excess glass is either cut with the illustrated iron tool or folded in the pre-planned places such as the nozzle in this particular picture.

7 | The glass is moved to the finishing facility and left to cool


The blown glass is left to cool on bricks until it is immortalised in its final shape. Then the stems are cut at the right height, reheated in order to achieve the bases by lathing. Now the lamps are prepared for the application of the lamp's 'finish' (coating): In this case the sandblasting process.

8 | The glass finishing (coating) is achieved by means of the sandblasting process


Glass cupolas: satin-finish blown borosilicate glass cupola - transparent blown borosilicate

The surface treatment of the glass with a sandblasted matt allows to transform the cupola in a special object that has the ability to change the perception of light at will.
The light from 'direct' becomes 'diffused' once the sandblasted cupola is lowered and it all can be reversed with a simple gesture.

9 | The glass parts are then sent to another specialised artisan for the final assembly and wiring


The electrical wiring and assembling are manually performed operations. This is the only way to deal with artisanal blown glass, because each lamp is in minor ways unique, confirming our hand-made production.

10 | The final product gets baptized by being personally photographed by Michele De Lucchi

Bonne Nuit, Ph. Michele De Lucchi 2009

11 | Finally the product will undertake rigurous testing and quality control to conform with the lighting industry safety and quality standards before being shipped to your home


PHOTO CREDITS
Mercedes Jaén Ruiz (production process)
Michele De Lucchi

 

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