Two paragons of British creativity mark a prodigious milestone this year, as the Anglepoise Original 1227 Desk Lamp and Penguin Books each celebrate their 90th anniversaries. To commemorate the occasion, Anglepoise and Penguin have joined forces on a landmark collaboration: four Giant 1227 Lamps have been reimagined by celebrated illustrators Anthony Burrill, Rob Lowe (aka Supermundane), Nadia Shireen and Lakwena Maciver, each inspired by the joy of reading. Each lamp will be auctioned online to raise funds for the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, giving four winners the chance to own an entirely singular piece of design heritage.

Since the start of 2025 students from UWTSD (University of Wales Trinity St David, Swansea Art College) from the BA Design Crafts and BA Surface Pattern courses have been set a live brief and generated work to be used an a celebratory event at Material Matters as part of The London Design Festival in September 2025.

This was a design and make project that explored the values and vision of Anglepoise. A project that sensitively addressed both the designer’s and user’s interaction with materials and processes in the manufacture and use of functional products. It required students to think of Anglepoise lamps as tools that support all manner of activities. Anglepoise lamps for ‘doers’- writers, makers, engineers, coders, cooks… People that require light to accomplish their work. The challenge of this project was to enhance the experience of using a task lamp and broaden the appeal of an Anglepoise product whilst remaining true to the company’s values and visions. It is a project that necessitates an understanding and demands of the task at hand whilst being sensitive to how a user physically (and emotionally) engages with a product. Anglepoise supplied a lampshade template for all students to use which was then screwed into an internal lamp holder forming part of an existing lighting collection called the Type 80. Designed by legendary Industrial Designer Sir Kenneth Grange.

Encouraging radical, unique interpretations that play with the themes of materials, light and surface treatment. Anglepoise has long had sustainability, repair and longevity at the heart of everything they do. So, consideration had to be taken across the entire lifecycle of the product.

Quotes from students:

Claire Tompkinson BA Design Crafts: Glass, Ceramics & Jewellery

“The overall theme of my lamp is impermanence and quiet transformation. It’s about working with nature as a collaborator— allowing living materials like roots to shape the piece slowly over time. It reflects how beauty can emerge through decay and fragility”

Anna Jones, BA Design Crafts: Glass, Ceramics & Jewellery (Lampshade Materials – Acrylic Wool and Porcelain)

“Ceramics can be more than just simple clay forms. While creating these lamps, I realised that clay and other materials that are typically considered incompatible can result in fascinating textures and shapes. This understanding goes beyond the materials themselves; it involves exploring what happens when experimenting with different materials and discovering the outcomes. Throughout this project I have developed an understanding of ceramics and bending the rules with the materials. As a design craft student this has been an exciting experience.”

Claire Tilling, BA Design Crafts: Glass, Ceramics & Jewellery
(Lampshade Materials – beach found plastic objects, recycled copper, hand-painted sea glass, vintage Anglepoise lamp cord)

“Designing for Anglepoise allowed me to go beyond standard lighting materials, using found objects to repurpose I developed discarded items into a luxury product. Using these materials allows for a unique, environmentally low-impact design that tells a unique and personal story. Working with an iconic brand and pushing the boundaries has resulted in an innovative piece that partly transforms into wearable jewellery. So you can have your desk lamp on and wear it at the same time!”

Quotes:

“It is vital for creative institutions to involve industry in anyway they can to enable collaboration and exploration which in term helps build confidence and contacts for these talented young creatives. What has been very special about this project is that it involved two different coastal cities each with strong heritage legacy’s that can compete in any global setting. Attitude is everything here.”
Claire Sambrook, Project Lead and Senior Lecturer at The University of Portsmouth

“From the moment I heard there was a possibility of working on a live brief with Anglepoise I was all in! An absolute fan of the iconic lamp design, I knew our students could step up and take on the challenge to respond to the ‘Beyond’ brief. On Design crafts we specialise in three core areas (glass, ceramics and jewellery) and are passionate about all manner of materials in-between. Students on Design Crafts are naturally curious about materials and as makers we are natural problem solvers. The Design Crafts team (both tutors and technicians) pulled together to support our students’ individual visions in a broad spectrum of materials and process from waterjet cut metal, welding, enamel, patination, kiln formed glass, patte de verre, electroforming, lampworking, ceramic casting and mould making. In addition, you will find eco materials such as grass roots and pine cones and other recycled objects such as beach waste and electrical components from the lamps themselves. What an exciting journey we have all been on! Working with the Anglepoise team was invaluable for our students and the individual feedback and studio visits were both insightful and fun. Thank you to all for your support, it has been a real pleasure to see our second-year blossom and quite literally go ‘beyond’ their comfort zones and also their making ability and professionalism. We cannot wait to see the exhibition and celebrate the lamps at London Design Festival!”
Anna Lewis – Programme Manager BA Design Crafts: Glass, Ceramics & Jewellery, Swansea College of Art – UWTSD

“Students were allowed the freedom and opportunity to experiment and dictate their choices withinthis live brief; to really consider their options and how ‘textiles’ in its broadest sense could behaveas a light shade. To reimagine the iconic Type 80 design in its exacting profile with a totally different fibre; is no mean feat! Students from surface pattern and textiles created various lamps out of repurposed, waste or dead stock cloth as well as paper and more translucent softer fibres too, such as shear cottons and silks. Layering these different weights of substrate created strength but also created depth harnessing the translucency of the design considering the light being switched on or off – this was an integral aspect to the brief that was proposed by Anglepoise”
Staff Quote Claire Savage – Lecturer, BA Hons & MDes Surface Pattern & Textiles, UWTSD

Come and see the project and other exciting presentations at Material Matters.

Photography by Claire Sambrook

Swansea College of Art, UWTSD
BA Design Crafts : Glass, Ceramics & Jewellery

Exhibiting Students

Chelsie Gallagher
Materials – carved porcelain and glaze

Anna Jones
Materials – slip cast porcelain from crochet

Clair Tompkins
Materials – grown wheat grass roots

Claire Tilling
Materials – copper, beach waste, plastic, glass, found materials, wire

Jessica Theobald
Materials – steel, enamel, lamp work glass detail

Louise Rimmer
Materials – glass, electroplate copper

Lydia Greaves
Materials – steel, enamel, glass and glass frit

Martin Lane
Materials – ‘pate de verre’ fused glass powder

Nissma Brown
Materials – patinated copper

Seren Trodden
Materials – steel, enamel, pine cone, faux fur, recycled Anglepoise waste lamp components,

Exhibiting Design Crafts Staff

Lyndon Davies
Materials – Slip cast cotton wool in porcelain

Katie Fawcett
Materials – enamel on steel

Adam Shelton
Materials – 3d printed

Swansea College of Art, UWTSD
BA & MDES Surface Pattern & Textiles

Exhibiting Students

Carys-Lewis Hopkins
Materials – Sugar paper and a linen blend for the embroidery pieces.

Kacie Anderson Goodfellow
Materials – Naturally dyed linens and wools. crinoline bases, heavy linen for the laser cut piece strengthened with Vilene. Laser cut papers.

Thea Wakeford
Materials – Linen voile, waste and scraps of paper, embossed cotton papers, Pergamenata parchment.

Jessica Oliver Cotton
Materials – Organdie, silk viscose satin and dead stock cotton from the company “Toast”. Vilene and laser cut elements. Screen printed pigments and pearl binders; devore processing.

Amy O’Callaghan
Materials – Digitally stitched calico, bonda web, sheer white cotton organdie, card, paper and cyanotype.

Maja Lane
Materials – Paper, cotton, cotton satin, cyanotype and opaque paste fabric print techniques with silk screen.

Jen Wengler
Materials – Patterned repurposed suede, embroidery thread, paper, ink.

Scarlett Davies
Materials – Silk, organic cotton canvas, denim and repurposed acrylic vinyl.

Blossom Evans
Materials – Pergamenata parchment, fabrics such as wool, silk, cotton, various dead-stock and scrap fabrics, natural dyestuff (avocado, nettles, buddleia), cyanotype, ink for printing initial motifs.

Carmen San-Miguel
Materials – Pergamenata parchment, mirror card, pearlized card, Fabriano watercolour paper, tracing paper.

Robyn Thorpe
Materials – Cotton Organdie, UV print, and thread.

Samantha McGrath
Materials – Spot-welded steel wire, brown satin ribbon.

Sophie Drew
Materials – Dead stock leather, fabric, flock, acetate, card and paper.

Sarah Davies
Materials – Paper, light-weight transparent paper, heavy-weight transparent paper.

Orla White
Materials – Repurposed laser engraved satin polyester silks and sugar paper.

Emmi Joy
Materials – Upcycled leather, Eucalyptus oil (used to print initial design on the leather). Spot welding steel as a metal frame for my design. Hand lino cut stamps for design.

Eve Merriman
Materials – Recycled denim, laser engraved and cut. Card and Pergamenata.

Lauren Stokes
Materials – Cotton organdie, cyanotype, translucent blue binder, pearlescent foil.

Kamila Jacewicz
Materials – Laser cut paper and card.

Material Matters London
Discover the Future of Materials at Material Matters London
17-20 September | Space House, 1 Kemble St (Kingsway), London WC2B 4AN

We are excited to be working closely with the Material Matters Fair this year. Which returns to the capital for its fourth edition, showcasing the latest in innovation, sustainable design, and material intelligence. Taking place during the London Design Festival 2025, this year’s event moves to a bold new venue, Space House, one of the city’s most iconic modernist buildings.

The Material Matters Fair returns to the capital for its fourth edition, showcasing the latest in innovation, sustainable design, and material intelligence. Taking place during the London Design Festival 2025, this year’s event moves to a bold new venue, Space House, one of the city’s most iconic modernist buildings.

This year, Anglepoise celebrates the 90th Anniversary of its Original 1227 Desk Lamp. Largely unchanged since its debut in the 1930s, the Original 1227 desk lamp remains a signature product, instantly recognisable as an Anglepoise. Since its creation, the lamp has achieved classic status and its practical problem-solving design, balletic engineering and ability to place light exactly where you want it has made it an unparalleled companion to creative endeavours.

To mark the anniversary, Anglepoise has partnered with students from two creative universities: University of Wales Trinity St David, Swansea College of Art and The University of Portsmouth. Their work will be unveiled at this year’s Material Matters exhibition during the London Design Festival.

The students of University of Wales Trinity St David, Swansea College of Art have conducted a design-and-make project exploring the values and vision of Anglepoise. Studies reimagined the Type 80 lamp, designed by Sir Kenneth Grange, using a lampshade template. The focus was on revising the materiality and surface pattern of the shade, taking into consideration sustainability, repairability and broadening product appeal.

Meanwhile, at The University of Portsmouth, students have created short animations and mixed-media films for both social channels and screenings. Led by creative studio Golden Wolf, the film series is titled ‘Legacy of an Icon’ and explores the creative expression of the 90th anniversary logo. Each animation is part of a looping, multi-artist showcase, forming a collective portrait of the Anglepoise brand.

Finally, Anglepoise has teamed up with Penguin Books, also celebrating its 90th Anniversary, to create four limited edition Original 1227 Giant Lamps in collaboration with artists Supermundane, Anthony Burrill, Lakwena and Nadia Shireen. The lamps will be on display at this year’s Material Matters, before being auctioned off later in the year, with all proceeds going to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.

90th Birthday Party

• Showcasing the new 90th Limited Edition Original 1227 product, in a special raw finish.
• //Beyond project – Partnering with University of Wales Trinity St David, Swansea College of Art to reimagining with materiality and surface pattern the Type 80 lamp, designed by Sir Kenneth Grange
• ‘Legacy of an Icon’ – Working with the University of Portsmouth. Led by creative studio Golden Wolf, the film series explores the creative expression of the 90th anniversary logo. Each animation is part of a looping, multi-artist showcase, forming a collective portrait of the Anglepoise brand.
• Finally, Anglepoise has teamed up with Penguin Books, also celebrating its 90th Anniversary, to create four limited edition Original 1227 Giant Lamps in collaboration with artists Supermundane, Anthony Burrill, Lakwena and Nadia Shireen. The lamps will be on display at this year’s Material Matters, before being auctioned off later in the year, with all proceeds going to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre.

I was coasting down the river on my stand-up paddleboard the other day, as I’m wont to do. It was a rare moment of tranquility in the life of someone running a business (always grateful, never grumbling. Okay, sometimes grumbling). 

I sailed past a lady sitting on a grassy bank in the evening sunshine. I called out, “you’ve got a lovely spot”. She called back: “So do you!” 

She was right. And it was an exchange that cheered me for the rest of the day. In fact, it still cheers me, when I think about it. 

That feeling is something you cannot buy. But that doesn’t stop us trying. 

Forever chasing 

Everywhere you look, there’s a sale on.

With every sale, there’s a hint of a win, something new, something just for you… and “well it can’t hurt to look”. Suddenly, you’ve spent £50 on something you’d never even conceived of ‘til it hit your Instagram feed 15 minutes before. 

And it does feel good… for a minute. You might get a second rush when the parcel drops through the letterbox. Then your object nouvel gets put away, or worn once, or used a handful of times… then it’s forgotten. And you’re 50 quid poorer.

The ‘hedonic treadmill’ suggests that our happiness (or lack thereof) is actually quite stable. It will always return to baseline, whether you win the lottery or lose an arm. The smaller the high, the quicker you’ll return to “normal”. 

And so we keep chasing the highs – never to be fulfilled. 

When the fun stops

I find modern marketing and advertising so vindictive, because it’s all based on spotlighting our insecurities and selling the “solution” back to us. 

It’s been going on in the beauty and fashion industries for decades. But now it’s invading our homes. You can’t buy a house, but you can “transform” your space with a cheap sunrise projector from TikTok shop. 

Even cleaning products have gone viral, for god’s sake – thanks to Ms Hinch and all of us spending way too much time locked down. The most utilitarian thing I could think of has become “hedonic”. Perhaps because it’s an affordable luxury – and cleanliness is all people can control in a broken housing market.

You’re forced into a tiny houseshare, but don’t worry – you can buy this “viral” folding airer from Amazon to save space. You’re being exploited by your landlord, but a new set of plastic containers can help! 

If you tried to sell any of that crap to a turn-of-the-century laborer, or a Victorian, heaven forbid – they would’ve responded with a baffled “how long will it last?”. We used to buy for durability and function. 

We’re sitting ducks for sales psychology. £39 sells more than £35. No ‘£’ signs on menus sells 10% more. “Shrinkflation” keeps prices the same while reducing portion size. “Charm” pricing, anchoring, the decoy effect, BOGOF, constant flash sales, “drops”, and scarily targeted ads… all engineered to keep us hooked.

Consumer culture sells us a “self” at a discount – outfits, gadgets, wellness routines – that promise transformation. Funnily enough, we never transform. And we don’t even notice.

Finding the off-ramp

In better news, there’s another kind of happiness: eudaimonic wellbeing. This is the kind you get from the pursuit of meaning, self-realization, growth, and authenticity.

A few non-hedonic hacks:

• Buy moments, not presents, for peoples’ birthdays: A day out, a cream tea, concert tickets, or a National Trust membership if you’re feeling particularly generous. 

• Buy handmade where you can. Things made with love will continue to generate love. Materials that are carved or forged or woven have resonance, while plastic has none. Some research even suggests the frequency of wool and linen is healing to the human body.

• Sleep on it: Impulse is truly the enemy of peace. Try the “like and save” method – put it in your basket, and don’t buy until the next morning. You might find the urge has passed.

It’s not an easy task to “pursue meaning” in modern times. We’ve got bills to pay.

Thankfully, we have our whole lives to work on it. And it starts with focusing on moments – like mine on the paddleboard. 

Moments, unlike things, leave a lasting impression. 

A Canada Goose jacket for a nursery run. A Range Rover Vogue for the food shop. A nanotech wrist-worn ECG monitor to tell the time. A smartphone with more processing power than a NASA shuttle. 

The £160 Gore-Tex quickLACE Mud Contagrip® EnergyCell+ (seriously) hiking trainers that celebrity influencers have declared essential daywear.

“Smart” capability has besieged our fridges and radiators, adding hundreds or thousands to the price tag.  

As technology’s “uses” become more banal than ever thought possible, simple tools and utensils that “don’t do anything else” start to feel old fashioned.

There’s a phrase for all this: “performative utility”. 

In other words, our daily products have become overpowered.

When the product becomes the task

I may be something of an angry dad stereotype, in that I just want things to work. 

I don’t want to be caught out on a 3-hour train journey when my bluetooth headphones die or fail to connect. We never had these problems in the ‘90s. What was wrong with wires?! They got tangled sometimes but it was better than sitting in miserable silence.

I don’t want an instruction manual for my toothbrush. And I definitely don’t want to pay £800 for it. 

And paying for 5 different streaming services and still getting shown ads is pushing me to the brink of a brand new DVD collection. 

Everything we’re being sold has 100x more capability than we actually need.

Is the era of “enough” gone forever? 

Doing one thing well

Fairphone. Community lawnmowers. The Patagonia fleece that lasts 20 years.

“Deownership” is a nice way around this – from cars to pasta machines, creating an economy where everyone can share, and no one can splash out on silly preferences.

If we must continually march technology onwards, perhaps we could combine two useful functions – instead of adding surplus ones. 

The Teasmade was a belter of an invention. It took a water heating element and an analog clock and gave us the peak of humanity. Fresh, hot tea before your feet hit the floor. It was as far as robotics ever needed to go. 

What about the humble bidet? Take the seat of a toilet and the tap of the sink. A revolution. 

I’ll also accept watches that become step trackers and heart rate monitors. Those things save lives. And I’ll take a £400 Garmin Forerunner that gives me relaxation reminders over a £14k Panerai that’s submersible to 500 meters. For the simple reason I’m not a deep sea diver. 

If you’ve had an eyewatering garage bill “because of the electrics”, you’ll be on the side of modularity. Parts you can see, order, and swap out.

An Anglepoise (for a convenient example) has 14 main parts. It’s made of springs and joints and bolts. Anyone can purchase and replace them at a low cost. Unlike anything listed in the opening paragraph of this article.

You get this when things are handmade, not factory-robot-made. So looking for ‘handmade’ in product descriptions is usually a good start.

The most useful thing in your life (that’s not your phone)

You can’t say laptop either. Hard to think, isn’t it?

For me it’s perhaps a mug, for coffee. Shoes come in pretty handy. You might say a pen knife or a newspaper. 

If you work with your hands or in the garden, you’ll probably say your tools – now that’s a good one. A real thing with familiar weight, made of wood and steel. That’s a proper handheld device. 

The problem is, if everything’s in one place, so are we. 

Most of our daily tasks are on our phones, so that’s where we live. If we can buy everything on Amazon, we’ve lost the butchers and the bakers and all the beautiful, natural, communal benefits that come with them.

I know there’s pressure to keep up with the Joneses. 

But maybe restraint is an even better “flex”. 

I’m not usually up on TikTok trends… but there’s one recently I’ve found pretty shocking.

It’s called stooping. And it’s definitely a new low.

Every day across New York City, hundreds of precious items are thrown out of brownstones onto the Upper East Side pavements.

People are chucking them out for curbside collection – sometimes because of a death or a house move, but more often because a wealthy socialite is having a redec… and last season’s furnishings have become declassé.

As much as 80% of it will end up in out-of-state landfills.

And it isn’t trash. It’s urns, china, ski gear, fur coats, fine art, pianos, antique bureaus, Ercol chairs, 1950s lucite vanities. The waste is unimaginable.

Imagine instead: the day you leave your parents’ home, you’re given a set of things.

These things have to furnish your home for a lifetime (or, okay, maybe a reasonable time). Decades, not years. No impulse buys, dodgy Amazon electronics, or rickety flatpack shelving units allowed.

What do you really need? How basic could you go? Would a sofa, a bed, a desk, and a good set of knives cut it (pardon the pun)? And what would the world look like if we all did this?

Well, obviously there are a few reasons why we don’t. 

1. Most of us don’t inherit a country pile full of antiques
2. Most of us don’t have the money to buy nice (so we buy twice – or more)
3. Relentless advertising, the drive towards novelty, keeping up with the Joneses…

And sadly, most of us are still too comfortable with the idea of just “chucking it away”. 

But there’s no such thing as away.

I’m thinking about all this because I did a very meditative knife sharpening course recently. 

Most household essentials are now built too cheaply to be “worth” maintaining. Even knives – literally tough as steel – often get chucked before they get sharpened.  

While the concept of “throwing away” is familiar to anyone over 30, upcoming generations are painfully aware there is no “away”. “Away” is poisonous landfill sites in third world countries.

But pollution isn’t the only problem. Owning everything we “need” pulls us away from our communities…which we actually do need. 

The loss of gathering 

Before affordable washing machines, people met at the laundrette. Before hairdryers and electric shavers, we congregated in salons and barbers. If you’ve ever gathered round a vinyl player or “backied” a mate’s bike, you’ll know the feeling of necessary togetherness. 

Now, a cul-de-sac of 20 people own 20 lawnmowers. How often do you reckon they’re all needed at the same time? 

We’ll part with £300 before we’ll knock on the neighbour’s door. Maybe because we don’t know our neighbours well enough – or at all. Is there a “dirtiness” in the borrowed or used? Is there a bashfulness involved, maybe? A reluctance to bother people? 

Things used to be so scarce they were community assets. 

Ovens, smithing tools, maypoles. Materials that felt alive – linen, sheeps’ wool, clay, tree bark, rough iron. Now, things overwhelm us. Our polyester clothes charge us with static. Weightless tupperware pings violently off our shelves.

The loss of ritual 

It’s the year 20,000 BCE. You walk from your hut to the ceremonial bonfire – your rainstick comes with you and back. 

It’s 1980. You drive from your house to your office block – your prized fountain pen moves from your briefcase to your desk, and back.

Do our disjointed, digital lives, in which we switch coffee shops every week and houses every couple of years, create a kind of chaos in which keeping things is so difficult, any attempt at permanence feels pointless?

Or are we so disconnected from our things, we just don’t really care? How many times have you lost a £1000 iPhone? A nice pair of sunglasses? A piece of jewelry? I’ll bet it’s more than once in your life.

Tools and weaponry were the beloved companions of historic humans – we died without them. 

Now, the only tools we hold are our smartphones. And we don’t love them, we’re addicted to them. It’s an abusive relationship. It’s hard to care, to feel love, for an object that’s designed to die as soon as you’ve paid it off. 

(Although, people do seem to love their Roombas… so that’s something.)

This may have been something of a preachy thinkpiece… but it’s certainly not blameful. People do what they can, and they buy what they can afford. 

In the spirit of being a little more helpful, let me share a few ideas:

A way to think

Next time you buy, try to calculate cost per use (CPU). 

Cookware is a great opportunity for this. A £50 set of pans will be burnt, scratched, and unusable in a couple of years. Ceramic or cast iron will cost 3 to 4 times as much… but last at least 10 times as long. 

A £10 supermarket lamp might break after 1000 switches. A £100 Anglepoise should endure 10,000. (If it doesn’t, we’ll fix it til either you or we no longer exist.)  

A place to shop

My new friend Tara Button was inspired to create Buy Me Once when she received a Le Creuset cast iron pot as a gift. She curates objects of beauty and durability, where each purchase can be a lifelong possession. 

Some things to buy 

A few of my top lifetime (or long-time) buys (and I’d love to hear of any favourites you have – drop us your recommendations at hello@anglepoise.com and we might feature them in the next newsletter). 

A Barbour Waxed Jacket 

• What it is: Not only do Barbours last (as long as you keep them waxed – their service centres will do it for you). But they look even better when they’ve become a bit battered / borrowed / run over with a Land Rover. 
• What it costs: From £238 (but you can find them for much less on Depop)
• Where to find it: Barbour

Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Casserole

What it is: Widely considered the most versatile piece in the Le Creuset oeuvre, this casserole (also known as a cocotte or Dutch oven) comes with a lifetime guarantee (and would probably survive nuclear war). 

What it costs: From £209

Where to find it: Le Creuset

The Vitsœ 606 Universal Shelving System

• What it is: An iconic yet utilitarian piece of design by Dieter Rams, this modular shelving system can be expanded and configured to meet your needs over time.
• What it costs: Custom pricing
• Where to find it: Vitsœ

A Dualit Classic Toaster 

• • What it is: Dualit’s 80th anniversary is approaching, and it’s well deserved – all of their ‘Classic’ range is hand-assembled in the UK, and its origins are in commercial kitchens so they’re reliably robust. Plus you can buy spare parts.

• What it costs: Classic range from £170, standard from £64.99

• Where to find it: Dualit 

Chilly’s Everyday Staples Set

• What it is: Stainless steel means durability. Included cleaning tools mean maintainability (if that’s a word). And refillability means 100 million pieces of plastic saved, according to Refill. Those well travelled on the Continent will know there are fountains everywhere, but we’re lagging in the UK – so Refill’s app shows you UK top-up spots.
• What it costs: £75 
• Where to find it: Chilly’s

An Anglepoise Lamp

• What it is: An iconic British design offering adjustable lighting with a classic aesthetic. (Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it.)
• What it costs: From £115 
• Where to find it: Anglepoise

Thank you for reading my ramblings. 

I’d love to hear what you think, or any “lifetime buy” recommendations you have. Drop us a message at hello@anglepoise.com.

Love,

Simon

To mark the anniversary of the Original 1227 design, Anglepoise will unveil a new limited numbered edition of 400 pieces of the lamp. It will have a unique hand polished metal finish, hand-spun aluminium and contrasting brass components. It comes complete with a burgundy twisted cord cable. The machined brass fork block will carry an individually etched number on the back. Additionally, there will also be a specially designed 90th Celebratory logo etched into one of the steps of the base. During Milan Design Week this new edition will be on display, along with artefacts from the Anglepoise archive. These illustrate the brand’s storied history.

Visually unchanged since its introduction in the 1930s, the Original 1227 lamp, designed by George Carwardine, remains a signature product. It is instantly recognisable as an Anglepoise lamp. Since its creation, the lamp quickly gained iconic status. It became admired worldwide and set the standard by which other task lights are measured. An Anglepoise lamp’s practical, problem-solving design, balletic engineering and ability to place light exactly where you want it, has made it an unparalleled companion to creative endeavors. Over the years it has illuminated the studios of Pablo Picasso, Barbara Hepworth and Roald Dahl, amongst many others.

“The lamp’s lasting appeal lies in the fact that it solves a genuine problem and has no frivolous parts. Its anthropomorphic form gives it a certain charm, too. It moves like a human being; it is that quirkiness, along with technical perfection, that makes the lamp inherently British.” ~ Simon Terry, Custodian and fifth generation owner of Anglepoise.

NEW … Summer Colour is here. It’s time to add a burst of colour with our new 90 Mini Mini Vivid Collection

We have already begun our 90th celebrations this year. Which will include a number of events and product launches to celebrate the occasion. With spring in the air at the start of March we felt it was the perfect time to launch this collection.

The 90 Mini Mini range has become a key product in our range, and its smaller and more flexible configuration, with it’s use of USB as a power source increasing the options for where it can be used and also allow it to be dimmable. This product has certainly increased in popularity over the last couple of years with our customers . These bright versions in Avocado Green, Sunburnt Orange and Turquoise Blue have been treated a little differently to reflect our heritage and pull three colours straight from a product range we did in the 1970’s. Whilst bringing the treatment bang up to date. With smart black components including the springs, bolts and spring hanger working to enhance the bright colours and an off-white inner reflector to increase the light output, and pulling the design together.

“From office staple to style icon”

Anglepoise marks 90 years since the launch of the Original 1227 desk lamp, at Milano Design Week with an installation which pays tribute to the brand’s core values and signature playfulness. Anglepoise unveils a stripped back 1227 in polished aluminum with brass components, to mark the anniversary, as well as a collection of iconic 90 Mini Mini lamps in three new vibrant and nostalgic colourways.

We shall be exhibiting between the 7-12 April 2025 at Brera Props
Via Statuto, 8 – Milano. And shall be open from 9:30am until 7:00pm.

Join us for an informal talk at 2pm daily with the 5th Generation Custodian of Anglepoise Simon Terry. Sharing anecdotes and stories from the last 90 years. 

We will also be celebrating with aperitivo from 5pm each day.

We look forward to seeing you there and if you need to reach out in advance of event to our reginal Sales Managers then please do so:

Ed Lanwarne, el@anglepoise.com (UK)
Jeanne Duquenne, jd@anglepoise.com (EMEA)
Rob Sargent, rcs@anglepoise.com (USA)

Looking forward to seeing you there. And you can find the location here