Camden resident Lisa Tapken has a weird fascination with light bulbs. They intrigue her. She collects them. She is technically a bulb collector—and yes, there is such a thing. She does not put any of them over her head and say “I have an idea,” however. This is the story behind her obsession with light bulbs.
Light bulb Assembly [photo: 1] It all started with this big one in the middle. I found it at an antique place in New Hampshire. I loved its shape and the filaments inside. It was so delicate. And they all just started happening after that. After I found the first one, every time I’d go somewhere I’d just started noticing light bulbs in a way I hadn’t noticed them before. Bird In Bouquet [photo: 2] I started looking at these Aerolux Tube Light Bulbs online. There were some that were hundreds of dollars and they had all different logos inside them. But there were a few of these featuring what’s called “bird in bouquet,” which are essentially birds surrounded by flowers. I was so surprised when I first plugged it in. I didn’t even know it would light up. Rose [photo: 3] I just became addicted to these Aerolux bulbs and this one I bought through an artist’s site. I just loved the metal within the bulb. And when it lit up, all these colors popped out. I started researching them and found out how they were made. I think this one might be from the 1950s. They’re starting to make reproductions now, but I can’t imagine they’d be as beautiful as these old ones. Lightbulb Man [photo: 4] As you can see, I have an addiction to lamps. I used to live in a converted sail loft and I designed a whole wall of shelves 30-feet long with outlets behind it for small lamps. I’d just flip a switch and the entire shelf would come on. Anyway, the whole thing with Lightbulb Man is that I saw him in some junk store and it made me laugh. I brought it home and rewired it. I added the screw cap (the threaded base of the bulb that secures it to a lamp) and I gave him his light bulb head. Eventually, I’m going to make little lamps like night lights that plug into his tummy.
2 Comments
Joe
4/26/2011 01:34:39 am
Those are some beautiful aerolux bulbs. I especially like the bird.
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Wrath Constantine
11/28/2011 06:23:49 pm
One of the Chinese companies is called Damar. The bulbs are larger diameter but not as detailed. But you can typically find them on ebay as the "Aerolux Vintage Like" (Note the 'like' at the end). Still a fun and cheap way to get indoctrinated. But I warn you, Aerolux collecting is addictive!
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The Killer ConvoThis blog is a is a killer roundup of all arts, entertainment, brewery & distillery, food trucks, happy hour happenings in the Midcoast Maine. Feel free to email me anything about Midcoast arts, entertainment & the creative economy. Archives
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