Home / Commissions
Bring your own object
A commission starts with something you already own. A parent’s phone, a grandfather’s camera, the thing in the attic nobody can throw away. Tell me the story, send a photo or two, and I’ll tell you honestly if it can become a light.
Not sure which?
You have the object: you’re in the right place.
You want a piece I’ve already made, for a venue or a project: that’s For venues.
How a commission works
Five steps, from your first message to the light on your table.
You send photos and the story
Front, back, and something for size. Tell me as much or as little as you like.
You get an honest answer
If and how it can become a light. Often I can tell from the photos, before it leaves your home.
I see the object
Bring it to the studio, or send photos first.
I design the setting and build it
By hand, in brass, at the bench in Friedrichshain.
It is wired, tested and handed back
New cables and sockets, tested, then it is yours again.
Some objects can’t become a safe light. If yours is one of them, I’ll say so.
What it costs
Quoted once I’ve seen the object, because every one is different.
How long it takes
Usually one to three weeks. Longer if I have to hunt for, or order, a special part or metal.
Lamps I made from other people’s objects
Three of the commissions so far, and six more if you want them: some from an object someone brought me, some made to fit a place.
Two telephones from a cellar
Two people clearing out their cellars brought me their old telephones instead of throwing them away. Both are lamps now.
A camera nobody used any more
An analogue camera, now a lamp with an arm that points anywhere. A good present for a photographer.
A thank-you lamp
She gave me many good things from her grandfather’s cellar. I found this drill among them and made her a thank-you lamp.
See six more commissions
A grandmother’s jewellery box
A tattoo artist gave me her grandmother’s old, broken jewellery box. Now it hangs in her tattoo studio.
A grandfather’s tool shed
For a family’s lake house I made lamps from the tools in their grandfather’s tool shed. They ordered them for the house: the French Pump, the Dancing Sprayer and a Brenner wall lamp of their own.
A pesticide pump for a bathroom
For the same house, an old French pesticide pump became the bathroom light, with three spots.
A teapot on a column
A glass teapot on a tall brass column, made into a standing lamp.
My first commission
A grandfather’s hand drill with three bulbs, each on its own switch, so the light can be soft or bright.
Brass for a wall
Plant holders of brass rods, made to fit the wall they hang on, for pots or air plants, indoors or out.
From my own family, too: Pappa’s Pipe, made from my father’s pipes
Will you drill into it?
And the other things people ask before they hand over something precious.
Will you damage it?
Turning an object into a light means running a cable through it and fixing it to a setting. I tell you what I plan to change before I start, and nothing happens without your yes.
Can I have it back if it can’t be done?
It is your object, so yes. Often I can tell from the photos, before it ever leaves your home.
Can it be a gift?
Yes. Put the date you are aiming for in the form and I’ll tell you honestly if it is possible.
I run a cafe and we have our own object
Then it is a commission too, and the venues page can help with the rest of the room. One Object, One Venue.
Tell me about your object
A few lines about the object are enough to start.
Prefer to show it in person? Ask for a studio visit and bring it along. Messing Around, Frankfurter Allee 6, 10247 Berlin-Friedrichshain.