04 — Stuck in a Lamp Head

Sometimes the smallest addition can give a simple, functional object more character.

I bought one of these IKEA NYMÅNE floor lamps a couple of years ago just because I love the way it looked. However, the bulbs that came with it were a little too strong and not diffused for my tastes.

To be honest, I could’ve bought a different bulb, but it didn't cross my mind at all. After a sudden, albeit random decision to stuff an unused coin holder prototype into one of the lamp head, it sparked some amusement within me and I thought it was a great opportunity to instill some fun into it.

A series of 3D printed character-like caps that just got “stuck” into the lamp heads was the first idea that came to my head, and the one I favored the most.

So I took some measurements, did some sketches, and cadded them out on Rhino. The ones that had legs on them were the ones I found the most interesting, each giving its own emotion of the character that’s “stuck”. The emotion that each character displays could be shown in “how” they were stuck.

I thought they came out nicely. Like cartoon characters getting stuck trying to fit into spaces narrower than they are. There’s a little bit of lightheartedness whenever I turn on the lamp.

So now I have at least two “Stuck Ones” in the room, and if I get more of these lamps, there may be more.

That being said, “Stuck Ones” seems quite fitting for a name, don’t you think?

ISSUE 04 — 22.10.2025