Meet me Monday.

Meet me Monday-
mini interviews with creative folk!

This gorgeous lamp graces my home, its one of my favourite things and comes from lamp maker, musician and blog writer Michael Swifte..

'I am an obsessed op-shopper always looking for something new to do with the things I find.

When I discovered lamps could be made with more heat sensitive materials due to the new energy efficient CFL bulbs, I began to make use of old glass, metal and plastic ceiling shades, teak bowls, melamine pieces, drawer knobs, napkin rings, polypropylene sheets, side tables and just about anything else...

I enjoy using the familiar and attractive colours, textures and shapes of items from the 60s,70s and 80s. I am interested in using items of a durable nature-one left from part of a set or surface damaged, and so not of interest to 2nd hand dealers.
A particular favourite place is the Lifeline supa store at Woolloongabba.

I try to make lamps match the decor of the modern home. I feel this mixes mod, deco, Victorian and minimal European styling.

My favourite creation is a lamp called 'F Box" I constructed it from a rectangular teak bowl with a stylised F hole cut into it, backed with a polypropylene diffuser, which was bought by a violinist friend.'

Aside from lamp making and op shopping, Swifte writes other blogs on varied topics ;one for his borrowed citreon car(pictured above),
many music ones and one with the attention grabbing title of http://theageofwarlordscookbook.blogspot.com/
which caught the eye of someone Michael very much admires..

'I've been asked to write an essay for a book to be called the Future we deserve.
The book is the brainchild of Vinay Gupta who invented the Hexayurt (cheap and light weight house design used for Haiti earth quake survivors) http://hexayurt.com/
Vinay is curating the submissions and likes my blog, particularly the title The age of warlords cook book. This blog is about the future of food and violence, looking at the experiences of people during various wars to shed light on the lessons we may need to learn in the future...Vinay Gupta challenges green groups to create cultural contingency plans for a possible bleak future.'

I admire Michaels beautiful and transformative use of found objects.
His lamps will soon be available in a new shop opening in West end, I will update as it happens.
In the meantime you can contact him and check out his lamps here...http://lampitup.blogspot.com/
cheers Kate

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and photographs Michael.