Product story: Monk

The Monk table lamp was developed by the Cologne designer Peter Otto Vosding in cooperation with the Recozy design studio. This stylish table lamp embodies a successful composition of two geometric bodies and is characterised by its slim, upright shape.

Sketch of the Monk table lamp.

In creating the Monk, not only did the form-finding play a role, but the resulting light cone was also necessary, as well as the stability and functionality. A successful lamp should not only be used as a simple table lamp, but rather it should create a unique ambience in a wide variety of rooms and functions, whether as a direct light source as a desk lamp or used for indirect lighting on a side table, on the shelf or the sideboard - table lamps should primarily be simple helpers in everyday life and at the same time create a cosy, distinctive feeling of living.

The shape of the Monk embodies a successful combination of simplicity and function and is the ideal companion for the limited space in the home office. The process and the production technique determine the geometry: two cones form the lampshade and the base and merge seamlessly into one part. Thus, the entire product is perfectly adapted to the additive manufacturing process and can be printed seamlessly in one pass. The present composition of the Monk not only combines geometry and function in a small symbolic table lamp - the pose of the light personifies in abstract form a monk deep in prayer.

The light cone of the LED lamp throws a cone-shaped beam of light onto the surface in front of it. As a result, the Monk can not only be used as a technical desk lamp but also fits perfectly in a living room on a sideboard or as a reading lamp next to the sofa. Due to its symbolic, playful shape, the Monk is also suitable as a little helper in the children's room.

A portrait photo of the Cologne designer Peter Otto Vosding.

About the designer:

VOSDING Industrial Design is an office for industrial design in Cologne. The founder, Peter Otto Vosding, was born in Wiesbaden in 1990. He studied industrial design in Darmstadt and product design and process development in Cologne. He went to the Ingvar Kamprad Design Centrum (IKDC), Lund University in Sweden, for an exchange semester – a grant from the IKEA Foundation. He completed internships at Squareone GmbH in Düsseldorf and the design duo Kaschkasch in Cologne during his studies. 2017, he founded VOSDING Industrial Design and was recognised as a German Design Award Newcomer Finalist.

Today, the office works for international customers, focusing on furniture, lighting and consumer goods. Always following the phrase: "Every new product should be better than the alternative. For our work, this means: Design must expand."