Magnetic Ball wall lamp by Benny Frandsen • Mid-Century

By A Mystery Man Writer

Description

Famous magnetic Ball wall lamp designed by Benny Frandsen in the late 1960s, the lamp that led to the founding of the ABO Randers A/S company. It is in a very good shape, with only small age-related traces. This wall light enroll in both the Scandinavian Modern and Space Race aesthetics, being an icon of European design in the second half of the 20th century. Benny Frandsen (b. 1941, named after jazz-clarinetist Benny Goodman) is a Danish designer and lighting producer. He was educated as an electronics engineer but his passion was to design light. By 1966, he had already designed some lamps for a discotheque, and then Frandsen tried to convince his boss to start a lighting production, but no luck. Afterwards, Benny Frandsen established Frandsen Lamps in 1968, by himself, and was located in his home in Skanderborg in Jutland. He designed geometric lamps, but the business was slow. Frandsen discovered that, the Danes wanted round lamps and not geometric lamps, so he began designing a round light instead. Here emerges the ultimate round lamp, a ball that was attached to a wall bracket with a magnet. This was a game changer for Frandsen. Everybody wanted the Ball wall lamp with magnet. Since then, there has been made many variations of this Ball lamp. In 1972, Frandsen starts a factory in Skanderborg, to keep up with the many requests. But by 1993 the company is sold to the Frits Concern, whom merges the lighting production with Lyskilde. This led to Frandsen winning the role of the director, under the new company name, Frandsen Lyskilde. Eventually Benny Frandsen buys the company back in 1996, as the Frits Concern closes, and reestablishes Frandsen Lighting.