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The Classic Möbius Brings a Unique Twist to Lighting

02.24.17 | By
The Classic Möbius Brings a Unique Twist to Lighting

It’s been almost a year ago since we first heard from designer Eduardo Umaña. He said he wanted a bit of our time to talk about time itself – specifically keeping it with the minimalist timepiece he designed as an expression and homage to Scandinavian simplicity, the Classic Engineering VARIO. He’s returned with an unexpected follow-up, a lamp called the Classic Möbius.

Named after the Möbius strip – the head-scratch inducing one-sided, twisted and nonorientable surface cylinder – Umaña’s most unusual light is sculpted carefully by hand using ceramic-like composite material strips first heated, then twisted and bent around a cork-base. Within each strip is incorporated an array of neutral white 4000K LEDs; the cork base houses a microphone and custom programmed microprocessor responsible for the light’s most novel “twist”: whistle-controlled on/off operation.

As much as we like app-connected, smart home lighting technology, there’s a refreshing simplicity proposed by Umaña’s solution here. No apps, no wi-fi, no Bluetooth, or any extra device required. All you need to know is how to whistle, an auditory cue more playful than voice-activated conversations, and instantly quicker than app-based controls.

And for those less capable at the art of whistling – seductively, loudly or otherwise – the $2,300 Classic Möbius can be fine tuned to listen more attentively with just a turn of a crystal dial, permitting even the weakest puckered blowers to light up their lives and rooms with a single note.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.