Modernica, maker of those beloved George Nelson Bubble lamps, announced that it is bringing back the Bubble's cousin, the Net.
In 1959, the Net Light rolled out to not exactly a fervor. Fewer than 1,000 of the lights were produced before the design slipped into midcentury obscurity. Helping the design's chances for a comeback this time around is a ready market of Nelson devotees and midcentury design fans looking for something a bit different from the now-ubiquitous Bubble.
Whereas the Bubble lamps take their shape from metal skeletons, the Net silhouette emerges when fine netting is stretched over a series of metal rings. A Modernica spokeswoman said both lamps get the same plastic coating, so even though the Net has a different texture, its finished shade is a hard shell, just like the Bubble.
A page from a vintage catalog shows how the Net was designed to be configured with different rings in different ways, but Modernica is selling just one model to start: a 38-inch-tall pendant regularly priced at $525, shipping included. Any future variations in size and shape will depend on customer feedback, the spokeswoman said.
