A family of Good Night Lamps

Yesterday I received a box I had been very much looking forward to: My family of Good Night Lamps (GNLamp for short).

If you’re not familiar with GNLamp, it’s a family of connected lamps – if you switch on the big one, the little one(s) light up, no matter where in the world they are. It’s social lighting, and it’s lovely.

And it’s the brainchild of my good friend and frequent collaborator Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, who I honestly think has single handedly has done more for the world of connected products and internet of things (#iot) than anyone. The GNLamp is just one manifestation of her efforts.

The basic idea of GNLamp is to connect families across space & time: While you live abroad, you can send a subtle social signal to your grandma back at home; a sailor letting his daughter know he thinks of her through a light on her night stand. It’s subtle, simple, powerful.

It’s also a great way to think about , which all too often reeks a bit of cold industrial machines rather than the warmth of social interactions.

To me personally, it’s also more than that. GNLamp also led me to a close friendship (I first stumbled over Alex’s idea back in 2007, if my blog post’s date is correct), Alex’s journey in getting it from idea to production has provided much inspiration and triggered countless conversations throughout these years.

And on top of all that, we now have a gorgeous set of lamps in our home, and I couldn’t be happier.

Thank you, Alex, and best of luck with the next steps!

2 Comments

Nice. But with whom are you going to share the lamp? ;-) And I like “cold industrial machines rather than the warmth of social interactions” -> “Industrie 4.0” – Jawoll! Schrecklich ;-)

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