How novel. Recycle 3000 clear drinking straws, and you can make this wonderful lamp. According to designer Tim Fishlock, it takes 7 days to complete. Like it? Make your own?
The Howto
1. Tim does not give us a clue as to how it’s made other than sharing that he interconnected all straws into one continuous length.
2. As the end result is to have a 80 cm diameter, I’d begin with a slightly smaller circle. You probably want to draw a circle with this diameter on the floor and start.
3. I’d use dozens of twist ties (that you recycle from your store-bought bread bags) to secure the first few circles of the sphere. You will want to remove these ties later, but to create the initial shape, I’m pretty sure you’ll need these. I’d do about 10 circles, at various degrees, so as to make a relatively stable sphere. You may want to stop there for a day and glue all joints.
4. The next day, make another layer of the sphere, and so on.
5. In the end you may want to get creative and secure straws differently, going in and out of the various layers of the sphere.
And there you go.
Get Your Lamp Ready-Made
Make your own or order yours at TimFishlock.com, but be sure to check he uses only recycled materials (washed of course)…. Otherwise, what’s the point!
Straw Spheres for Summer? Start Recycling Today.
I can see that for a fun summer garden party, you might like to make a couple of smaller ones in fun colors, that are perhaps not as densely woven, but are more open spheres. So, that means, start saving your straws today, so you’ll have enough when summer rolls around. Get your friends and neighbors to help you collect straws. 300 is a lot of straws, let alone 3000!
Amazing & Recycled Lamps
(beyond this article)
cascading chandelier from plastic bottle bottoms
glass baby food jar chandelier
