KRANK – Hand Operated Lighting

23. Oct, 2008 Comments Off

In these dark times of credit crunches, looming unemployment and impending environmental catastrophe, every man, woman, child and dog is out there searching for things that will reduce both their expenditure and carbon emissions. Kill two birds with one stone and you’ve got a sure fire winner. Make it look pretty and the groans of pleasure emanating from the western world are likely to cause tectonic plate shifts that will undoubtedly result in large tsunamis wrecking havoc throughout many foreign lands populated by brown people with funnily spelt names.

Enter KRANK – a hand operated lighting system that embodies that combination so beloved of the design world – form and function. Designed by Texas based Efrain E. Velez, it’s still a concept, but it does appear that these nifty little lamps will be available in early 2009. Modelled on a hand drill, the lamp uses magnetic induction to create up to an hour’s worth of lighting from a few cranks of the handle.

So not only do you have a cool looking lamp, it’s also environmentally friendly and it helps you save on your energy bills! No word from the makers on the environmental impact of mining the copper needed for the whole mechanism to function, but some things are better left unsaid, ignored and swept under the carpet.

More photos after the jump

via Bad Banana Blog

via Yanko Design