The avant-garde lighting firms YLighting and Flos are kicking off 2012 with the Pattern Play Design Contest, which is a competition that asks designers from around the world to create works that incorporate the lacy pattern found in one of the company's newest light fixtures, the Can Can pendant lamp (left) by Marcel Wanders.
You should know the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders by now, and we think you'll agree with us that the new pendant light is very much 'him', from the minimalist-style exterior to the whimsical motif on the inside. That much we expected. What we didn't expect was to see so many amazing submissions for the contest from designers on different ways to use the Can Can's trellis-like motif. The concepts for using the pattern range from quirky and cool (on bicycle wheels) to questionable (in a waffle maker, as an umbrella) to absolutely awe-inspiring (as windows for a Gothic cathedral, on the London Eye ferris wheel).
The entries are all in now and the judging by YLighting, Flos and Marcel begins. We haven't been able to stop flipping through all the great ideas ourselves and can't wait to find out who the winner will be on February 1st. To take a look at the fantastic (and sometimes out-of-the-box) submissions, check out YLighting's Pattern Play Design Contest tumblr here.