Do you know what I think about architects? That they are among the most dangerous people in the world, about as dangerous as doctors, especially surgeons… Not to hold you up too much, I’ll tell you why: because if they fatally make some mistake, it is very difficult, often impossible to correct. I obviously smile while composing this tiny irony, nevertheless both these groups have is quite an impressive power to “change”. Architects are fascinating people and passionate architects are even more so! Not just because they have loads of information, they are basically a handy universal casebook, but also because the ideas of such architects can easily take shape and turn into something concrete.
Eliza Jurca is exactly SUCH an architect! She is one of the most creative people I’ve ever met! I think there is no area of creativity she couldn’t explore, so she did not hesitate to create… 7LAMPS! Yes, lamps with on&off and everything a lamp has got, but these are also environment friendly, to top it off. Of course she did not just make seven… I think most fascinating was the idea of turning the material of the lampshade into a special, unique object. Through recycling, our lamps, looking like dinosaur egg shells, are reborn from scraps of paper from Idea Design&Print in Cluj Napoca. Thank you, Tim Nădășan, for your help😊. The message is pretty simple, I guess: recycle creatively. If you are creative, you can make beautiful things out of nothing.
As for the brand identity, as I was saying… Architects usually tend to do just about anything related to design (clothing, object, etc.) so I jumped into making the logo. I started working on the website, but time wouldn’t let me finish…
I asked Eliza how she came to 7LAMPS, both as name and as project: The number seven had various sacred meanings throughout the cultures of the world, from the creation of the world to the ancient symbols of Judaism. God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day he rested, the Greek philosopher Pythagoras considered that seven is the “vehicle” of life, symbolizing the union of spirit and matter – the combination of 3 (the triple nature of the spirit) with the four elements of matter (earth, air, fire and water). There are 7 musical notes, the week has 7 days, the Hindu universe has 7 worlds, there are 7 heavens and seven lands in the Islamic tradition and 7LAMPS made in Cluj😊. 7LAMPS was born during my maternity leave that coincided with a return, in 2013, to Romania, after 8 years spent in Canada. In a city completely new to me (I was more connected to Bucharest) I took advantage of the professional break and together with Laura Cristina Pop (a philologist and a repatriated Canadian) we started to “play” with the idea of creating a product which we can sell, which we can manufacture on our own, using recycled material. We have experimented with various materials (metal, grandmother’s lace etc.), we tried to work with various local craftsmen in the metal trade (unfortunately without success) and finally we picked paper and used the paper-maché technique.
I hope by now you are curious enough to try a home design upgrade: Lamps can be ordered directly from us on the Facebook page 7LĂMPI. They may be white or colored, in the form of a ceiling lamp, a desk lamp or a lampstand, depending on customers’ wishes. For those in Cluj, these lamps can be seen at Demmers Teehaus (they were among our first clients), Bistro Mint, Ceramic Cafe, or Bookstory Bookstore. In Bucharest, they are to be found in several locations, including Dizainar (where they can also be bought).