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Draft:Studio K lamp

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The Studio K lamp[a] is a balanced-arm lamp designed by Bill (William[2]) Iggulden and first manufactured by Planet Lighting in 1962.[1][3] The lamp won the 1964 Australian Design Award[2][1] and is one of few Australian objects[4]: p.3  to be displayed in the Louvre and the New York Museum of Modern Art.[1] It is stored in the Sydney Powerhouse Museum collection[1] and introduced thousands of Australians to modern design.[5]

The lamp is suited for use in study and living spaces.[5]

Design

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The lamp is an adaptation of the parallegram spring balance arm in the Anglepoise lamp designed in 1932.[1] The designer of the lamp Bill Iggulden was conscious developing an Australian design sensibility to show the world and be proud of.[4]: 3 

The lamp has a flat, square metal base with swivel in the centre. A toggle switch controls the lamp. The base is attached to the arm via two metial springs.[1] The metal bulb cover creates a concentrated pool of light suitable for working.[6]

The lamp was available in at least cream, brown, black, red, orange[7], white[8] and chrome.[9]

The design of the lamp was virtually unchanged for 30 years.[4]: p.1  Replacement switches for the lamp are still produced.[10]

Reception and awards

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The Studio K lamp has received praise from designers and architects[5][11]: web , and a 2003 journal article claimed the lamp was an Australian urban design item.[4]: title [12]

Two years after it's release, 1964 the Studio K Planet lamp won the Australian Design Award.[2][1] It has also won the Prince Philip Design Prize.[13][self-published source]

In 2002 a design panel[b] deemed the Studio K lamp one of 20 great Australian design icons, the only lamp to be included.[5]

In 2003, the lamp was frequently found in bedrooms, offices, and frequently mounted to drawing boards of designers"[4]: p.1 

In 2012 it was featured at Vivid Sydney to celebrate the 50th anniversary.[14] The lamp has featured in advertising campaigns for the Australian Design Awards program.[2]

In 2009, the lamp was exhibited in the Victorian State of Design Festival 2009.[15][self-published source]. It was included in the 2019 exhibition 100 Objects - Australian design at home, at the Mid-century modern residence Walsh Street House designed by architect Robin Boyd.[16]

In November 2025, Monocle published the Studio K desk lamp as design 36 of an article titled "Around the world in 40 designs: The best furniture, country by country". It was the first item in the Australia section.[6]

History

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Planet Lighting was originally an engineering company known as Bentley Manufacturing Company founded in Melbourne by W.A Iggluden[17] in 1911.[4]: 2 [18] The company designed and manufactured the 'Speedscrew' Floor Clamp in the 1920s, the Bently Fibro Cutter in the 1930s and the 'I' series task light in the 1940s.[1][4]: 2 [18] A lighting division of the Bentley Manufacturing Company called Planet Products was established by the founder's two sons, W.P. and J.M. Iggulden.[18][1]

According to John Igguldon (his brother), Bill initially perceived himself to be an inventor rather than an industrial designer.[4][19] As young brothers they joined the family company and work on the production line were allowed to seek out their own design jobs.

The first lamp designed by Bill Iggulden and produced by the company was a self-balanced table lamp called the "Orbit"[18] (1938[1][18] or 1939[4]: 3 ). The Orbit was replaced by the I series lamp, which was then manufactured for almost 60 years[1] (or still in production 60 years later[18]), and was visually recognisably similar to the Studio K lamp.[18] Bill's brother believed one earlier project - a redesigned window for a caravan manufacturer with a spring-balanced mechanism - helped with the first Orbit lighting design of 1939.[4]: 3 [1]

During World War II, Bentley-Planet planet company was involved in wartime manufacturing[1] and afterwards returned to lighting design and manufacture.[1][4]: 3  Bill was developing at this time as a poet, photographer and painter.[4]: 3 

In 1952 Bill Iggulden designed the "FSC" Desk Lamp.[18]

The most significant lamp produced by Planet Lighting is the Studio K.[1] Early Melbourne support for sales was given by the Myer department store, which also suggested colours for the lamp.[4]: 3 

The lamp was manufactured for 40 years (or over 30 years[18]), selling between 100 and 200 units per day.[5]

In 1974 the company moved from Melbourne to Bellingen, New South Wales.[c][4]: 3  The Planet Lamp factory produced more lamps in Bellingen than Melbourne.[20]

In 1976, the lamp was advertised in Papua New Guinea newspapers at a cost of K39.00.[21] It was also advertised in Australian newspapers.[22]

Planet Lighting planned to release a limited edition Studio K for Christmas 2002 at a cost of about $100.[5] The lamp was to be re-released in 2003[4]: 1  with a powder-coated paint finish rather than an oven baked finish.[4]: 3  As of 2003, the Director and CEO of Planet Lighting is Brett Iggulden, the son of Bill Iggulden.[4]: 3 

Notes

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  1. ↑ The lamp is also called the Series K[1]
  2. ↑ The panel was composed of Rina Bernabei (industrial design senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales), Eddie Butler-Bowden (curator at the Museum of Victoria), Philip Graham (the owner of White Elephant in Melbourne, selling 1950s and '60s artifacts), Dr Simon Jackson (Industrial Design lecturer at the Swinburne University of Technology), Christopher Menz (senior curator in decorative arts at the National Gallery of Victoria), Debbie Rudder (exhibition curator at the Powerhouse Museum), Anne Watson (design curator at the Powerhouse Museum), Sarah Wilson (communications and development manager at the Object: Australian Design Centre).[5]
  3. ↑ A blog claims after 97 years in Melbourne, the family owned company moved to NSW.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Damian McDonald (curator) (September 2017). "Series K desk lamp, c.1970". Powerhouse Museum. Archived from the original on 2026-02-11. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ian Wong (2020-06-25). "Iconic Australian Design" (PDF). Launceston: Design Tasmania. p. 23,24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-07-27. Designed by Bill Iggulden the Studio K desk lamp is iconic Australian industrial design and was first manufactured in 1962. Awarded an Australian Design Award in 1964, the Studio K proudly featured in advertising campaigns for the Design Awards program and always had the classic blue ADA swing tag with the stylised 'A' logo, designed by Brian Sadgrove.
  3. ↑ Iggulden, Bill; Planet Lighting (1962), Series K desk lamp, retrieved 2026-02-11
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Jackson, Simon (2003-01-01). "PLANET 'Studio K' lamp - making the case for an 'urban' design icon". Curve (3). Beesting Publishing: 34–37. doi:10.25916/sut.26258138.v1. ISSN 1446-4829.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Angus Holland (2002-08-08). "Design down under - Our list of 20 great Australian icons - chosen by an expert panel - is full of surprises" (PDF). The Sydney Morning Herald. pp. 6, 7, 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-05-04. Retrieved 2026-02-11. Not everybody could afford a Harry Seidler house or a Featherston chair in the 6os, but they could buy a Studio K light. A simple, elegant model with a high-tech look to its springs and balances, it introduced thousands of Australians to modern design and was handy in the study, in the living room - anywhere, really. It came in dozens of colours, too. No wonder it sold so well; designed by Bill Iggulden in 1960, it was manufactured for 40 years, selling between 100 and 200 a day. The Planet company plans to release a limited edition Studio K for Christmas 2002 for about $100. "So many people bought it and enjoyed it," says Simon Jackson. "I have two in my home."
  6. 1 2 Carolina Abbott Galvão; Fiona Wilson; Désirée Bandli; Marta Fernandez Canut (November 2025). "Around the world in 40 designs: The best furniture, country by country". Monocle. Retrieved 2026-02-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 1 2 Ned's Blog (2014-03-15). "'Studio K' Lamp (1962)". Archived from the original on 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  8. ↑ "Planet lamp Studio K". Dulwich Hill, Sydney: Juliet's Balcony. n.d. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16 – via National Library of Australia. Original white Studio K Planet angelpoise lamp in good condition. Price: $130
  9. ↑ "Planet Studio K desk lamp in chrome". Artepodean. Archived from the original on 2018-03-14 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ "Double Pole Push Button Switch". Rodusi Hertage Lighting. Richmond, Melbourne. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  11. ↑ "1962 The studio K lamp". Australian House & Garden. 2008-11-06. Archived from the original on 2010-05-01.
  12. ↑ Lucy Feagins (2010-09-24). "spring bulbs". The Age. p. 96.
  13. ↑ Fun and VJS (2013-11-11). "Planet Lamp". Archived from the original on 2026-02-11. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  14. ↑ "VIVID 2012 - 50 YEARS OF DESIGN ICON STUDIO K". Planet Lighting. 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  15. ↑ Ian Wong (2011-10-08). "Planet Lamp - Australian design icon". Industrian Design in Victoria.
  16. ↑ Pia Sinha (2019-10-02). "A date with design: 100 Objects - Australian design at home". IndesignLive. Archived from the original on 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
  17. ↑ "Iggulden, J.M". Trove. 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2026. Michael Bogle (2012-06-05). "'Iggulden, J.M.'". Design & Art Australia Online. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "90 Years of Company History". Planet Lighting. 2003. Archived from the original on 2003-10-21.
  19. ↑ "(January 1971 Issue)". DESIGN Australia. January 1971.
  20. ↑ Director: Robert Francis, Ron Iddon. Producer: Robert Francis, Ron Iddon. Executive Producer: John Sparkes. (1982). Promised Land. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. In the early 1970s, Jack Iggulden took the big step of moving his manufacturing business from Melbourne to Bellingen on the north coast of New South Wales, to escape city pollution, and because he believed workers would respond better to a more pleasant environment. The move has been successful, both personally and financially. Today the Planet Lamp factory turns out more lamps, more efficiently, than it ever did in Melbourne, and the Iggulden family enjoy a lifestyle that most Australians would envy. (ABC Documentary)
  21. ↑ Brian Bell & Co Pty Ltd (advertisment) (10 December 1976). "Shop at the Xmax Store!". Papua New Guinea Post-courier. International, Australia. p. 21. Retrieved 28 September 2026 – via National Library of Australia. Planet lamp. The Planet "Studio K" lamp moves easily and gracefully, directing light where you need it. In all colours. K39.00.
  22. ↑ "Light up a life planet this Christmas", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W, 1978-12-05, ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-1589772944, retrieved 28 September 2026 – via Trove, give a Planet Studio K desk or standard lamp a lifetime gift of great distinction. AVAILABLE FROM ENLIGHTENED RETAILERS.
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