7 Lamps Illuminate the Roots of the Maker Movement

Scottish-born designer, Dean Brown, sees strong connections between the Arts & Crafts Movement of the late 1800s – early 1900s and today’s Maker Movement. One of the visionaries behind Arts & Crafts was John Ruskin. In 1849, Ruskin wrote The 7 Lamps of Architecture, which served as something of a manifesto to the movement. Brown cleverly explores the relationship between these two movements via a series of seven actual, documented lamp projects, featuring today’s DIY tools and materials, while drawing on Ruskin’s Arts & Crafts edicts for design and building inspiration. Brown writes:

The 7 Lamps of Making re-visits John Ruskin’s essay The 7 Lamps of Architecture, as a guide for 21st century making – translating 19th century craft theory into a contemporary design project. Ruskin used the word “Lamps“ to mean guides. These “Lamps” are objectified as tangible examples of the 7 guides in practice – as critical objects that embody the enduring principles of good craftsmanship.

You can read about the details on the 7 Lamps website here.