Welcome to “Weekend Warriors.” Every Friday, we run a shining example of a reader’s recent makings—to say TGIF and send you off right into your own weekend’s projects.
RM reader Drus Dryden of New Zealand sent us some beautifully documented plans for an original design of his–a hat stand that is also a lamp (and in which your hat doubles as a shade).
Drus writes:
During the day you wear your hat, when the sun goes down and the light go up, your hat protects your eyes from the lamp’s harmful rays.
There is a slight fire hazard, but this could be easily averted by using a low heat bulb, and making sure that the hat is separated from the bulb by the light-bulb protector. I would also advise cutting a hole in the top of the hat, or using a hat with holes in it already, to allow heat to escape. Obviously certain hats are better for this than others; I’m all about the Straw Hat lampshade myself.
To make a Hat Stand Lamp, you will need:
• An old hat
• A low heat light bulb, such as a CFL bulb
• A lamp base
• An old lamp shade
Steps:
1. Remove the shade from an old lampshade, to expose the metal skeleton of the lampshade.
2. Screw the shade into an appropriate lamp base.
3. Cut a hole in the top of an appropriate hat, and put it on the skeleton of the lampshade.
4. Flick the swtich!
Right: “The Fidel”
Drus admits to being inspired by the business shirt lampshade from Droog Design. Personally, I think it would be neat to see a René Magritte version:
If you’ve completed a project that you’d like to see featured on Weekend Warriors, don’t be shy—send it to us.
