LWA Linear Pendant | Blackjack Lighting

LWA arranges three white glass globes in a straight, level row beneath a slim 22-inch canopy. Each globe is 5 inches across and hangs on its own fine cable, spaced 7 inches apart, so the composition reads as three calm moons held at exactly the same height. The canopy above is a narrow bar of powder-coated steel, just 2.8 inches wide, which keeps the attention down on the glass.

The appeal is order and repetition. A level row of identical spheres is quietly architectural, especially over a rectangular table, a kitchen counter or a bar, where it echoes the line of the surface below. The white glass gives each globe an even, soft glow all round, and because the driver lives in the canopy and excess cable coils neatly inside it, nothing else interrupts the view. In Matte Black the canopy and cables draw a crisp frame around the globes; in White the whole fixture lightens and the spheres seem to float.

Design notes

• Soft, all-around glow: each white glass globe diffuses its LED evenly in every direction.
• Level composition: three 5 in (12.7 cm) globes, 7 in (17.8 cm) apart, hung at one height.
• Glass and steel: white glass globes under a powder-coated steel canopy that hides the driver and spare cable.
• Adjustable height: three 96 in cables set the globes up to 106 in below the ceiling without cutting wires.
• Two finishes: Matte Black for a graphic frame, White for a light, floating look.

Specifications

Downloads

• LWA specification sheet (PDF)
• LWA installation instructions (PDF)

Stephen Blackman and Blackjack Lighting

Blackjack Lighting is the studio of industrial designer Stephen Blackman, its President and Chief Design Officer. Trained in industrial design at Syracuse University, Blackman began his lighting career in 1984 at Sonneman Design Group, then founded Blackman Design Associates in 1988, designing decorative and architectural lighting for manufacturers including Kichler. He launched Blackjack in 2013 in suburban Chicago, now based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, to build fixtures conceived for LED from the first sketch.

His argument is that the LED should change the shape of a light, not just its efficiency. Rather than hiding a new source inside old bulb-and-shade forms, Blackjack designs around the small, flat, cool-running LED: thin discs, slim rods, glowing rings and lenses that let the light itself become the object. In his own words, "Decorative lighting by its nature is not primarily about optimizing lamp efficiency, it is primarily about decoration!" LWA keeps that decoration disciplined: three glowing spheres in a perfect line, with the hardware pared back to a thin bar.

Questions

What is the idea behind LWA?

Order through repetition: three identical white glass globes hung level from one slim canopy, so the fixture reads as a calm, precise line of light.

Who is behind Blackjack Lighting?

Industrial designer Stephen Blackman, President and Chief Design Officer, who has designed lighting since 1984 and founded Blackjack in 2013 around LED-first design.

Matte Black or White?

Matte Black outlines the canopy and cables so the arrangement reads as a deliberate graphic. White lets the hardware disappear against a white ceiling and leaves the three globes floating.

What is the light like, and how is it controlled?

A soft, decorative glow of 255 lumens in total at 3000K with a 90 CRI. The driver in the canopy dims on TRIAC, ELV and 0-10V controls.

What warranty does it carry?

Three years on the integrated LED source and LED power supply, and one year on materials and workmanship, for the original buyer in the US and Canada.