Milo 48 in Vanity Light | Blackjack Lighting

Milo is a vanity light drawn with two elements and nothing else: a long, slim tube of frosted acrylic and a small rectangular plate of stamped steel that holds it off the wall. At 48 inches the tube becomes a single horizontal line of light, four feet long and only 2 inches across, floating 4 inches in front of the mirror wall on a plate barely a quarter of its length.

The frosted tube does the work. Because the LED source runs inside it, the whole length glows evenly with no visible points, giving soft, even light across a wide basin or a double vanity. The Satin Nickel backplate is the only metal on show, a brushed accent that sits naturally with taps and hardware, and it hides the driver inside so the wall stays clean. It is a quiet, architectural fixture that lets the mirror and the stone do the talking.

Design notes

• A line of light: the 48 in (122 cm) frosted acrylic tube glows evenly end to end, with no visible LEDs.
• Floating proportion: a 2 in (5 cm) tube held 4 in (10 cm) off the wall by a 12.25 in (31 cm) plate, so the light seems to hover.
• Quiet metalwork: a stamped steel backplate in Satin Nickel, 4.6 in (11.7 cm) tall and 1.3 in (3.3 cm) deep, with the driver tucked inside.
• Light for the face: 1,700 lumens at 3000K and 90 CRI, a soft, even light that renders skin and color naturally.
• Two control options: standard 120V TRIAC dimming, or 120-277V with 0-10V dimming on the deep backplate.

Specifications

Downloads

• Milo 48 in specification sheet (PDF)
• Milo 48 in installation instructions (PDF)
• Milo 48 in LM-79 photometric report (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!" Milo is that principle on the wall: a slim LED source lets the whole fixture become one glowing tube on a small metal plate.

Questions

What is the idea behind Milo?

To make a vanity light from a single line of light. A long frosted tube held off the wall by one small plate gives even light without the bulk of a traditional bath bar.

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 to make fixtures conceived for LED.

Is the 48 in the right size?

The 48 in suits wide basins, double vanities and long mirrors, where a continuous band of light avoids dark ends. Milo also comes in 24 in and 36 in lengths for single basins.

How is the light controlled?

The standard version dims on a 120V TRIAC dimmer. The 120-277V version uses 0-10V (or TRIAC and ELV) dimming. Both give 1,700 lumens at 3000K with 90 CRI.

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.