RDD 10 in Pendant Light | Blackjack Lighting

RDD gathers three of Blackjack's Tall Cone pendants under one 10-inch round canopy and lets them fall at different heights. Each cone is a long, needle-thin taper of cast aluminum, widest at the bottom where a small ring of light glows, and the three are arranged in a loose triangle so their tips never line up. The result is a cluster that reads like three brushstrokes hanging in the air: vertical, sharp and slightly irregular.

The form is all about line and proportion. Because the integrated LED sits at the very base of each cone behind a frosted light guide, the bodies stay slim and dark while the light concentrates in three bright points near the bottom, aimed down onto the table or counter beneath. Over a dining table, a bar or a stair well, the staggered drop creates depth from every angle. Matte Black gives the strongest graphic contrast, White softens the cones against pale walls, and Polished Chrome turns each taper into a thin reflective needle.

Design notes

• Three lines, three heights: Tall Cone pendants set in a random-height pattern under one canopy.
• Needle-thin form: each cast aluminum cone tapers to a 1 in (2.5 cm) base, keeping the cluster light and vertical.
• Light at the tip: a frosted light guide at the base of each cone gives a focused downward glow.
• Quality of light: 612 lumens in total at 3000K and 90 CRI, enough to spotlight a table or counter.
• One clean canopy: a 10 in (25.4 cm) round canopy, 2.1 in (5.3 cm) deep, gathers all three cables.

Specifications

Downloads

• RDD specification sheet (PDF)
• RDD 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!" RDD shows how slender a pendant can become once the source is an LED: three tapering lines, each tipped with light.

Questions

What is the design idea behind RDD?

It composes three Tall Cone pendants into one fixture, hung at different heights from a single round canopy, so the cluster reads as a set of vertical lines with light at their tips.

Which Blackjack collection is it from?

RDD is part of the Spec Series and is built from the maker's Tall Cone pendant, a cast aluminum taper with a frosted light guide at its base.

Which finish should I choose?

Matte Black draws the sharpest silhouette against light walls and windows; White lets the cones fade into a pale room so the points of light stand out; Polished Chrome reflects the space around it for a finer, glinting look.

How much light does it give, and can it be dimmed?

612 lumens of 3000K, 90 CRI light, focused downward with enough output to spotlight a table or counter. The driver in the canopy accepts TRIAC, ELV and 0-10V dimming.

What warranty does it carry?

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