Velo Pendant Light | Blackjack Lighting

Velo is a glass cylinder with a line of light at its heart. A clear, hand-blown glass drum, 5.5 inches across and 6.5 inches tall, hangs from a slim socket; down its center runs a narrow glowing rod just over an inch wide. There is no bulb and no shade, only the glass and the light, and you can see straight through one to the other.

Because the glass is clear, Velo changes with its surroundings. Against a dark wall it holds a single bright filament of light inside a glinting outline; against daylight it nearly disappears. The rod is a tall clear diffuser lit by an integrated LED, so the light is soft and even along its length rather than concentrated in a point. The small socket and canopy come in Matte Black or Polished Chrome, giving either a sharp dark accent or a quiet flash of metal above the glass.

Design notes

• Light within glass: a slim, tall diffuser glows inside a clear glass cylinder, so the light is framed rather than hidden.
• Hand-blown glass: each cylinder is clear hand-blown glass.
• Calm proportion: 5.5 in (14 cm) wide by 6.5 in (16.5 cm) tall, with a 1.1 in (2.8 cm) light rod and a 2 in (5.1 cm) socket.
• Two outputs: 3 W and 133 lumens for single canopies, or 2 W and 86 lumens for Multi-Port and JackTrack groups.
• Four mountings: 5 in canopy with integrated driver, 2.5 in fascia canopy, Multi-Port connector or JackTrack adapter.

Specifications

Downloads

• Velo 5 in specification sheet (PDF)
• Velo installation instructions (PDF)
• Velo 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!" Velo puts it on display: a slim rod of LED light standing inside clear glass, with nothing in the way between the eye and the source.

Questions

What is the idea behind Velo?

To show the light rather than hide it. A slim glowing rod stands inside a clear glass cylinder, so the pendant reads as glass and light, nothing more.

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.

Which finish, output and mounting should I choose?

Matte Black gives a crisp dark accent above the glass; Polished Chrome is lighter and more reflective. For a single pendant, choose 3 W on the 5 in canopy (driver included) or the slim 2.5 in canopy (separate driver). For groups on a Multi-Port canopy or JackTrack, the maker recommends 2 W.

How does the light look, and can it be dimmed?

Soft and even along the central rod, at 3000K and 90 CRI, with the clear glass adding reflections around it. It dims on TRIAC, ELV or 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.