Acrylic Globe 3 in Pendant Light | Blackjack Lighting

Acrylic Globe is lighting reduced to a single point. A 3-inch sphere of optical acrylic hangs beneath a slim 2-inch socket cap, and the LED tucked into that cap fills the whole ball with light, sending it out evenly in every direction. There is no shade to aim and no visible lamp, just a small, luminous orb on a fine cable.

The character of each globe comes from what happens inside the acrylic. Bubbles traps a cluster of air pockets that sparkle like ice when lit; Clear Dimpled keeps the sphere glass-clear with a soft cone of light at its base; Frosted turns it into a quiet, milky moon. The cap and canopy in Matte Black, White or Polished Chrome decide whether the fixture reads as a graphic accent or almost disappears, which makes the globe as suited to a single drop beside a bed as to long runs and clusters.

Design notes

• Light in every direction: the integrated LED floods the sphere so it glows evenly all round, a soft decorative light rather than a beam.
• Small, pure form: a 3 in (7.6 cm) globe under a 2 in (5.1 cm) cap, a scale that invites repetition.
• Three optical characters: Bubbles for sparkle, Clear Dimpled for crystal clarity, Frosted for a calm, diffused glow.
• Four ways to mount: a 5 in canopy with built-in driver, a 2.5 in fascia canopy, Multi-Port canopies or the JackTrack system, so one globe or many can share a ceiling.
• Finish as contrast: Matte Black, White or Polished Chrome on the cap sets the tone from bold to barely there.

Specifications

Downloads

• Acrylic Globe 3 in specification sheet (PDF)
• Acrylic Globe installation instructions (PDF)
• 3 in globe pendant IES files (ZIP)

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!" The Acrylic Globe is that idea at its simplest: a solid sphere that becomes the light once the LED in its cap is switched on.

Questions

How does a solid acrylic globe give off light?

The LED sits in the socket cap and shines down into the optical acrylic, which carries the light through the whole sphere so it glows evenly in all directions.

Who designs Blackjack Lighting fixtures?

The studio is led by industrial designer Stephen Blackman, President and Chief Design Officer, who has worked in lighting since 1984 and founded Blackjack in 2013.

Bubbles, Clear Dimpled or Frosted?

Bubbles adds sparkle and texture, Clear Dimpled keeps a crisp crystal look with a visible cone of light, and Frosted gives the softest, most even glow. Many people mix them in one cluster.

How bright is each globe, and does it dim?

133 lumens with the 5 in canopy or 86 lumens on the other mountings, at 3000K and 90 CRI. It 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.