Dot Chandelier | Blackjack Lighting

Dot is a chandelier built from repetition. Twenty-four slender arms radiate from a small central hub to form a sphere, and every arm ends in the same shallow round reflector with a single metal dot at its centre. From a distance the whole fixture reads as a burst of small satellite dishes; up close each one is a precise little object, a cupped disc with a pip of metal floating in front of it.

The light is hidden in that pip. An LED sits behind each centre dot and shines back into the reflector, so you never see the source itself, only the inside of the dish washed with even, reflected light and the dark dot silhouetted against it. Twenty-four of these together make a soft, sparkling sphere that looks as good from below as from the side. In Etched Gold the dishes glow warm and amber; in Polished Chrome the arms flash and the reflections turn cool and jewel-like.

Design notes

• Reflected, glare-free light: each LED faces back into its reflector, so the light you see is bounced and even, with no bright points.
• Radial form: 24 arms on a spherical layout, 26.5 in (67.3 cm) or 36 in (91.4 cm) across and the same height.
• Repeated detail: 4.9 in (12.4 cm) reflectors, each with a centre metal dot that doubles as the lamp cover.
• Adjustable hang: a stem system adjusts the overall height and accepts extra sections for tall rooms and stairwells.
• Two finishes: Etched Gold for warmth and a vintage-modern feel; Polished Chrome for sparkle and a cooler, more graphic look.

Specifications

Downloads

• Dot 27 in specification sheet (PDF)
• Dot 36 in specification sheet (PDF)
• Dot instruction sheet (PDF)
• Dot 27 in LM-79 photometric report (PDF)
• Dot 36 in LM-79 photometric report (PDF)
• Dot 27 in IES file (ZIP)
• Dot 36 in IES file (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!" Dot puts that into a statement piece: twenty-four tiny LEDs, each hidden behind a metal dot, turning a sphere of reflectors into the light.

Questions

How does Dot make its light?

An LED sits behind the metal dot at the centre of each of the 24 reflectors and shines back into the dish. You see only the evenly lit inside of each reflector, never the source, which keeps the sphere bright but glare-free.

Who is behind the design?

Blackjack Lighting, the Buffalo Grove, Illinois studio of industrial designer Stephen Blackman, who has designed lighting since 1984 and founded Blackjack in 2013 to build fixtures around LED.

27 in or 36 in, gold or chrome?

The 26.5 in model suits a dining table or a moderate living room; the 36 in model is scaled for double-height spaces, entries and stairwells. Etched Gold reads warm and mid-century; Polished Chrome reads cool, reflective and more architectural.

Can it be dimmed, and how is the height set?

Yes. The universal driver in the canopy works with TRIAC, ELV and 0-10V dimmers. The supplied stem kit sets the drop, and extra 24 in stem sections extend it for tall ceilings.

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.