If you are exploring the North of Amsterdam it is definitely worth your time to visit the inspiring showroom of brothers Blom & Blom. These guys collect, renovate and sell German industrial lamps from the DDR era. There are so many different kinds and the designs are simply fantastic. Several of the antique treasures can be admired in the showroom, complemented with a ‘passport’ of where the boys found the fixture, the state it was in and what its purpose was during its ‘first run’ in the DDR era. The lamps come with quite the price tag, but just browsing is allowed and – in my experience – appreciated by the proud owners of this shop.
I love that Blom & Blom can make their lamps dimmable, which means a giant fluorescent light that initially illuminated a factory hall with twenty other lights in a strict row, now becomes an object on its own, creating softer atmospheres by the a turn of a small switch. It’s something special, perhaps a bit strange to be so passionate about it, but once you see the light you’ll understand.
