Author: eayaydin

For my plush night light, I used my previous word “chandelier” to come up with a night light that can both act as a hanging light and a portable light source for trips to the bathroom during the night. When I wake up at night, it is too dark to traverse the hallways safely to the bathroom without a light source.  As a result, I often bring my phone with me to use as a guiding light.  Interestingly, I found that I am not alone, and many people experience this inconvenience too. I decided to solve this problem with my plush candelabra chandelier. When you wake up in the middle of the night, you can pull down on the hanging candelabra, detach it, and use it as a light source while walking around in your home at night.  I named it the “Midnight Candelabra” since it is used in the late hours of the evening.

 

Although it was not a smooth ride to the finish line, I was able to get my candelabra to light up in a different way than I initially set out to.  My initial plan was to be able to squeeze the handle to activate the LEDs using a conductive steel fiber.  I felted the fiber to create a conductive sensor that is activated by squeezing it.  However, I could not get the piece to consistently activate the code so I had to brainstorm other solutions to light my LEDs.

In the meantime, I hooked up my board and wires to a potentiometer to help determine that my code was working properly. I decided another good option would be to use a button switch which could be activated by squeezing the handle of the candelabra.  Once I soldered all my wires and LED’s together, the push button would not activate.  Although all my connections, code, and soldering were correct, the button still would not budge.  I tried 2 different types of buttons which still would not activate the LEDs.  As a result, I had to let go of my idea of activating it by squeezing the handle and use the battery pack as a switch instead.  If I were to move forward with this project, I would explore other sensor options that would allow me to keep the electronic guts inside the plush candelabra.

  

Here is my final code:

const int button = 10; // Analog input pin that the potentiometer is attached to
int sensorValue; // value read from the sensor

const int ledPin = 6;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(button, INPUT);
//pinMode(9, INPUT_PULLUP);
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {

sensorValue = digitalRead(button);
Serial.print(“sensor = “);
Serial.println(sensorValue);
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);

if (sensorValue == 1)
{ //change the value depending on the sensor’s read in serial monitor
Serial.println(“leds triggered”);
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
delay(5000);

}
delay(100);
}

      

For the mash up project, one of my words is a perishable food while the other is a timeless object.  This combination allowed me to explore how a chandelier, a decorative hanging light, can be created out of Nutella, a much loved chocolate hazelnut spread that people across the world enjoy.  In fact, it is so addictive and fantastic that one jar is sold every 2.5 seconds.  Nutella has quite some fame which I enjoyed learning about here.  With further research, I found that nutella has been an inspiration for other products on the market.  Check out this Nutella phone case.  I guess having a chandelier in your dining room that constantly reminds you of chocolate spread isn’t too bad of a thing, right?

Although Nutella is great in any shape or form, I had to keep in mind that a chandelier is a sustainable light fixture.  I started thinking about how I could change the composition of this gooey spread in order to better preserve it through time.  Although it is possible to liquify it or harden it, I decided that using the packaging rather than the spread itself would be not only more durable, but also much more maintainable.

While learning about what types of chandeliers are on the market today, I felt inspired by contemporary hanging light styles.  One recent trend in particular has been glass jars that expose the light bulb.  I love this raw and simple look and decided to use the Nutella jar as a light pendant for my project.

  

After taking a shopping trip to Canal Lighting and Parts, I began the handy work.  First, I drilled a hole through the bottom of the jar in order to fit the socket.  Since the drill was not large enough, I expanded the hole by filing down the edges.

After that, I began the wirework.  I stripped both ends of the fabric cord and attached one end to the socket.  Next, I drilled a hole into the lid of the Nutella jar and slid it onto the cord.  I chose to use the lid as the top piece of the chandelier, which will be installed flush to the ceiling and serve as the platform where the jar hangs down from.

Next, I stripped the power cord wires and used a soldering iron to bind them to the light pendant wire.  Then I covered the soldered wires with heat shrink tubing.  Although a minor electrical explosion occurred along the way, I finally was able to successfully bind the two cords together and light the bulb.

My last touch to the lamp was putting the label back onto the jar right-side up.  I used a spray adhesive to bind the label to the plastic.  Although a simple procedure, it is the most important since it adds the mmm delicious touch.

And here it is: a nutella chandelier.  This is intended to hang in the homes of avid nutella lovers that can never get enough of it.  With this chandelier, they can get an eyeful anytime.