This Lamp Design Uses 300 Year-Old Redwood from NYC's Water Towers

As some of the oldest living trees on earth, redwoods have long inspired poets, architects, and travelers alike. Russell Greenberg and Christopher Beardsley, co-founders of NYC’s emerging lighting brand Stickbulb, unveiled a new lighting collection made from reclaimed redwood. But not just any redwood – the designers used wood taken from demolished water towers across New York City.

Beardsley spent much of his youth staying in hand-built cabins in the woods of Connecticut, and those fond memories inspired him to design products using reclaimed wood. “Those childhood experiences instilled in me a great love of wood as a building material and a great respect for America’s forests as a precious natural resource,” he says. “At Stickbulb, we don’t think of wood as a disposable material but rather as cherished heirlooms of America’s history and landscape.”

The wood was carbon dated and proved “to be over 300 years old,” says the press release. The designer-duo has made the reclaimed material available for all their LED lighting collections, including the Boom and Diamond chandeliers. The difference with redwood is it’s well-known for its ability to “hold water and resist rot for long periods of time.” Redwoods are also considered the largest and tallest trees in the world, and “capture more carbon dioxide from our cars, trucks, and power plants than any other tree on earth,” says the release.

“Like any great story, a design object is made more meaningful by the depth and complexity of its main character,” comments Stickbulb Co-Founder and RUX Founder Russell Greenberg. “Written into the DNA of Stickbulb is a tension between high-tolerance machine precision and wild, organic growth.”

To check out the entire collection, click here.

Want more NYC design news? Check out this super chic design store opening in Nolita this autumn…