Hammacher Schlemmer is sort of the poor man’s Sharper Image—high praise, I know—but every once in a while they buy in bulk a product that might even be construed as “classy.” This Slide Projection Lamp, for some reason hand-built in Lyon, France, projects light down from the inside of the shade, through a lens and a slide, then onto your wall. Its shade is even reminiscent of a traditional slide projector’s cartridge.
Of course, you usually want the lights off when you’re showing slides. It’s $250; I’d like to see one of these in person.
Catalog Page [Hammacher.com via OhGizmo!]
So did Sharper Image suddenly go upscale, or did Hammacher Schlemmeker fall into a pit? They’ve always been several notches above Sharper Image in the past, and the overpriced plastic junk that Sharper Image “invents” makes HS seem that much more upscale.
@#1: Okay, you may be right, but “Rich Man’s Sharper Image” isn’t really a whole lot better, either.
I’ve only browsed through HS briefly in the past, but I don’t think that they’re that much more upscale than Sharper Image–they’ll occasionally offer some big-ticket item like a bowling alley that gets them press, but it looks like a lot of the same Sky Mall-ish plastic crap to me, otherwise. My guess is that the _real_ “rich man’s” whatever isn’t something that you’ll ever get to see unless you’re really rich, if not old money, Robb Report notwithstanding.
The idea and mock-up photo are awesome, but I’m sure the execution isn’t. I can’t imagine the slide being more than “somewhat visible” with all the ambient light that lamp would be putting off.
However, just the idea has me seriously rethinking that box of old scrap lenses and halogen lamp holders I was going to send to recycling. Damn, I can’t get rid of anything. I just need a bigger garage. 2,500sf ought to do it.