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Likeable, Lickable Lights

Whippy ice cream CFL lighting

 

Whippy ice cream CFL lighting

Featured item: MAR 14, 2008

Plug into some fantastic sweet sweet lighting for the whole family. You'll fall hard for the ceramic Whippy waffle cone and Whippy ice cream cone lights made by UK designer Nahoko Koyama. Add a burst of scrumptious whimsy to your kid's room by hanging one of these fun doodads. Or better yet, try lining three in a row over your kitchen table, making every night a quasi-trip to the parlor. (But p.s.: Don't actually try and lick these lights. That would be a mistake.)

Here's the scoop: It's all in the (spiral) bulb. We're loving the look of the energy-saving bulb in the fixture, it adds character to the cone. Grab a CFL (compact fluorescent light bulb) from your local hardware store. CFLs perform best in open fixtures and according to EnergyStar, use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to ten times longer.

I would love to sprinkle some new décor in Holsten's, starting with a dozen Whippy light fixtures for over every table and the bar. Holsten's is the ice cream parlor/restaurant I took my nephews Aidan and Brandon to for years until they moved to the country. Many a day I had to negotiate sibling rivalry at the candy counter with bribes of candy cigarettes, ice cream cones and Beanie Babies. It's one of those slowly-becoming-extinct places that makes you feel like you're stepping into 1954 when you walk through the door. Holsten's is also the location where the Sopranos ate their final meal. I watched that episode standing up, I was so nervous, but then I realized "Hey, they're in Holsten's!" Fade to black. So it's infamous now even though it was pretty special before. Located in Bloomfield, New Jersey, Holsten's has old-world charm that would really benefit from a small lighting upgrade to energy-efficient dangling Whippy lights.—Allison Reynolds

Note: To directly purchase the waffle light, click here. For the cone light, designer Nahoko Koyama is still working on finding the appropriate US and Asia-compatible fittings. With the waffle light, according to Nahoko, you just need "US standard light fittings," available at your local IKEA. E-mail her at info@mixko.co.uk to order the lights or ask questions.

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