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Triplexlampan, a love story
Johan Petter Johansson, born in 1853 in Vårgårda, Sweden, was the first of seven children in a humble crofter family. As the country faced economic hardships, many sought a better life across the Atlantic. Demonstrating a knack for fixing things from an early age, JP worked as a navvy and later in mechanical workshops. At the age of 30, while his family emigrated to Minnesota, he remained in Sweden, marrying Ingrid Matilda and later on started his own workshop, Enköpings mekaniska verkstad, in 1886.
JP's journey began with a simple frustration: the overwhelming number of tools needed for various jobs. This sparked the creation of some of Sweden's most significant inventions—the adjustable spanner and the pipe wrench. As these tools rapidly gained popularity, JP partnered with August Hjort to introduce them to the global market under the trademark Bahco.
Some 100 patents later, the final invention of his later years as his sight deteriorated was the adjustable lamp, designed to enhance lighting conditions in hospitals, workshops, and offices. Named Triplex Pendeln, this innovative lamp featured a patented adjustable joint, allowing users to customize the light according to their needs.
The lamps crafted by Triplexfabriken where available in a number of models. Featuring shades made from either metal or paper, these lamps gained popularity among dentists and architects for their versatile adjustment options. As an example, designer Gunnar Asplund utilized these lamps in the 1920s. They were further highlighted during the Stockholm exhibition in 1930, where they were showcased in private interiors.
OK, so what about the love story?
In 2008, my journey as a young engineer led my us on a quest for the perfect lamp to complement our loft apartment overlooking the rooftops of Helsingborg and the Danish coast. We envisioned something unique, cool, and industrial, and soon found a Danish design lamp for sale. However, it was a telescopic Triplex lamp we stumbled upon at the seller's home that caught our eye; though not for sale, we instantly fell in love with the lamp. As we delved into its history, our admiration only grew upon discovering its inventor was also an engineer. And what an engineer he was!
Love at first sight
This was the start of a crazy hunt to get hold of our own. Some months later, we found one for sale on a farmers auction. With me away in Asia for work, my wife drove the 300 km to bid on and won the lamp. First time we plugged it in, the electricity broke in our entire appartment. This was our seed to revive the Triplex lamp.
Said and done, I took some months off of work and started to draw. Dissasembled the lamp to pieces and contracted the relatives of JP to get hold of the rights to reproduce our version of the lamp and to use the Triplex name.
Some 2-3 years later from the day we met our frist Triplex lamp, we started taking orders. We sold a series of 50 lamps on pre-orders. In honour of the originator, we aimed for top quality and all parts were manufactured locally and assembled by hand by the two of us.
My wifes parents built us a small workshop on their farm as the garage became to small.
Something else started to grow at the same time as our business did. And we went for safeness and decided to focus on our growing family while putting the lamp shop on hold.
After small kids came career advancements and new experiences. However I have stayed and worked as a Mechanical Design Engineer consultant at Mackapär all the time (read more about engineering services here).
We have some lamps on stock and also some parts. You can of course contact me for inquiries.
Lamp gallery
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