OMA Globes Floor Lamp

Materials: White painted metal round base with a rectangular built-in switch. Chromed metal (brass and iron) tubes and parts. 3 opal, milky, misty and clear crystal glass globe lampshades. Bakelite E14 sockets. Sometimes made with metal sockets.

Height: 76 cm / 29.92”

Globes: ∅ 15 cm / 5.90”

Base: ∅ 30 cm / 11.81”

Electricity: 3 bulbs E14, 3 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt. Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: O.M.A. Fabbrica Lampadari Srl, Via Tunisi, 26, 35135 Padua PD, Italy.

Other versions: This OMA globes floor lamp was also made as a big floor lamp (150 cm / 59.05”). Made with a black painted base and also made in brass. In the 70’s lamps were produced with a dimmer. Most lamps were made with a triple positions switch. Switches were made in the base or on the cord. The globes were used for chandeliers, wall lamps, table lamps and so on. A similar technique for this misty glass was also used by many other companies. A fine example is the Morning Dew pendant lamp made by Raak from The Netherlands. You can find it over here.

Often said that these floor lamps are a product of the Targetti Sankey company from Florence, but they are not. Also often named Reggiani Bubble lamp. But I never found a lamp with a Reggiani or Targetti label. Sometimes you find a lamp with an OMA label.

O.M.A. Fabbrica Lampadari 

The O.M.A. Fabbrica Lampadari (Officina Meccanica Artigianale – Artisan Mechanical Workshop) company was founded by Vladimiro Brunello in 1960 when he took over a mechanical workshop in Venice that was the exclusive reference of the great architect Carlo Scarpa.

For decades, the workshops of OMA have been producing special brass lamps to illuminate works on display at major international exhibitions, as well as for hotels throughout Europe.

But OMA‘s business model was not only based on production, but also on its showroom, where the company’s pieces stood on the same shelves as famous international design brands such as Artemide, Ingo Maurer, FLOS, and so on. The crisis arrived in 2008 and the internet didn’t make things any easier.

The company no longer exists. It ended business after 57 years on 1 December 2018.