neko lamp

the cat lamp is a small table lamp, 3d printed in translucent filament. from a distance it reads as a simple cylinder. only at the top does it change: two small points rise from the edge, just enough to suggest ears.

the idea was to see how little a form needs before it becomes a cat. no face, no tail, no details. a closed shape with a soft shoulder and two raised corners. the rest is left to whoever looks at it.

the lamp is printed in one piece. the layer lines aren’t sanded away. they run around the whole body and show how the object was built, line by line from the bottom up. when the light is on, they catch it and give the surface a fine texture.

the material is thin enough to let light through, so the whole body glows rather than pointing light in one direction. switched off, it’s a quiet object. switched on, it becomes a soft light source for a desk, a shelf or a bedside.

3d printing made it possible to test the shape quickly and adjust the ears until they felt right. small changes in height or angle made a big difference in whether it looked like a cat or just a damaged cylinder.

the cat lamp is less about the technology and more about reduction. it shows how far a shape can be simplified while still being recognised.

year 2026
location tokyo, japan
material pla (translucent), led
dimensions w 350 × d 350 × h 400mm