Roope likens the Plumen 002’s debut to a wildly successful pop band’s second album. Delivering on the expectation “becomes a difficult process creatively,” he says.
“Critically and commercially to some extent, we have to get it right,” explains Roope. “There’s a reason we called [the first lightbulb] the 001: because we intend to make lots of different designs.”
So far, the response has been encouraging, with The Huffington Post, Slate and sustainable design blog Inhabitat.com offering their respective coverage of the 002. Most recently, The New York Times’ T magazine called the 002 an “eco-lightbulb that looks better naked.”
What do the Plumen 002’s designers think of the world’s reaction to their brainchild?
“It’s been interesting … you have this thing cooking up for two years; you spend so much time on it, but you don’t really know what it is until it’s out there,” says Roope.
“People don’t have to be nice about it, they can say what they want,” he continues. “Looking at the Internet and hitting refresh on Google every 10 minutes and seeing if anything else has popped up gives you a very honest appraisal of what the temperature is on the response.”
Online commenters, safe behind the veil of anonymity, are notoriously snarky and often downright rude. Yet for the most part, Plumen seems a welcome — dare we say much needed? — addition to the world of energy-efficient lighting.
“One thing that’s clear with the Plumen 001 and the brand in general, with the feedback that we’ve got over the last three years, is that people are very positive about what we’re trying to achieve,” Roope says.
What’s up next for the ambitious design firm? A Plumen LED bulb, of course.