Vintage Cameras Turned into Night Lights

Following up yesterday’s Classic Toys Turned into Lamps, here’s another one to file under Re-purposing Something Old, Unused and Probably Broken Into a Light Fixture. Jason Hull makes vintage cameras turned into night lights. Beyond the fact that it’s a clever idea with a terrific outcome, I love his “disclaimer”:

i’m not modifying cameras if they are in prisitine condition or if they’re rare, i’d rather they stay usable as cameras in those cases. the ones i’ve chosen are lightweight plastic, produced in huge numbers and easily found for sale at flea markets/ garage sales/ ebay.

Hull’s statement perfectly expresses my beef with the current attitude in the toy customization scene (which I started to articulate here). If you have an awesome idea and you can execute it well, go forth my friends. But leave the rare, limited edition, still-coveted, long-out-of-production pieces alone! If someone buys one of these toys and commissions you to customize it, well then, that’s their choice I guess. But if you get hold of a vintage “grail,” and your first thought is how you can adapt it in your style, as a toy collector, I would encourage you to think twice about taking the figure out of circulation. You can gauge whether people are still seeking an old vinyl (in its original incarnation) on Rotocasted.

ANYWAY, bravo to Jason Hull on ideology and execution with these vintage camera nightlights. Like me, Hull calls Oakland home, which is further proof that us Oaklandish have plenty of other things to keep us Occupied. Check out Hull’s latest creations on Flickr, and bookmark his etsy shop, where next month he plans to offer some of the nightlights for sale.