Whoever invented the dear Allen key is a mfing genius! I do not own a screwdriver, so being able to assemble flat pack furniture without one is a god send. So it’s really no wonder that IKEA wanted to immortalise the Allen key in the form of a funky LED light.
Back in Feb, IKEA announced that it would be launching a new line of decorative and functional products in a collection titled IKEA Art Event 2021. For this hot new collection, my fave furniture are working with various artists and designers, like Daniel Arsham, Humans since 1982, Sabine Marcelis, Stefan Marx.
The Allen key design comes as both an LED lamp and an LED flashlight (not to be confused with a fleshlight). The design comes from Tokyo-based creative collective Gelchop. Their artwork “deconstructs everyday objects by combining them with different elements to give them a fun and compelling function.”
The IKEA LED flashlight is eight inches (*wink*) and is powered by two AA batteries and will set you back around $40 AUD.
The IKEA LED table lamp is 19 inches and will set back around $60. The only catch is you’ll need to buy the power adapter separately.
Gelchop reckon we don’t give the Allen key enough credit, and I wholeheartedly agree. By transforming the little guy into a massive practical piece of art, they hope it can gain “new value” as a “fantastic art object too.”
But if IKEA really want the light to resemble the humble Allen key, then it will need to pop up at unexpected times when you don’t need it, and when you do need it be impossible to find. Because I swear to god, I was asking people for an Allen key for weeks, just to find one in my room days later. RIP.
You can cop one of the Allen key LED flashlights in Australia here and one of the LED table lamps here.
