This Cool Terra-Cotta Lamp Doubles as a Vegetable Garden

Newly launched design studio Benditas was born from a simple merger of two ideas: food and furniture. “When we say we design furniture for food, we mean that we create objects and services, not only for people but for the food itself,” says Caterina Vianna, one of the founders of the Barcelona-based company.

Vianna and fellow cofounder Ferran Gesa debuted a food-forward product for the home at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair. Brot—which means sprout in Catalan—is both a pendant lamp and a seed sprouter. Crafted from terra-cotta, the two-piece fixture is designed to cultivate a warm and cozy environment (as all good lights do) while also growing fresh, edible greens.

“With Brot, we’ve merged two products that usually [experience] their utility separately, adding new value to both,” says Vianna. “We know that it is a risky bet, but we also know that there’s a whole new market to be explored.”

The lower vessel of the lamp holds a stainless steel tray with seeds, while the top half of the light is designed to direct light on the growing seedlings and the surrounding room through the circular opening. Here’s how to use it:

1. Soak the seeds in the lower vessel tray. Time will vary depending on the type of seed (for example, alfalfa needs four hours of soaking). Make sure the seeds are completely covered.
2. After the specified time, put the seeds on the stainless steel tray and moisten the seeds two to three times a day.
3. After four to six days, the sprouts will be ready to be eaten.

While Brot is not yet for sale (Benditas is in the process of searching for a producer), the genius lamp gives hope to home cooks and city dwellers who don’t have a garden to call their own. Benditas doesn’t just want to change the way we whip up the perfect salad from scratch—it’s out to disrupt the furniture industry altogether.

“We’ve seen ‘furniture for public spaces,’ ‘furniture for the living room,’ furniture for the contract sector,’ or ‘furniture for babies,’ but we’ve never heard about furniture for food,” explains Vianna. “We want to design product and services that create a dialogue with food, merging them in a way to spread a new message.”

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