The question of this undertaking is to develop a light utilizing just $1 and whatever else it might be you approach from apparatuses to even trash. The purpose is to start to help discover our way towards a more practical and naturally inviting future. This specific piece is produced using not very many pieces and should take somewhere in the range of 3-5 hours to make.

Step 1: Gather the Materials

For this lamp you will simply need one cylindrical cardboard tube, the dimension is of little importance, however, the piece I used was approximately 9 inches in height and had a radius of 1.5 inches which came out quite nicely. In addition to the cylinder you will need some sponge or any kind of soft material that can be manipulated to fill in the cylinder. You will also require a surface that can create a reflection, I used a mirror, and wire to construct the rest of the body for the lamp. As a light source you can put a bulb, I personally used a flashlight. I also added jute to make the lamp more appealing.

Step 2: Bulid the Lamp Base

The design and construction of this lamp is really simple, and has a freeform that depends on the craftsman. This step basically consists of putting all the materials together, I filled the cylinder with the sponge and put the wire structure the I found over it, you can create a similar or different structure from the wire accordingly. I also added jute wherever I felt like it needed something, this is completely optional. Once I stabilized these materials together I glued the mirror onto the wire/ jute on a certain angle so the reflection suits my preference, you can adjust the angle of the mirror as you like.

Step 3: Add the Light

Cut a cross in the sponge to fit in the flashlight. My flashlight had a push button on the bottom for it to turn on, so all I had to do was push the flashlight in, and press on it to turn it on.

The light from the flashlight reflects onto the mirror that directly reflects onto my book, making it a perfect reading lamp for just a dollar!