Meet the Maker: Bridie-Rose O’Leary’s bright idea.
Light designer Bridie-Rose O’Leary makes everyday items glow
Bridie-Rose O’Leary sees potential in ordinary objects, reimagining them as light installations using neon LED strips to create Glowies, as she calls them. “There’s something about taking an everyday object and making it interesting. My denim shirt became something entirely new when it became Glowied.” Her light design company Glowjob is a two-person operation – Bridie works as the designer and her partner, Mikey Henriquez, does the admin. They came up with the idea of Glowjob when living in a pokey Dunedin flat. “We wanted reading lamps but didn’t have space on the bedside tables. It was a bit of an aha moment: we could have these awesome Glowie lamps and not have to compromise on space. The orange glow in winter made the place feel warmer too.” Bridie says that collaborations are important. “We usually find artists we want to collaborate with on Instagram, I get in touch and we come up
with a glow up.” They’ve “glowed up” other people’s work all over the world, from animators in Melbourne to graphic designers in America and even tattoo artists in Dunedin. The process, she says, starts with problem-solving and planning then working on Illustrator to get the right measurements. She then laser cuts the backboards, solders the cables and then constructs the pieces. “The last part can be quite monotonous so I use this time to catch up on my favourite podcasts,” Bridie says. Next, Bridie wants to go big: “I want to try working on 3D installation pieces. Just finding the time and a big enough space is the only problem.”
My favourite things: Lolly art by Dunedin artist Pudunkart (1). Our bach in Chatto Creek, Central Otago (2). My hot pink McKinlays boots, made in my home town, Dunedin (3). This book by Kate Bingaman-Burt, Obsessive Consumption (4).