Earlier this month at the 2026 Maison&Objet show in Paris, Seletti unveiled something unexpected. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bic Cristal pen, the Italian design brand created a monumental version of the iconic writing instrument, this time in the shape of a lamp.
Designed at a 12:1 scale, Seletti’s Bic Lamp clocks in at nearly 6 feet tall, a stark contrast to the typical Bic Cristal pen, which measures about 5.8 inches with its cap included. The lamp cleverly reimagines the pen’s architecture, translating its plastic ink cartridge into a sleek, LED-filled tube. Just like its source material, the Bic Lamp will be available in three distinct colorways, including red, black, and blue, as well as in floor, pendant, and wall versions.
“The structure of the pen was absolutely perfect for this project,” Stefano Seletti told Fast Company in a recent interview. “The transparent tubular body allows light to pass through, the ink cartridge could easily be transformed into the LED that provides the light, and the electrical components could be easily hidden by the colored plastic parts.”
The Bic Cristal traces its origins to 1938, when Hungarian journalist László Biró invented the first ballpoint pen. The ingenious mechanism, which was inspired by the movement of marbles, allowed ink to flow with greater consistency in comparison to fountain pens, despite enduring issues of clogging and leaking. Later, in 1944, French entrepreneur Marcel Bich acquired Biró’s patent, adjusting the design through Swiss technology. This improved version boasted a stainless steel, 1-millimeter-wide ballpoint tip, alongside an air hole. It was this hole that ultimately revolutionized Biró’s original innovation by preventing a vacuum from forming inside the pen. Now, ink could seamlessly flow to the nub.
According to Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, the Bic Cristal is more than simply a reliable writing tool. It is also a critical entry in design history, one that reimagines traditional understandings of plastic.
“It almost looks like it is within a crystal tube,” Antonelli says. “It was such a beautiful use of plastic that almost made us think plastic could be precious.”
That glassy quality defines Seletti’s reinterpretation of the Bic Cristal. The homage also fits perfectly within the brand’s creative ethos, which revolves around discovery, experimentation, and play. Since expanding into lighting a few years ago, Seletti has produced lamps in the shape of shopping bags, toothpaste tubes, UFOs, and windows. The company has even placed light bulbs in the hands of monkeys and mice.
“We have always played with the concept of memory-driven design, placing people’s personal memories at the center of the objects we create,” Seletti told Wallpaper. “With the Bic Lamp, we transform a universally and instantly recognizable shape that lives in everyone’s memory into something completely new.”
The Bic Lamp will officially launch in the U.S. later this year and will retail for $350. All colorways are currently sold out, but those interested in owning a tribute to the craft of writing can join a waiting list via Seletti’s website.
For its 75th anniversary, the iconic Bic Cristal pen has been reimagined into a monumental lamp by Italian design brand Seletti.
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Sources: Remember the Bic Biro? It’s now a larger-than-life lamp; This 5-foot lamp is a supersized tribute to the world’s most iconic pen; The world’s most iconic pen is now a giant lamp
All images via Seletii.
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