Noguchis are never exactly easy to procure. The Isamu Noguchi Foundation is the only authorized seller of the lamps in the States — and it generally only receives new shipments every two to three months. Since demand is always rampant, this means the seller is regularly out of stock of the brand’s most popular styles (like the ubiquitous A1 and the cylindrical 75A). But lately, procuring even the stranger, less popular Akaris — like the 30P, a long, boxy ceiling fixture — has become essentially impossible.
This is because there is currently a shortage of Noguchi-specific cordsets. Reads the Noguchi website, gravely: “We regret that due to a shortage of cordsets, many Akari light sculpture models are currently unavailable.” For how long has this been going on, we wondered?
“Over a month,” says Amelia Grohman, the Noguchi Foundation’s communications and graphic-design director. “Our electrical components supplier had a delay in inventory, as so many have had during the pandemic. The good news, though, is is that we will be receiving cordsets in the coming weeks, so many more Akari models will be available again very soon.”
In the meantime, Grohman says that she’s found that the shortage has forced customers to branch out and purchase models they might not have otherwise. “We’ve seen people go for more obscure Akaris,” she says, “like the oblong 23A and 24A, the VB-13s, and the UF4 series, which are these architectonic columns. It will be interesting to see how this takes shape in interior design trends.” Perhaps the out-of-stock 75A will be usurped by the in-stock, odd-duck 31N.
The Noguchi Foundation has made a helpful “In-Stock Akari” section of its website, so one doesn’t have to grimly scroll through pages and pages of out-of-stock lamps. Below, a selection of some actually-availables.
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