Stella Lightining has a new sytle of LED lamp that allows you to select from 3 different color spectrums (Warm, Natural and Cool) and has 5 light levels within each color spectrum. Warm looks the most like an incandescent bulbs with that slightly yellow cast to the light. Cool is a white light similar to fluorescent bulbs with a slight blue cast. Natural is a mix of the two so more like sunlight. If you look closely at the LEDs in the lamp you'll see 41 of them, arranged in rows of 3. Every other row is a specific color. The odd numbered rows are Warm, the even rows Cool. When the lamp is on Natural both the Warm and Cool LEDs are lit.
There are 3 different models to choose from, each with the same lamp head.
Stella Sky is their floor lamp, which adjusts from 48" to 70" in height. It comes in White and Black. It is controlled by a remote.
Stella Desk is the their desk lamp, with controls on the base of the lamp. It comes in White, Black and Pink and the controls are on the base of the lamp.
Stella Edge is their clamp on lamp, which opens to fit large tables such as the Lifetime tables you find at Costco. It comes in White and Black and is controlled by a remot.
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None of the lamps marketed to crafters have this ability to change both the color spectrum as well as light level. I actually don't know of any that allow you to change either, much less both. What this means is that you can get a more precise color and light level for your particular task, whether that's working at a desk, sewing at a machine, reading a book or stitching.
At the desk: My first placement for the Stella Sky was next to my desk area in my sewing room. I do have a window next to my desk and since it faces south I get morning and early afternoon sun, which means I don't need extra lighting until about 6pm most of the year. When using it at my desk I preferred to have it on one of the lower light levels regardless of the color spectrum setting, so I got good ambient light, but it wasn't overwhelming. I found the Natural setting (a combo of Warm & Cool) the most pleasing for color with my laptop in use and I had it one one of the lower settings. When I needed to read some paperwork I just increased the intensity a bit. Sitting next to the desk I adjusted the height of the lamp so it was just a few inches above it's lowest height - a good height to illuminate my desk.
For the Stella Desk or Stella Edge, which do not have an adjustable height, the height they were at was fine for my desk setup. Stella Edge did offer me more options of where to clamp it, so on my sewing table, which has more places to clamp to - I could clamp it on the lower section for more light on my sewing machine plate, or on the upper section for more general lighting.
At the couch: The location I would primarily use the lamp is at my couch where I stitch, watch TV and read. Because of my particular arrangement I found the Stella Edge as the best option since I can clamp it directly to my couch (which is a Mission style couch with wood arms). For the Stella Sky I wasn't able to put the lamp behind my left shoulder, which is ideally where I'd want it to go, without moving the couch and re-arranging my couch space entirely. But you might find you have enough room to the side of your couch or chair for the Stella Sky.
I found that either the Natural or Cool worked well for sufficient color contrast and I never needed to put it at the highest intensity to see my 40 count over-one work. I normally do this type of work with my 200-250 watt incandescent bulb, which generates a lot of heat. So being able to see as well with something that not only uses less energy but produces less heat is really good. It also worked well on the lowest setting as an extra light when my regular lamp was at 75 watts.
The Stella Edge is the right lamp for my couch use, but the Stella Sky was too tall. My personal "I'd rather have" for it is that I wish the Stella Sky lamp were shorter. The shortest a Stella Sky can go is 48", which given that I'm short and my couch, is lower to the ground is just a bit too tall. I'd like it to be 6" shorter for my ideal use. If I put the Stella Sky in front of me the height was even more of an issue, so I've settled on using my Stella Edge at the couch. If you're thinking of using a Stella Sky at a chair or couch, see what the ideal height is for you and make sure that 48" isn't too tall.
Reading: Both at the couch and at my desk I found that reading a book was more appealing with the Warm setting, even with my Kindle or my iPad as well as an actual book. The cover over the bulbs is frosted so as long as it's not directly over a shiny screen you don't get a lot of glare unless you've got it cranked up. Magazines, which are obviously more glossy were also fine with it.
For Travel:
I've taken my Stella Edge with me on a couple of trips in 2014 and love it. The first trip was using it in a hotel, clamped to the coffee table and the second was in a friend's home, clamped to my Needlework System 4 Travel Mate (using the Light Adaptor).
The box the Stella Edge comes in also serves as its carrying case and it fits snugly in the bottom of my suitcase.
Remote: Stella Sky and Stella Edge each are controlled with a remote which docks to the lamp. On the Sky the magnetic dock is on the rod that controls height. On the Edge there is a bump out on the clamp that it docs to. So hopefully you always know where your remote is!
The one oddball thing I have found is that the remote can control more than one Stella, which occured when 4 of us were in a room, each with our own Stella. We had to be sure to point the remote at our specific lamp and not wave it around. Some of the older remotes were able to turn on/off things like clock radios. Stella Lightining had several reports of this type of behaviour in the early production models and later versions of the lamp have changes to the frequency the remote sensors use that reduce the likelyhood of that happening.
Pros:
- 3 color spectrums to choose from - one is sure to meet your needs
- 5 light intensity levels
- LEDs last an amazingly long time & take very little energy. Expected life span at 100% is 50,000 hours. After that the output is dimished to about 70%. Using it 4 hours a day, 365 days a year means 35 years before you reach the 50,000 hours!
- the lamp does not get hot, even on the Natural setting with the intensity turned up
- flex arm as very flexible so you can put it in a number of useful positions
- remote makes it easy to adjust without having to touch the Sky or Edge (since they might be just out of reach)
- AC adapter is quite long
- frosted cover reduces glare
- wonderful customer support
- Stella Edge and Stella Desk come in a box that also serves as their carrying case.
Cons:
- Stella Sky height is a bit too tall for a short couch or chair since it's lowest height is 48"
When I tried out the Stella Sky in 2013 I was thrilled with the floor lamp but it was too heavy to take travelling on a plane. With the introduction of the Stella Edge in 2014 this is an ideal lamp for class or general travel use and can fit in most larger suitcases.
You can order any of the Stella lamps via our online catalog. If you're not local to us we have them drop shipped directly to you by one of our distributors. They are an expensive lamp, but I believe well worth the extra price tag ($389 for Sky, $220 for Desk and $230 for Edge) for the amazing light that they bring to stitching. And aren't our eyeballs worth it?
Review by Cathe Ray (updated August 2014 from a review started in June 2013)
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