An upcycling project that allowed me to give a second life to an indestructible and non-biodegradable material in nature, carbon fiber. Shattered on Ice, Reborn in Light—Second Shift Ready!
High Stick Floor Light:
Every crack in a hockey stick has a story. This light fixture doesn't hide that — it illuminates it.
Salvaged from the ice rinks, each 24-inch carbon fiber segment is cut open along one narrow face, transforming the stick's familiar rectangular profile into a glowing U-channel. An embedded LED strip and diffuser run the full length, bathing the back wall in soft, homogeneous light. Stack two or three modules to suit your space. The chamfered ends, the raw material, the unmistakable weave — all of it intact, all of it purposeful.
Carbon fiber is one of the most indestructible materials we manufacture — and one of the most problematic to dispose of. Non-biodegradable and notoriously difficult to recycle, broken sticks typically end their lives in landfills, where they will outlast nearly everything around them. This piece confronts that contradiction directly: if the material refuses to disappear, why not let it shine?
High Stick Floor Light is a meditation on resilience, relit — on material honesty and the afterlife of objects. It asks what we owe the things we build to last and answers with light. Carbon fiber that survived the brutality of the rink now casts a quiet, even glow across a room, its legendary strength repurposed rather than wasted.
Shattered on ice, Reborn as light—Second shift ready!
A project by
Efe Kutuk/Think Like Design
Efecem Kutuk is a designer and educator guided by a single agenda: Design for the Good. Shaped by an international career bridging studio practice and academia, his work translates cultural insight into considered aesthetics, context, and function through three core commitments: engagement in ethical and social design, experimentation with sustainable materials, and exploration of positive technologies. He also holds specialized expertise in product safety and liability, connecting responsible design with real-world accountability.
His award-winning portfolio spans furniture, lighting, and connected products, with work and student projects exhibited internationally and published in leading design outlets.
Kutuk has taught Industrial Design at Drexel, Montclair State, NJIT, and Parsons. Following a decade as Program Coordinator at Michael Graves College, Kean University, he now focuses fully on teaching and research as Associate Professor of Industrial Design.
He holds a BFA from Bilkent University, Ankara, and an MFA from Scuola Politecnica di Design, Milan.