This glowing MTA lamp quickly sold out. Now it’s back for a very limited time
This glowing MTA lamp quickly sold out. Now it’s back for a very limited time
Nothing says ‘real New Yorker’ like the green glow of an MTA lamp bedside.
New Yorkers may be unhappy with MTA service, but MTA-inspired home decor? It seems they can’t get enough.
Independent clothing brand OnlyNY partnered with the transit authority to release an MTA signage-inspired table lamp back on July 9, but the lamp was so popular it quickly sold out. Now, Only NY has announced a second run of the MTA lamp for preorder, which ends July 19. The company will fill as many orders as are placed. Like the MTA, however, the lamp is subject to delay: it will ship in mid-November.
The officially-licensed MTA lamp shows the MTA’s retro “M” logo, which was designed by Peter Muller-Munk Associates, a Pittsburgh firm, and used by the MTA between 1968 and 1994, when it rolled out its current logo. The $168 lamp is made from frosted glass with screenprinted logos, an iron base, and a braided orange cord that wouldn’t seem out of place at a construction site.
The lamp arrives at a time when some iconic pieces of MTA paraphernalia are being phased out. The MTA announced plans to phase out its colorful card machines back in 2022 (although they are still present in the subway system today). The transit authority is also phasing out its metrocard in favor of the new OMNY card.
But this isn’t the MTA‘s first run of merch, either. The New York Transit Museum store sells MTA-themed hats, shirts, beach towels, mugs, and more, and the MTA also sells authentic memorabilia and collectibles like actual doors, seating, and signs from retired cars that all come with their own certificates of authenticity.
OnlyNY, which credited the table lamp’s popularity in part to the post-pandemic home office boom, said it’s “committed to ensuring every customer who wants an MTA Table Lamp is able to purchase one without issue.”
In addition to the OnlyNY MTA lamp, OnlyNY has also partnered with the MTA for officially licensed products before, including tees, beanies, and keychains, and they released a capsule collection celebrating the Long Island Rail Road, or LIRR.
Says OnlyNY senior marketing director Alexander King, “Anytime you can creatively reimagine an iconic item in a way that feels natural and inspiring to customers, you’re onto something.”
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