I had seen these fire lanterns on the movie The Beach but I just saw this picture over the weekend on the Domino blog. She listed a source in England but I did a little digging and found a U.S. source right here. Apparently you light the lanterns they get hot and float up for about 10 minutes before they gently float back down. This is SO COOL! I would love these at a summer party or a wedding. I want to order a couple just to test them out.
Paul Ferney
June 25, 2007
These are awesome!
ma vie en rose
June 25, 2007
Wow! That must be remarkably beautiful to see in action. But how gently do they float back down? I’d definitely be wary of getting knocked in the head by one!
lainakay
June 25, 2007
i’ve never seen anything like these! so different and pretty! putting this in the idea bank…
studio wellspring
June 25, 2007
wowsa ~ these are fantastic. great find!
love.boxes
June 25, 2007
Those are sooo beautiful.. and they don’t like start fires and stuff?
ali
June 26, 2007
Beautiful! I know just the bride for these. Though, do you think there is any fire danger? Wedding near the mountains + fire lanterns (could) = disaster.
cruststation
June 26, 2007
Oh my goodness, how awesome are they? Thank you for sharing.
OG
June 26, 2007
I saw these at a Full Moon Party in Thailand & it really was a magical sight…
zobars
June 26, 2007
I absolutely love these. How wonderful a sight ???
TeenSleuth
June 29, 2007
The poet Elizabeth Bishop wrote a poem about a wildfire started by these kind of lanterns:
The Armadillo
Elizabeth Bishop
for Robert Lowell
This is the time of year
when almost every night
the frail, illegal fire balloons appear.
Climbing the mountain height,
rising toward a saint
still honored in these parts,
the paper chambers flush and fill with light
that comes and goes, like hearts.
Once up against the sky it’s hard
to tell them from the stars —
planets, that is — the tinted ones:
Venus going down, or Mars,
or the pale green one. With a wind,
they flare and falter, wobble and toss;
but if it’s still they steer between
the kite sticks of the Southern Cross,
receding, dwindling, solemnly
and steadily forsaking us,
or, in the downdraft from a peak,
suddenly turning dangerous.
Last night another big one fell.
It splattered like an egg of fire
against the cliff behind the house.
The flame ran down. We saw the pair
of owls who nest there flying up
and up, their whirling black-and-white
stained bright pink underneath, until
they shrieked up out of sight.
The ancient owls’ nest must have burned.
Hastily, all alone,
a glistening armadillo left the scene,
rose-flecked, head down, tail down,
and then a baby rabbit jumped out,
short-eared, to our surprise.
So soft! — a handful of intangible ash
with fixed, ignited eyes.
Too pretty, dreamlike mimicry!
O falling fire and piercing cry
and panic, and a weak mailed fist
clenched ignorant against the sky!
Anonymous
July 2, 2007
“I had seen” should be “I saw”.
I agree, these are neat.
Anonymous
July 8, 2007
They got em at ebay here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300128372604&rd=1&rd=1
Anonymous
July 8, 2007
urmmm ebay item #4638165079036641763