Turning Old iMacs into Lamps and Fish Tanks
In 2007, Jake Harms was on his way to throw out a cart full of
garbage. On top of the cart was an old indigo blue iMac G3.
Instead of heading for the dumpster, Harms steered the cart
toward the parking lot so he could load the broken iMac into
his car. That iMac became the first of more than 700 that
Harms would transform into aquariums.
The fact that Harms has created a global side business
repurposing old Apple computers into eclectic home fur-
nishings does not surprise his friends. In Hildreth, Nebraska,
population 378, Jake Harms is the resident tinkerer, known
for his interesting projects. Harms, who works as a carpenter
during the week and a wedding photographer on weekends,
spends most of his free time in his workshop making iMac
aquariums, packaging do-it-yourself kits, and making iMac
desk lamps and clocks.
“I’m definitely not the first person to do this, but I saw
one made and remembered I had that old iMac collecting
dust in the shop,” said Harms, whose first iMac as a kid was
like the blue one he repurposed. “I made one, then a buddy
wanted one. He said, ‘You could probably make those and
sell them.’”
Plug “iMac fish tank” into Google, and you’ll find plenty
of repurposed equipment that might have once sported
an aquarium screensaver and now can hold real fish. But
Harms’s work is at the top of the search results, in part
because he has been at it since 2008.
Harms refined his polishing process to make the hous-
ing look new, and he found a company in Omaha that could
make the 3-gallon acrylic tanks curve like the old iMac screen.
When he began this project, he collected and purchased as
many old iMacs as he could find, built 50 aquariums, set up
a website, and figured he’d be happy if he sold them within
three years.
All 50 sold in the first year. The orders came in from all
over the world.
His prices had to go up. The colorful iMacs, the very
machines that ushered in the Jony Ive era of industrial design
at Apple, were becoming harder to find, so his search for
models, whether for sale or donated, took him further from
home. In 2016, the finished aquariums cost between $349
and $399, with the DIY kit going for $189. The kit includes an
instructional video on how to polish and assemble your own
aquarium.
Harms has made dozens of aquariums using the more
common blue models, but he has made only four in rarer
colors like tangerine. As Harms searched for discarded
computers, he acquired some G4 Apple iMacs and immedi-
ately saw possibilities in the bulbous white base. Soon, he
began making lamps, the frosty base providing a perfectly
round, light-defusing shade. The lamp includes a USB port
for iPhone, iPod, or iPad charging, and Harms made sure
other details like the pull chain and braided cloth cord
would appeal to an Apple fan who also likes elegant home
furnishings.
Harms also considered eMacs, but the shape of the
monitors did not make the best aquariums. However, he
saw that the eMac’s disc drive tray cover could make an
elegant frame for a desk clock, which became the eClock.
The round clock has a chrome bezel to match the chrome of
the Apple emblem.
The shrinking supply of those early iMacs means
that Harms can no longer be fussy about the condition
of the machines he acquires. “A few years ago, they were
everywhere and I could just pick the ones I wanted,” he
said. “They’re getting harder to come by. I get a lot that are
scuffed, and I have a four-step polishing process with differ-
ent compounds and wax to make them look good.”
As a carpenter and natural tinkerer, Harms has a shop
loaded with tools and other supplies to repurpose each
piece with precision. His attention to detail is evident in his
well-organized shop as well as the videos on his website.
When the wedding business and carpentry work slowed
down in the winter of 2016, as they usually do around that
time of year, Harms started working on an ant farm made
from a G5 and a new clock, which uses the side panel and
part of the handles of a G4 tower with a mouse serving as its
pendulum.
“I’ve sold a lot of aquariums, but I’m excited to meet
the first person who wants an ant farm built out of the G5,”
Harms said. “That person will be just as weird as I am.”
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