Lighting – Page 17 – Restoring Ross

I have been restoring vintage lights since I was a teenager in the mid-1970s. An Interstate highway was being rammed through the city where I lived, and I ran (steps ahead of the bulldozers, and with my shag haircut flying) from one incredible building to another, and from one incredible house to another, and salvaged everything I could.

My poor, bewildered parents. Their garage was soon chock-a-block with what I thought were treasures beyond compare. But which they thought was just useless flotsam. I did though once overhear my mom say: “Well, at least he’s not out doing drugs.”

However, when all their boring lights were systematically replaced with the most stunning lights they had ever seen – and all for free, rewired, and restored – they soon had second thoughts about the flotsam. (I paid for new parts by mowing lawns!)

Fast forward many decades.

One day I realized I had a pile of old lights rusting away in my basement. I hauled a few out, restored them (bringing back many old memories), and listed them on eBay.

At the time I had no idea, not a clue, that I had just radically changed my life.

Within months my life was unrecognizable, and I was working full time restoring vintage lighting and selling the fixtures across America.

My new e-commerce website is now online. Whoee! Please feel free to shop and purchase here:

The Old Above

My blog post are below.

Currently displaying blog entries in Chronological Order. Switch to Most Recent.

Currently displaying blog entries in Most Recent Order. Switch to Chronological Order.

A Long Search For A Missing Mate

Posted on December 27, 2016 •

I purchased the sconce above. But single sconces are a hard sell, and it was put in storage. Year passed. Like eight years. Then, like a miracle, I came across another sconce! It was a perfect match, and even its polychrome finish matched! So, after a great much ado, the PAIR is now listed…

An Exquisite 1930s Set

Posted on December 21, 2016 •

One of the great pleasures of working with vintage lighting is the quality. Fixtures from before WWII are just stunningly made in a way which is inconceivable in our modern made-in-China world. Like this set by Mid-West Chandelier Company of Kansas City, circa-1930. They are made mostly of cast brass. This retains its original polychrome finish which…