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:
My blog post are below.
Before. After.
My online vintage lighting store. I purchased the fixture online, and gasped at its scale when it arrived. It is HUGE! Also, it was obvious that the shade had been repainted several times. Poorly. So, I blithely stripped off the non-original paint expecting to find some brightly colored enameled finish as is common to…
Continue ReadingA Miracle Light
My online vintage lighting store. Recently, I found a vintage light in an antique store. I gasped when I saw it. It was sitting on the floor, kinda falling apart, but was obviously incredible. Placing it in my car, I realized that the large bottom plate was damaged: This was a job for…
Continue ReadingA Zounding Beauty!
My online vintage lighting store. I am uncertain how old the fixture is. Circa-1915? It would have originally been used in a commercial setting like a bank. Today, it would be a knockout in a kitchen. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingThinking About Jean Harlow
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA 1940s Beauty!
My online vintage lighting store. I love fixtures from the 1940s, and at some point I really need to buy a 1940s just so I can fill it with such beauties. The 1940s have a distinct aesthetic. It is post-Deco, not really Mid-Century Modern, and pre-Atomic Age. It is in the middle;…
Continue ReadingFlower Power
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA 1940 Lovely
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingAn Atomic Blast
My online vintage lighting store. Yesterday, I moved a large box in my vast storage vaults. Something was under it. Oh. Oh! Oh my! Wanna see? Scroll way down. But, be warned! It’s…atomic. My…
Continue ReadingA Floral Delight
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA 1910 Beauty
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA Before/After Involving A Magician
My online vintage lighting store. For many years now I have worked with another lighting guy in Oregon, JR. We are not competitors as JR specializes in, for example, restoring huge old chandeliers from 1920s movie palaces, and in making huge new fixtures for restaurants and casinos. To my surprise, JR is also…
Continue ReadingA Red Delicious
My online vintage lighting store. Ages ago I purchased six matching kitchen-style ceiling lights. And they have been tucked in a corner ever since, dirty and unrestored. The issue was the steel shades. They were caked with flat white paint applied with a bad brush! I knew they would be a ton of work to…
Continue ReadingAn Early Electric Knock-out!
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue Reading