The power in action

I recently came across this tidbit from Goethe again: "Doubt can only be removed by action". I don't know how many times doubt has stopped me in my tracks quicker than a mule in quicksand. There were times doubts completely left me unable to move forward, unable to even take the first small step. I remember when I knew I had to rebuild the garage because it was starting to lean precariously to one side, having been built originally as a stable with no foundation and built on sand (literally - it was the original beach house in that area). Doubts stopped me for YEARS before I could take the first swing of the hammer. I would stare at the garage, knowing what steps were need (after shoring it up so it wouldn't collapse in the next wind storm) but still I had an inability to move on it.  Feeling a bit more depressed every time I turned away from it.
And as I have found over the years, once I started or took action, I was surprised how simple and uplifting it was to complete the project.  Simple in that just one action after another got me to totally replace each of the four walls, replace all windows, install a door, install a foundation, pour a concrete slab floor and install underground electrical and plumbing to it.
Above is the actual finished garage.


Take action my friends. PB

Fair sailing ahead

I must say we are enjoying this juxtaposition of old and new technology. Our website is our main source of marketing and sales of restored vintage light fixtures. There was a time, not so long ago that some may remember, where electricity was a new fangled contraption which was feared, mis-understood, and generated awe. Sort of like the computer and internet today. We receive calls where folks find us mentioned in magazine articles, but they do not have internet or computer skills so they can search our website. One woman's obsession of vintage lighting prompted her to take a class on the use of computers and internet so she could view our inventory of antique lighting fixtures. Who would have guessed our passion of vintage lighting would have had this effect?


Bringing the old fixtures back to life, with a purpose, is what we do and the future for our business continues to glow brighter every day.


Listen to Your Eyes.  PB
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Colors & Vintage Light Fixtures

One of the things that I have come to appreciate and enjoy about Vintage Lighting is the artistic way the colors of the fixture, chain, and glass all come together in an aesthetically pleasing manner, as in the one pictured above, in a way which compliments any interior, from the natural wood in a Bungalow to the Victorian Ladies up on the hill.

I know I am not the only one who has mentioned this, but have you seen the hideous colors some people are painting and selling these antique fixtures?  Some of these are painted with more vibrant, flashy, and differing colors than a Mardi Gras hooker in Rio (never been to Mardi Gras). The colors clash, showing no understanding of the basic color wheel, and are completely without basis in any color scheme for vintage interiors.  These highly irregular painted fixtures are even brazenly advertised as historically accurate?!?
Even if one initially likes these manically overpainted painted fixtures I can only imagine one would tire of them soon and they would definitely be a turn-off when one tries to sell the house.

The most recent house I purchased had a bright pink rug. I almost did not purchase it because it was so hideous. The purchase was contingent upon that rug's removal.


Please Listen To Your Eyes.  PB


http://www.vintagelights.com/

Vintage Lighting That WORKS

In the next week or two we will be listing on our website, www.VintageLights.com, a marvelous set of 12 vintage Moe Bridges wall sconces (8 double light and 4 single light), classic in style and design, and massive at 17 inches long. Our company is committed to bring you vintage lighting that works. Not only electrically functional, but useful and needed. To this end we will be compiling more "sets" of vintage fixtures so a home owner will be able to outfit a room with matching ceiling and wall sconces, and a remodeler or builder will find a whole house full of antique light fixtures (say maybe 12 matching vintage Moe Bridges wall sconces?).

You do not see many "sets" out there for sale, even though that is how they were sold "back then". It is easier for a dealer to sell them off individually than to keep the set intact. Nothing wrong with making a quick buck in these economic times, but we believe a market is waiting for vintage lighting that works.

Listen To Your Eyes. PB

www.VintageLights.com

Vintage Porch Lights tip #2

Spring has arrived.  We can tell because our sales of porch lights have taken off.  We usually see a spike in sales of these once the folks who have been looking for them all winter cannot wait any longer. 
One important feature that VintageLights.com attends to when refurbishing these antique porch lights is to seal off any holes which wasps, insects, and weather may find.  A lot of these antique porch lights are not as weather tight as one would expect.  Small detail, but worth mentioning...


Listen to your eyes.  PB

www.VintageLIghts.com

Used Cars & Vintage Lights?

Remember a few years ago there were consumer warnings about used cars being sold after they were in the Great USA Flood of '93? OK, so you don't. Point being, a lot of cars were in the flood, were cleaned up, and sold as if nothing had happened to them. I was reminded of this when refurbishing a recently acquired chandelier. From the outside it looked good, clean and intact, but once taken apart it was obvious it had suffered significant water intrusion. Weather (intended) it was from Katrina or a leaky roof I have no way of knowing. Drilling out rusted screws was the only way to refurbish this fixture. Once the restoration was complete, all traces of the damage was mitigated.

We typically do not purchase water damaged fixtures; however, in this case it was from a trusted picker who was unaware and had no way of knowing about the hidden damage.

My assumption is there are still a lot of vintage lighting fixtures which were damaged in Katrina, and other weather events, showing up for sale. We are vigilant about this and you should be, too.

Listen to your eyes. PB

slip shade slipped

When we first put individual slip shades up for sale on our website I was not sure of the demand or need for them. We had a few laying around and we thought why not? As there were probably millions of them made during the late 20s and early 30s, what kind of demand could there be?


It turns out there is a very real demand for these. And what is most surprising to us is the frequency at which they are broken. We get several calls a month from frantic homeowners and house guests trying to replace a recently broken shade. Then we get the calls from people who have been looking for YEARS, yes years, to match a broken shade. More then one of these folks have told us they have been looking for over 5 years until they found us!

Because of this demand, we now have the largest selection of individual slip shades on the web. Unfortunately, like anything in limited quantity, the demand keeps pushing the prices up. Prices of these have almost doubled within the past couple years and the current recession has only slightly curbed the climbing prices of these slip shades.

Please be careful with these.

Listen to your eyes.  PB

Slip into a Bungalow

Looking through the pages of American Bungalow and other such magazines I often see images of "slip shade" fixtures and sconces in room shots and in ads. I remember a conversation with a customer at the Pasadena Heritage's Craftsman Weekend (where we exhibit, in October). He asked why there are so many of these 1930s "deco" slip shade fixtures in Bungalows? My answer was very simple: "Because they fit!".


This genre of vintage lighting fixtures is so versatile and so well crafted that the correct ones can fit seamlessly into almost any decor.

One of our slip shade fixtures, (similar to the one above) from the early 30s, was on the cover of American Bungalow, Spring '08, issue #57. It was in a remodel of a 1909 Craftsman in Olympia, WA. (I actually hung the this and other fixtures they purchased). This particular fixture had a "hammered" look to the cast iron and was refinished in an original aged copper scheme which blended wonderfully into the room, along with the matching sconces. The detailing on the fixture was in the Spanish Revival vein and the light from the amber shades was a perfect compliment to the woodwork in the home. The fixture's open architecture allowed the fixture to blend into its surrounding without commanding all the attention. Lots of reasons why it just fits. You don't have to pick it apart, just enjoy.

Listen to your eyes. PB

Bungalow remodel

Over the course of the 26 years I lived in this home I (among other things) replaced the kitchen twice, moved the bath from closet sized into one of the bedrooms, jacked up one corner 6 inches, moved doors & save trim, tiled, re-plumbed and re-wired the entire house, replaced the roof down to the rafters, added the deck, replaced most of the window, and refinished the entire 1st floor from the studs out, including leveling the floor which was over 7 inches out of level on the diagonal.
The original house was built in 1908 as a beach front cottage in West Seattle. Some time in the 40s the house was raised and a 1st floor was put in under the original structure. At that time 2 smaller cottages were built between this house an the beach.
When they poured the the first floor slab they did not level the floor, pouring concrete over the existing grade which included the sloped front porch. This explains why it was so far out of level.
The full length enclosed porch (originally open) faced west, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. The beach rock fireplace even had some of the barnacles still on them, 100 years later!
When I first moved in I could see south, almost to Tacoma. When I moved 3 1/2 yeas ago the entire south view had been blocked by new houses and new additions.

Living and remodeling this house is where my I got my appreciation for things old and the Craftsman style.

Antique light fixtures tip #2

Another comment we hear frequently when we exhibit our antique light fixtures in shows around the country is, "I wish I had known about you before we purchased reproductions."  We wish they had as well. One virtue is patience but another should be foresight.
When planning a remodel or an upgrade in your home, start early, plan ahead, and by all means when you find something vintage you like, do not hesitate to purchase it. When the electrician says, "We're ready to hang the lights" is not the time to start looking. A mistake people make is not believing they can find the right vintage fixtures to give their home that authentic vintage look. They usually can find just the right antique light fixtures if they plan ahead and start the searching process early on.

Yes, there are Mountains in Arizona

After concluding a sale yesterday with customers in Minnesota, they realized we were in Arizona and emailed that they had just spent 2 months in Tuscon.  They, like us, love the sun; I moved moved from Seattle 3 1/2 years ago for just that reason.
We are up in the mountains of Arizona, Prescott, which is the about same elevation as Denver, 5500 ft above sea level.  It freezes almost every night in winter and we get 4 seasons, with a prolonged, mild summer.  Three days ago we got 3 inches of snow and today it should hit 60.  It stays consistently 20 to 30 degrees cooler here than in Phoenix... and the sun shines a lot!
We have chosen not to open a storefront, but we have a lot of our inventory available in a local antique store, Keystone Antiques, on Antique Row (Cortez St.) here in Prescott. 
If you are ever in the neighborhood, give us a call.

breeze of change

After a conversation with another dealer and customer this past week I realized how interest in Mid-Century lighting and decor has fallen off noticeably. We used to get interest, inquiries and sales of Mid-Century items on a somewhat regular basis, but not lately. This has been the trend for us for a few months now. Interest in 1910 through 1930 vintage has thankfully increased during the same time frame.


Design magazines work on a 2 to 4 month lead time, so it would be some time before you would read this in them (if they report it at all).

And this just could be a dip in our market response, not a widespread trend.

Just thought I would pass this along.


Listen to Your Eyes.  -PB