One category of our industrial lights are termed “Explosion Proof” which leads many people to wonder why you’d need to design a light to survive an  explosion. But in truth, they get their name from how they are designed to avoid catastrophe. Explosion Proof light fixtures are designed to completely encase the hot lamp in an air tight environment so volatile gasses in a factory work room, from such things as spray paint or heavily used solvents, won’t make contact with the socket and spark an explosion.   To ensure this the lights are designed using heavy cast aluminum...

An earlier post focused on the new laws aroung light bulbs and I mentioned how LED would likely by the winning technology for our future. Here’s an article from Fastcompany.com that explains the inner workings of an LED light bulb: Fifty Bucks For A Lightbulb? Say Hello To LED Bulbs The prices on LED light bulbs has already begun to shift downward – I recently purchased one from a big box retaile for under $20. The color isn’t that great, especially when compared to the incandescents we’re used to that have a more reddish hue. But the technology is definately more promising than...

Here’s a website posting to some information that will hopefully clear up a few questions about the new laws going into effect for energy efficient light bulbs. http://shine.yahoo.com/green/truth-light-bulb-law-200200491.html The question comes up around here quite often as to what is going to happen. As  you’ll read from the article the change is going to happen, but it won’t be abrupt.  Higher wattage bulbs will be phased out over time: “Old incandescents will not be taken off store shelves on January 1, but phased out as they are sold off. The old 75-watt incandescent...

Camphor glass has a cloudy white – sort of grayish actually – color which makes some also call them “clam broth” shades and is produced by exposing glass to hydrofluoric acid vapors. Camphor glass gained wide popularity during the mid 19th Century and was often used for jewelry and decorative items for the home such as vases, decanters and candle sticks, but it also had wide use for light shades. When unlit the light shades have a distinctive grayish appearance with a soft luminance, but when lit they show up as an off white. Most camphor glass shades are quite thick and...

So often the lights we sell get picked up or sent away and we’re only left with our imaginations to wonder how they fit in with their new surroundings. So, its always a great treat to find our fixtures beautifully photographed in their new setting such as I’ve found here: http://remodelista.com/posts/steal-this-look-mill-valley-loft-style-kitchen Its also a great endorsement that Allison, the homeowner of the project, is also an editor at Remodelista – a great source for design inspiration and product sources. We sell a lot of industrial lighting for kitches for several reasons....

Sometimes customers in our antique lighting shop ask me for fixtures in which they can use a very high amount of wattage. First off is that most vintage light fixtures aren’t designed from an aesthetic point of view to look good with excessively high amount of wattage – for instance, delicate gas shades begin to look “blown out” once you use more than 40 watts. But second is that if you rely on a single fixture for too much light it will create harsh, unflattering shadows. The better solution is to make sure that there is a balance of light in each room by using multiple...