Sunday, August 28, 2011

Arts & Crafts Show

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Arts & Crafts Show, September 24th & 25th at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds. This is the 12th annual show, and we will be exhibiting again this year along with over 50 dealers of antique and reproduction furnishings and decorative arts.

For more information on the show, go to Eastwood Gallery.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

30" Lotus Blossom Chandelier

Blooming water plants were a favorite design inspiration for Louis Comfort Tiffany. Arrowhead, waterlily, lily pad, and lotus flowers appear in windows, as decorative elements on numerous items, and in several lamps created by Tiffany Studios. Tiffany's signature dragonfly shades, and several fish lamp designs continue the fascination with pond life. We have recently completed a reproduction of the 30" Lotus Blossom Chandelier, one of the most spectacular stained glass chandelier fixtures created by Tiffany Studios.

A beautiful flowering water plant, the lotus is often confused with the waterlily. Petals of the lotus flower have a distinctive shape, and most parts of the plant are edible and are used in international cuisines. The plants have strong roots and thrive in muddy streams and pools, inspiring many religious connections going back to ancient times. Lotus plants are heat producing (to attract cold blooded pollinators), and are one of the only plants which blooms and bears fruit at the same time. The flowers open at daybreak and close at nightfall.
Measuring an impressive 30" in diameter, the shade is one of the largest stained glass fixtures created by Tiffany Studios for domestic use. This design may have originally been a special order - only one original example of the Lotus Blossom chandelier is known to exist, and the lamp does not appear on the original price guides. The photo to the right shows Irwin soldering the outside of the shade.

This bold design showcases these showy flowers in bud and full bloom, and this design is a perfect vehicle to feature rare and unusual glass. To create this shade, we have pulled choice examples of rare glass made by Schlitz, Lins (both of these glassmakers are long out of business), Youghiogheny, Uroboros, and some very unusual sheet glass made at Century Studios. A strong mix of pink, purple, red/orange and yellow were used to create the spectacular flowers in this shade. To the left, Bill is seen picking a fracture glass that will be incorporated into the top of the shade.

The shade is suspended from six chains which hook onto a cast bronze crown. The reproduction crown and fixture are created in our studio and the length can be adjusted to a client's specifications. This impressive chandelier fixture is currently available for purchase in our showroom.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

20" Nasturtium Shade

A recent addition to our showroom is this colorful 20" Nasturtium Shade. The shade has a non-repeating pattern, and the saucer-like shape is the perfect vehicle for this Tiffany Studios design. Usually a shade will utilize three or four repeated sections to create the shade, although there are also two, five, seven and even nine repeat patterns. Non-repeating patterns offer the viewer the option of seeing something different from every viewing angle. The photo above shows one half of the shade on the light table while the other half has been foiled and transferred to the form.

At this time of year, nasturtiums can be seen creeping across the garden, climbing over rocky areas and mounding in colorful profusion. The flowers and leaves are edible, and offer a peppery kick to salads. This shade perfectly replicates the large lily pad shaped leaves and multicolored flowers of this cheerful plant. The pattern ebbs and flows across the surface of the shade with clusters of leaves prevalent in some areas, and an abundance of flowers blooming wildly in others.

We are showing this shade on our new Budding Urn Pottery Base. This shade works equally well on a number of different table bases. This lamp is currently available for purchase in our showroom.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Ceiling Fixture and New Lamp Base

Today we introduce two new non-stained glass offerings to our showroom. The first is a 5 Light Ceiling Fixture. This ceiling light is 14" across and flush mounts to any ceiling box. It has 5 pendant blown trumpet shades interspersed with 5 gold lustre glass balls. The pendant balls are positioned to reflect the light from the shades. This fixture can be used with several styles of blown glass shades.

Our second addition is a new reproduction pottery lamp base design. Created to our specifications by Ephraim Faience Pottery, the Budding Urn Pottery Base is inspired by an original Grueby Pottery design. Our reproduction Tiffany Studios metalwork has three lights, and this base can be used with 18" or 20" shades. The base is shown with the 18" Oak Leaf currently available in our showroom.