16" Cyclamen

The 16" Cyclamen shade is a rarely seen Tiffany Studios shade pattern. Native to Europe and the Mediterranean, cyclamen are known for their distinctively shaped flowers which appear to be blooming upside down. Cyclamen flowers come in shades of pink, white and purple, and can be delicately toned or vibrantly colored.

The flowers for this shade were made from "gold pink" glass that was created by Schlitz Studios in the 1980's. Gold can produce beautiful pinks (and purples) that have a distinctive fuchsia tone. The flowers, supported by slender stems indicated by the vertical lead lines, hover peacefully against a blue sky above a blanket of dappled foliage. Commissioned by a client in Massachusetts, the shade is shown on the slender Grooved base (26" tall).

Lamp of the Week: 24" Border Peony

The 24" Border Peony is a design that combines a geometric background with a wide floral border on the lower half of the shade. The exuberant flowers "grow" in profusion, showing off their brilliant petals and dense foliage. The rich amber tones of the shade provide a warm backdrop for the pink & red flowers. The leaves are tinged with both the flower and background colors, giving the shade a balanced feel. This shade was commissioned in 2014 and is in a private collection.

New Shade Design - 28" Grape Trellis Chandelier

Century Studios is pleased to introduce a new design to our line of reproduction Tiffany lamps, the 28" Grape Trellis. Designed by Tiffany Studios as a chandelier fixture, the shade can also be used as a floor lamp or oversized table lamp. This exciting new lamp is currently available in our showroom.

28" chandelier cones give the lamp artist a an exciting opportunity to showcase the beauty of stained glass in ways not possible on smaller shades. The intricate patterns and expanded surface area allows for more variety within the shade. The 28" Grape Trellis pattern is defined by the trellis itself, which provides a visual structure for the leaves and large clusters of fully mature fruit to realistically intertwine across the surface of the shade.

The 28" Grape Trellis has a non-repeating pattern. We began the layout process by choosing glass for the trellis. The color of the trellis tones every aspect of the piece since it appears throughout the entire shade. The background areas were cut from a number of different glasses that sometimes blended, and in other places contrast with one another.

A wide variety of textures, colors and transparencies of glass were chosen for the fruit and foliage. Ring mottled glass imparts a sun dappled effect to the leaves and provides shading on the grapes. One of the features of this shade is the large leaf that is cut from drapery glass. The pleated folds of the drapery glass add a realistic element to the shade.

Once all the glass was selected, cut and fit, the pieces were foiled and then transferred onto the form.

Soldering on a large shade will take multiple days. Once the exterior has been soldered together, the form is heated to melt the wax Part of the soldering process on large shades includes adding reinforcement wires to the interior of the shade. The final element is the addition of the bead chain border around the bottom of the shade. Each bead is carefully soldered in place to create the unique decorative edging.

Because this shade has a non=repeating pattern, there are surprises to be found from every angle. The large drapery glass leaf undulates upwards from the surface of the shade.

The grapes are a mix of lush blues, deep purples, and reds tinged with blue and green. Another important element of this design are the stems/branches that weave in and around the shade. From the thick woody main stems, smaller branches shoot out, binding the grapes to the trellis.

The completed shade is a visual delight that blends together glasses from all the major glass makers of the past 30 years. The overall tone of the piece is lush and bursting with life.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Daffodil

This bright, sunny 16" Daffodil shade has a carefree feel. Without decorative border rows, the flowers appear to be growing in a field rather than in a formal garden. For this shade, we chose a sunny yellow background glass that deepens to an amber/green mix on the lower portion of the shade. The fresh green leaves and stems provide a crisp contrast to the warm amber tones in the shade. The shade is shown on the elegant Greek Urn base (overall lamp height 22"). We created this piece as a showroom example in 2017 and the lamp is now in a private local collection.

Showroom Lamps

For the past few months, we have been working nonstop on commissioned lamps and have not had time to create new showroom pieces. Because of this, our selection of showroom lamps has recently dwindled down to just a couple of stained glass pieces. To enhance the selection of showroom examples, we have brought in a number of lamps from our private collection. Most of these pieces will only be available for a limited time. The collection of lamps varies in size and style.

Here is a listing of the lamps now in our showroom:

Chain Mail Lantern - This hanging fixture is 9" wide and has 8 rows of chain mail. The fixture is shown at 33" in length, and can be made longer with the addition of more chain. The minimum length of the fixture without any chain is 25".

9" Iris - This is a Century Studios original shade design. This torchiere style shade is covered in delicate Iris flowers clustered together in a impressionistic burst of color. The shade is shown on the Doric Column Torchiere base.

12" Zodiac - This is a Century Studios original shade design. The design uses motifs found in Tiffany Studios Zodiac Desk Set pieces and larger Tiffany Zodiac shades. Decorative borders intertwine across the surface of the shade which is also studded with small three dimensional pressed glass jewels and our large round turtleback jewels. Heavily rippled glass was chosen for the borders which, in combination with the jewels that stud the surface, gives the shade a sparkling three dimensional aspect. The Zodiac shade is shown on the elegant Torpedo base.

14" Chestnut -  This is a Century Studios original shade design. The lively colors of the leaves and flowers are set against a vibrant blue sky tinged with purple and wisps of white giving the shade a fresh appearance. The shade is shown on the Leaf and Bud w/Collar Pottery base.

16" Apple Blossom - The warm orange/amber background glass of this shade was selected from old Oceana 900 Series. Available for only a brief time many years ago, 900 Series was an unusual glass that looks opaque when unlit, and becomes sparkling and transparent when illuminated. This shade has three dimensional "jeweled" flower centers. Bill hand-chipped and faceted thick chunks of amber glass until they were the size and shape needed for each flower center. This unusual technique, in conjunction with the rippled leaf glass, creates a look of movement and interest in the shade. The shade is shown on the Flower Petal (w/arms) base.

18" Clematis - This beautifully designed Tiffany shade has a non-repeating pattern and is covered in large flowers. Purple and blue flowers tinged with fuchsia are set against a green fracture glass background. In addition to ring mottled and streaky glass, rippled glass appears throughout the shade in the flowers, leaves, and flower centers. Much of the glass used for this shade was made by the Lins and Schlitz glass foundries. Both of these glassmakers ceased production in the 1990's, and their glass is highly prized. The shade is shown on the tall Grooved base.

18" Peacock - The 18" Peacock is a highly detailed shade design consisting of overlapping peacock tail feathers swirling across the surface of the shade. Horizontal border rows provide a visual resting point to the viewer. The shade skillfully blends together three different types of rippled glass.

Tiffany Studios designed the Peacock base (29.5" total lamp height) specifically for this shade. The shape of the base swells at the top, mimicking the bird's feathered breast. The lower portion of the base is decorated with more tail feathers, each of which has a stained glass eye at its center.

22" Turtleback Turban - The geometric upper and lower portions of this shade are cut from heavily mottled, richly colored red & green glass. The decorative band is made from very deeply toned black cherry colored turtlebacks. The deeply saturated colors give an overall brooding effect to the piece. The shade is shown on the organic Bird Skeleton base. This shade will also work well as a floor lamp or chandelier fixture.

Lamp of the Week: 25" Roman

The 25" Roman shade is a generously proportioned lamp with an unusual flaring "helmet" shape. This piece was created from mottled glass that starts with a rich amber at the top and moves into deep orange on the lower half of the shade. Accents of yellow and yellow/green are found in the decorative border rows. Commissioned by a local client in 2005, the shade was photographed on the study Tree Trunk base (24" tall), but was installed as a chandelier fixture.

14" Geranium Pair

This matched set of 14" Geranium shades was commissioned by a West Coast client. Red flowers dot the upper half of the shade, while mottled green leaves play against a light fracture/streamer background. Amber/orange border rows tinged with green give the pieces definition.

Lamp of the Week: 28" Wisteria

The generously proportioned 28" Wisteria makes an impressive floor lamp or chandelier fixture. For this shade we used a mix of blue, lavender and white blossoms intermingled with fresh green foliage. The mottled glass gives the flowers a sun dappled appearance, while the irregular lower border and lobed shape creates a naturalistic look. Shown on the Sr. Floor base, this lamp was created in 2007 as a showroom piece and is now installed as a chandelier fixture in a local collection.

Turtleback Lantern

We currently have about four projects underway at the studio, each of them at different stages of production. At present, we are foiling a shade while another shade is being laid out and cut. We are preparing waxes to take to our foundry, and are working on the assembly and patina of bronze pieces we recently picked up from the foundry. This Turtleback Hanging Lantern is one of the pieces we picked up from the foundry. It has deep green turtleback tiles and has been delivered to a West Coast client.