Century Studios Lamp Bases

At Century Studios, we offer over 90 lamp base options, including table lamps, floor lamps, and chandelier fixtures. We create more than half of the bases/fixtures we offer in house. Here we have a photo showing a number of raw bronze castings for various projects that are underway.

Our bronze bases are cast using a lost wax process, and hours of hand work are needed to create each individual lamp part. To create a piece, we begin with a mold taken off an original part/base and using these molds, we pour waxes of the pieces to be cast. After hand cleaning the waxes, we take them to a local foundry. The foundry coats each wax part with a ceramic shell mixture which hardens around the piece. The wax is then melted from the shell and molten bronze is poured in its place. When cool, the shell is broken away to reveal the raw bronze part. Each wax and ceramic shell produces only one piece of bronze, and these parts are shown in the above photo. After additional cleanup and metalworking we apply a verdigris patina to the finished bases.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Cyclamen

The 16" Cyclamen shade showcases an abundance of colorful flowers floating above a bed of dense foliage. Native to Europe and the Mediterranean, cyclamen are known for their distinctively shaped flowers which appear to be blooming upside down from their curved stems. Set against a light blue background, the two tone flowers are carefully selected to combine whites, pinks, and purples. The greens include a lively mix of secondary colors, adding brightness and interest to the shade. Created as a showroom lamp in 2015, this lamp is shown on the Greek Urn base and is now in a private collection.

2016 20th Century Design Show

The summer is flying by, and the 17th Annual 20th Century Design Show is fast approaching.  With over 40 dealers specializing in Arts & Crafts and Mid Century Modern furnishings and decorative arts, this show brings together an eclectic mix of antiques dealers and contemporary artists.

This year, David Rago of Rago Arts and Auction Center will be participating in the show. Mr. Rago, a well known appraiser from the popular PBS program Antiques Roadshow will be offering appraisals at his booth throughout the weekend (single appraisal $10.00, three for $25.00 - all proceeds will be donated to local charities). Mr. Rago will also be giving a one hour presentation (free with admission) during the show. 

The show will be held at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in the Progress Center. Hours: Saturday September 24, 9:00 am to 5 pm. Sunday September 25, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission $7.00. For more information and a list of participating dealers, visit the Eastwood Gallery website.

Lamp of the Week: 16" Banded Daffodil

Created in the early 1990's as a showroom piece, this 16" Banded Daffodil shade comes to life through the careful modulation of vivid yellows against a multi-hued green backdrop. Glasses used include bold ring mottles,  ripples, and delicate fracture glass. The light colored border rows reign in the exuberant flowers. The shade is shown on the Vial base. The lower portion of this unique base has green glass blown into the reticulated metalwork.

Geometric Shades

We recently completed two small geometric shades for a local client. The 7" Geometric shade is made from a striated red glass and will be used on a wall sconce. The butter yellow glass of the 12" Acorn shade gives off a warm glow. The shade is shown on the Tobacco Leaf base.

Lamps of the Week: 14" Lamp Grouping

Back in the early 1990's, not long after we moved our studio to downtown Minneapolis' North Loop Warehouse District, we decided to have a showroom event which would include all the smaller shade styles we offered at that time.  We titled the display Tiffany In Bloom and included the six 14" shades pictured. We also created larger lamps for the display, but the showcase was on small accent lamps in a variety of colors and styles. Century Studios now offers more than 35 small lamp designs that are smaller than 16" shades.

Back Row, Left to Right: 14" Crocus, 14" Geranium, 14" Dragonfly
Center: 14" Daffodil
Front Row, Left to Right: 14" Acorn, 14" Tulip

28" Daffodil

Large floral shades represent the finest stained glass shade designs created by Tiffany Studios. With their expanded surface area, the flowers on these shades definitely have room to grow! The 28" Daffodil pattern has the natural look of a garden in springtime. The willowy stems hold the distinctive flower heads aloft while the slender leaves sway in a gentle breeze.

The overall feel of the shade is bright and cheerful. The background glass is a blended mix of blues, greens, and purples which start light and airy towards the top of the shade and intensify on the lower half. Over ten different greens were called into service to create the leaves and stems, and the yellow flowers are a lively mix of ring mottled, streaky, and textured glasses.

Commissioned as an anniversary gift by a client in Vermont, this 28" Daffodil is now installed as a chandelier fixture in their home.

Window of the Week: Polychrome

Inspired by John R. Neill's 1909 full page illustration in L. Frank Baum's book The Road To Oz, Polychrome was created as a showroom window in 2013. The window depicts Polychrome, one of the daughters of the rainbow, returning home after her adventures in the Land of Oz. With her sisters in attendance to welcome her back, Polychrome's father reaches down and gently lifts her back up into her rainbow. The completed window is in a private collection.

Few things in nature are as colorful as a rainbow, which made this a perfect subject for a stained glass window. Bill Campbell painstakingly selected the glass for this window with the bright shifting colors of the rainbow being echoed with more intensity in Polychrome's flowing gown. The overall color scheme was carefully blended so the colors shifted into one another. The faces of each figure were hand painted and kiln fired several times to achieve the correct look and feel. The finished window brings Neill's black and white illustration to life with an explosion of color.