28" Grape Trellis

Originally designed as a chandelier fixture, the 28" Grape Trellis shade also makes an impressive large table lamp or floor lamp. We recently made up an Arc base (29" tall) to display this shade. This study bronze lamp base is sometimes referred to as the Eiffel Tower base and has a light feel due to its intricate piercing. The shade and base are currently available for purchase from our studio showroom.

Lamp of the Week: 20" Dragonfly

This 20" Dragonfly has a winning personality. The glass is bright and inviting, with golden tones complimenting the lavender tinged purples. The golden lower border rows and blue jewels add a lively contrast to the colors in the body of the shade. The shade is shown on the elegant Twisted Vine base (25.5" tall). We created this lamp in 2013 as a studio showroom piece and it is now in a private upper Midwest collection.

18" Wisteria, Part 1

 

The 18" Wisteria lamp is one of Tiffany Studios' signature shade designs. This elaborate shade has close to 2000 individual pieces of glass, each of which must be carefully considered during the glass selection process. Commissioned by a client in North Carolina, Bill Campbell began the layout for the shade in early December.

The glass selection for any lamp is the most important part of the process and one of us will be "in charge" of the glass selection and layout. Both of us work together on cutting and fitting a lamp, especially on a large shade like this one. The glass colors are chosen and thoughtfully composed using our light tables, and each piece of glass is cut and fit to the pattern by hand.

With the cutting and fitting completed in January, Bill and Irwin Terry settled in with a few audio books to begin foiling the lamp. Due to the number of pieces in this lamp, every step takes a considerable amount of time, skill and patience to complete.

Once all the pieces are foiled, the project changes from a two person project to a single artist endeavor. Irwin is seen transferring the foiled pieces onto our lamp form which had been covered in our house made sticky beeswax.

Irwin then begins the process of soldering the shade together. The lamp still has a way to go before it is completed, but arriving at the soldering stage on a large shade like this one always feels like a milestone moment. 

Lamp of the Week: 26" Oriental Poppy

The 26" Oriental Poppy is a highly detailed, opulent Tiffany shade design. Large showy blooms undulate across the surface of the shade, each vying for attention. For this example, orange flowers mixed with red and yellow are set against a sunny yellow  background. The olive toned greens in the leaves add fullness to the design. We created this shade for a local client in 2008.

Slipfit Caps

Century Studios is pleased to reintroduce Slipfit Caps to our to our line of reproduction Tiffany lamp parts. We recently had our spinning jigs retooled and our Slipfit Caps are now spun as a single piece with the additional flange extending below the cap. In the past, the flange had to be added and soldered in position at the bottom of the cap.

On a lamp base with a central post, the shade rests on a cast wheel and the vent cap is held in place by screwing it in place. When a shade is mated with a lamp base with an armset, the addition of a flange that slips inside the shade ring allows a Slipfit Cap to stay in position and not slide off the top of the shade.

Available with a patina or raw brass, our Slipfit Caps fit the Tiffany 3 and 4 shade rings.

 

Lamp of the Week: 22" Greek Key

The 22" Greek Key is a generously proportioned shade can be used as a table lamp, chandelier or on a floor base. A symbol of infinity and unity, the Greek Key is a motif with a classic yet modern look, and is still a major design element in decorative arts and furnishings today.The shade has a warm, honey colored amber tone that is both soothing and friendly and is shown on the distinctive Arc base (26.5" tall). We created this example for a client in Virginia in 2009.

20" Nasturtium

Century Studios is starting off the new year by welcoming a 20" Nasturtium to our showroom. Completed in late December, this lamp made for our studio showroom and is now in a private collection.

The 20" Nasturtium is a uniquely shaped low dome with a non-repeating shade design. Mimicking the look of nasturtium plants as they climb over rocks in the garden, the riotously colored flowers peek out amongst the large saucer shaped leaves. Nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible and have a sharp, peppery taste which adds a colorful zing to summer salads.

Leaves and flowers tumble across the surface naturally, clumping together and vying for attention. Viewed from different vantage points, the emphasis shifts from leaves to flowers. The glass for each flower was carefully considered for color and personality to move the eye around the shade in anticipation of new surprises.

The 20" Nasturtium shade is shown on the elegant Library base (23" tall).
 

Lamp of the Week: 16" Woodbine

 

The 16" Woodbine masterfully combines floral and geometric elements into an almost abstract pattern that is perfectly suited to showcase extraordinary glass. The woodbine, also known as Virginia Creeper, is a climbing vine whose leaves turn from green to vivid autumnal tones in the fall, creating a blaze of color possibilities for the shade. The colorful leaves are rendered in greens, flaming yellows, and reds against a green background glass with multicolored fracture/streamer. Shown on the Decorated Trumpet base, this shade was created in 2012 as a showroom piece and is in a private collection.