12" Turtleback Lamp

At the studio, we are usually working on several projects at the same time. At the moment, we have two shades, a lamp base, and two windows going on simultaneously. This may sound counterproductive, but each project is at a different stage of production and gives us the opportunity to vary our work during the day. One window has been cut and fit, and is ready for foiling. The second is being laid out and is taking up both light tables. One shade is in the final stages of soldering, while the other is ready for foiling and final assembly. The lamp base is waiting for a light cluster and then it will be patinated and wired, ready for its debut in the showroom.

In the midst of all this activity, we have completed a 12" Turtleback shade for the showroom. The background glass shifts from a pleasant off-white down to a vibrant green, which sets off the green turtleback tiles. Displayed on the Budding Gourd Pottery Base, this petite lamp would make a perfect accent light in any room of the house.

22" Nasturtium Shade

The 22" Nasturtium commissioned by an East Coast client has been completed and delivered.

Large shades provide an generous canvas to blend colors. The glass in this large shade contains a plethora of colors and textures, creating unexpected juxtapositions of flat, textured, mottled, streaky, transparent and more opaque glasses. The glasses combine to present a lively rendering of Nasturtiums at the height of summer.

The 22" Nasturtium is a shade pattern with three repeats in the design. The brightly colored flowers mound realistically on the shade as if they are growing over the piece. As with most Tiffany Studios' lamp shade designs, the skillful rendering of the lifelike flowers makes the repeat difficult to easily discover.

Once the foiling was completed, the shade was soldered together and reinforcing wires were affixed to the interior of the shade, providing the additional stability which has enabled original Tiffany examples to last over 100 years in perfect condition.

22" shades are quite versatile and are well suited to be used as large table lamps, floor lamps, or chandelier fixtures. Our client chose the highly detailed Bird Skeleton base for the shade. This base features an organic surface with many cutouts from the legs and continuing on the stem which gives the base a light, airy feel. The distinctive Pigtail Cap completes the piece with an added touch of whimsy.

Back to Work

We are back from our trip to NYC and are hard at work on several projects. While Irwin solders on a 20" Geometric shade for a client, Bill is laying out a 16" Daisy shade. The background, leaves and stems are in place, and he is working on the flower petals now.

Century Studios Will Be Closed

Century Studios will be closed Thursday April 12 through Saturday April 14. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday April 17.

Studio Tour

This past Thursday, Century Studios hosted a local women's antiques group with a tour of our studio. The late morning tour lasted about an hour, with many questions and lively comments from the group.
We have several projects in progress, and demonstrated how we construct our lamps and windows.

28" Trumpet Vine Shade Completed

We completed the 28" Trumpet Vine shade late last week. The glass used to create this shade has an explosion of color and variety. Ring mottled, streaky, fracture and rippled glass make the shade exciting to view from every angle. The glass used for the background of the shade is made from three different fracture/streamer glasses created at our studio, and the color shifts from deep purple to several lighter blue/purple mixes. The shade also has a decorative beaded border, which is commonly found on the 28" cone shades. In the photo to the right, Irwin is seen attaching the beaded lower edge.

We are showing the shade on the impressive Turtleback base. Created at our studio using molds taken from an original Tiffany example, the Turtleback base features a row of pressed glass turtleback tiles which are illuminated from within the base. Tiffany Studios intended the 28" cone shaped shades to be used as chandelier fixtures, but they were also used on floor bases and as very large table lamps. Our Illinois client will be using the shade on a large table base.

28" Trumpet Vine Shade

One of the more colorful climbing vines Tiffany Studios chose to immortalize in windows and on lamp shades is the Trumpet Vine, or Trumpet Creeper. We offer an 18" and a 22" version of this shade, and are pleased to be introducing the 28" Trumpet Vine cone shade.

The plant is a natural choice for stained glass shades since the flowers come in a variety of colors including red, orange, red-orange, gold, and bright yellow. The plant has large, pendant flower clusters and distinctively shaped foliage. This semi-woody vine grows quickly and aggressively along supports such as arbors, fences and trellises. The long trumpet shaped flowers produce copious amounts of nectar which attracts hummingbirds and bees.

We have completed the layout, cutting, fitting and foiling on the 28" cone, and Irwin will begin soldering the shade this week. The photo to the left shows a preview closeup of the shade, laid out on our light table. The distinctive fracture/streamer glass used in the shade was created at our studio. We will show more of this shade once it is completed.