On
our travels this past year, in a quaint
little antique shop in the beautiful
country side of  Vermont,
we came across a magnificent old oil
lantern. The bell shaped glass
urn had a glass plate suspended above
it on three small chains to protect
the flame while leaving enough space
to allow air in so it could burn.
It
turns out this popular style of lantern
in days before electric lights reappeared.
around the end of the 19th-century as
an electric light fixture. While
most of these original products can
now only be found in antique shops,
we knew of a few companies still making
it. But when we found they were
all asking prices that we thought were
far too high, we went and found the
original source for the glass on the
other side of the world and commissioned
the manufacturing of a replica.
Authenticity was the key element to
us. So just like the original
oil lantern, we use handblown glass,
a traditional filigree style banding
used to hold the glass and an old fashioned
Jack-chain. The metal comes in a choice
of an antique bronze or antique pewter
finish. And because we have gone
direct,  we
have been able to bring our fixture
to market at a fraction of the price
of others.
The
rest is 'history' as the saying goes
because it turns out that our hurricane
lantern has become quite a popular light
fixture for us. Mind you, the
fact that our fixture has been featured
on a few TV shows and magazines by some
of this country's top designers has
helped it become one of our hottest
selling fixtures!
The
Georgian design style of this lantern
is reminiscent of a more formal era
in furnishings. Initially we thought
it would be used just as a hallway fixture.
But it turns out that our designers
are using this fixture just about everywhere
in the home. It works beautifully
as a fixture over a kitchen island or
table, and even more so when it is used
in multiples with two or three units
suspended in a row. It's also
finding its way into bedrooms, washrooms,
sitting rooms and libraries. It
turns out to be a very versatile fixture
and that's what makes this a truly classic
fixture - it has 'stood the test of
time!'
Our
lantern is available in three sizes
(two light version, three light or four
light), three styles of glass (diamond-cut
glass, star-cut glass, or clear glass)
and finished in antique bronze. |
