Go Green on Earth Day – Recycle a Pre-Owned Light Shade

April 20th, 2012 by Sally No comments »
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Today is Earth Day, a day of awareness for creating a eco-friendly, healthier environment for future generations.

Danish Modern Tulip Tension Pole Lamp

My Dad's Danish Modern Tulip Tension Pole Lamp

Recycling pre-owned lighting keeps it out of the land fills. It also enhances the beauty of your home. It instills a sense of value to the history of past generations, their interior design and decorating. It’s a great method for teaching your family to appreciate Antiques or Family Heirlooms, various Art Work, and Trade Skills.

With just a bit of searching in local area shops, or on the internet for “Antique Lamp Shade”, “Vintage Lamp Shade” or “Collectible lamp shade”, you can discover great shapes, styles, materials, and colors. Earth colors are very popular right now, greening your home in shades of ivory, tan, browns, golds, greens, blues will enhance your decor.

A search for a specific Style, such as Danish Modern, Mid Century Modern, Victorian, 1920s, 1930s, 1950s etc will show you an endless array of terrific used, stylish lighting for all types of decor.

Even using a new lamp with a old shade, or vice versa will benefit Mother Earth, and keep nice old pieces out of the trash and add some stylish history to your life.

Here’s a few ideas:

If you are into Danish Modern like I am, you probably like Floor or Tension Pole Lamps, or Hanging Swag Lamps, and you will want to hunt for Threaded shades to screw into those light fixtures. My Dad’s gorgeous Danish Modern tension pole lamp with Tulip Blossom Shades and Teak Wood leaves graces our bedroom. The green shade is cracked, so if something should happen to it, I could quickly change the entire look with white or orange shades. Threaded shades were made in a number of shapes and colors and with some searching, they can be found.

I also love these Art Deco Style Shades made of Clear Glass, partially painted white, with their geometric designs. They are great for vintage bathrooms, hallways, and kitchens.

Or maybe you love the old Colonial Kerosene Oil Style Student Desk or Table Lamps. My Mother broke the shade on hers several years back, and quite by accident we found another just like it, probably made during the 1970s. There are so many of these lovely lamps that have been knocked over and had their shades broken. The lamps are still beautiful and in working order, but no longer have a shade. You can find lots lamps without shades and plenty of both new replacements and old original shades.

Spend Earth Day and Every Day watching for interesting, useful and eye pleasing items of all types that you can recycle. Help keep usable things out of the landfills and turn them into treasures.

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How to Find a Replacement for Grandma’s Broken Lamp Shade

March 26th, 2012 by Sally No comments »
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“DARN that CAT. It leaped into the air, flew past Grandma’s lamp, bumped it only slightly, but just enough to tip it and allow the shade to fall crashing to the floor. Now it is in a million pieces and I can’t even measure it. Can you help me find another in the size I need?”

Can you help me Replace My Broken Shade?

Can you help me Replace My Broken Shade?

Yes, it’s another day in our life, and another sad story from a caller whose treasured lamp was knocked over and the Student Desk or Table Lamp Shade got broken. We hear so many stories about disasters caused by pets, kids, the cleaning lady, repairmen, interior decorators, those doing the remodeling in a room, guests and even the owner themselves.

Just the act of moving the table without first moving the lamp so it wouldn’t fall or raising it to dust beneath it can make for quick disaster. Most of these distressed callers have many special memories attached to their lamp, and desperately want to make it whole again, and as soon as possible.

Quite often it’s simple to find the needed shade by description or with a photo of their other lamp or even a picture of the broken pieces sent to us from their phone. Other times we might discover that the lamp was a different style, such as a Gone with the Wind Table Lamp and they need a different style Shade.

Our job is quite fascinating, since nearly every day we find another color, style, pattern, or hand painted design. So many different lamps have been made over the decades, that there are dozens and dozens of variations available.

It makes our job worthwhile and a real pleasure, when we make a customer truly happy by matching their broken shade, or finding them a suitable style to compliment their lamp.

 

Do you have one shade but need another? Or need to replace a shade which is cracked or broken? Check our helpful instructions on How to Measure.

How to Choose the Correct Kerosene or Oil Lamp Chimney

How to Measure for a Electric Lamp Chimney

How to Measure Student, Gone with the Wind, Hurricane, Fixture, Ball, and Globe Shades.

How to use a Kerosene or Oil Lamp Safely.

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Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother by Collecting Symbols of Their Life

February 29th, 2012 by Sally 1 comment »
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My Father passed away last Wednesday at the age of 87. He and my Mother were married 65 1/2 years, raised 3 Daughters and 4 Sons, who have given them 13 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Dairy Advertising

Memories of My Father

Although the last few years of pain and slowly losing the man He once was are over, He lived a honorable and productive life. He taught us all the value of hard work, helping others and doing the right thing.

As my family planned to say our Good-byes to Dad, we wanted to celebrate his life not just by displaying a photo history, but also with bits and pieces with real meaning, loaded with memories.

Since He spent 20 years as a milk distributor, we all brought Dairy Advertising and even some of his shirts with company advertising patches. He worked for Meadow Gold and Borden’s before acquiring his own distributorship for Sanitary Farm Dairies (Quality Chek’d) products, and later Swiss Valley, and Land -0-Lakes. These memories filled a big 3 X 6 foot table.

When He could not find someone to repair the refrigeration units of his milk trucks, He took a correspondence course and taught himself, later opening Jack’s Refrigeration and Air Conditioning.

My oldest Brother Jack later joined him and then took over that business. It tickles me to remember business calls where we would have to ask some customers if they were asking for “old Jack” or “young Jack”.

After retiring, Dad had a wood crafting business and He and Mom traveled the state selling their “Copeland Creations” at craft shows. Another table at his service was filled with crafts He had made and given as gifts to all of us. A portion of my Dairy collectibles is displayed in our kitchen, on one of the shelves He made.

Dad liked advertising and had a Huge collection of Coffee Mugs. If you have loved ones in business, or involved in special activities that they love, collections of Advertising or the fruits of their labors can become such very special treasures.

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Add Warm Vintage Ambiance to your Valentines Day Decor

January 30th, 2012 by Sally No comments »
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Vintage Vanity Lamp

Vintage Vanity Lamp adds a Warm Romantic Glow

Looking for ideas to enhance a Romantic Valentine’s Day setting?

We recently found a few Ruby Red Flashed Hobnail lamp chimneys which got me to thinking about the past again. My Granny had a 1930s 1940s vanity lamp setting on her Victorian Era Mirrored Dresser with Hankie Boxes on top. It’s mine now, is milk glass with hand painted ivy leaves, and sets on my Grandpa’s bedside table.

I’ve seen many of these old lamps discarded as old and useless. Lighting companies also used the same chimneys of these lamps in wall sconces, chandeliers, and even tension pole and floor lamps.

The base of these lamps came in a variety of shapes, some scalloped bottom, some with beads around the edge, other with just a round rim. Some were plain white, some had painting in the candle holder bowl like bottom. They came with many difference chimneys, most were White Milk Glass in raised patterns with hobnails, diamond quilted, swirled ribs, and just plains with varied tops. But many were Handpainted or Decorated with Decals in an endless array of Florals. Others were made in Clear or Tranparent Colors
also in a variety of patterns.

The Ruby Red chimney could be used in many of those lamps, to change the decor for Valentine’s Day, Christmas Decorating or to add desired accents. I tried it in my lamp with a red light bulb, which added a lovely warm glow to the room.

Consider the possibilities for recycling those lamps, keeping them out of the landfill while adding unique vintage touches to your home.

 

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Start the New Year with Early 1930s Modernistic Decor Enhancements

December 29th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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On another trip around town, Richard came home with a beautiful 1930s Art Deco Style light globe complete with a Oil Rubbed Bronze Semi Flush Mount Ceiling Light Fixture.

Space Age Flying Saucer Shade

Space Age Flying Saucer Shade

The shade shown in the photo is a Quality Clear over Opal Milk Cased Glass, with a cool Machine Space Age Flying Saucer shape. These often also called Atomic shades have always been a special attraction to me.

1920s 1930s Style Lighting Replacement Lampshades would be marvelous for use in a Kitchen, Bathroom, Hall, or Porch Flush Mount Fixture, or a Semi Flush Mount Drop Ceiling Light Fixture.

Replace the normal classic schoolhouse shade in your Ceiling Fan with a interesting new look, or use it in a Hanging Swag or Pendant Lamp over your kitchen island or work area.

All lighting components are offered separately, in order to give everyone the freedom of choice between metal finishes for their Light Fixture, plus different sizes and styles of shades.

This small shade is just plain FUN!

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Vintage Cars Trucks Construction Farm & Train Toys – Gifts for Boys

December 12th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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Most boys grow up with Man toys on their Birthday, Santa Claus and Christmas gift list. Cars, Trucks, Farm, Construction, Trains, and Sports toys have been popular as long as there have been boys.

Famous Tin, Pressed Steel, and Die-cast toy makers like Structo,  Marx,
Nylint, Buddy L,   John Deere, Ertl, and Lionel have become desired collectibles.

Fabulous Old Big Boy Toys

Fabulous Old Big Boy Toys

My youngest Brother, Monte was a young owner of the larger Nylint Pressed Steel toys. He would spend hours playing with them, but one day Mom caught him outside beating them up with a sledge hammer. She screamed out in shock, “Monte, what are you doing?”

He has a long history of dismantling and putting everything back together again, just to see how they work. But this was destruction!

Using his most innocent, lovable grin, he said “I’m making them looked wrecked”.  Well— What could Mom say?  He was dead serious and so proud of himself! He later became an auto mechanic and then a semi driver.

I think that serious hard play explains why most of these great toys did not survive in nice condition, therefore, the nicer they are, the more they are desired.

Guys leave home, Mom stores their toys away, then another boy comes along and discovers a treasure. Boys of all ages now play with and/or collect these old toys along with  brand new ones. They make a fabulous collection!

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Family Name Advertising Items Make Great Souvenir Collectibles & Gifts

November 29th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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Proud of your family Surname? Not long ago, we had a customer make a purchase of some advertising items. The lady asked if we had anything else, because her son was collecting things with the family last name on them. It happened to be Hires.

Family Name Collectibles

Family Name Collectibles

As an avid collector of Dairy items from my Father’s business, this request connected with me as another challenging pursuit of goodies for a FAMILY collection. What great Stocking Stuffers!

A number of years ago, while at a area estate auction, a very old oil can came up for sale. I really wasn’t interested in oil cans, but the ringer said “It says Huffman on the front”. I thought, “whoa– I bet my son-in-law would really like that”. I won the bid, and gave it to him for Christmas that year. His face lit up with a big smile and he said “Cool”! I could tell he really felt special that year.

This evening I spent some time searching for Advertising with various extended family names and was quite surprised at what I found:

  • Griffin Shoe Polish
  • Griffin Baking Company
  • Griffin’s Waffle Syrup
  • Griffin & Howe Rifles
  • Griffin’s Pub
  • Hayes – Griffin Phonograph
  • Joy Dishwashing Liquid
  • Hoefler’s Fro-Joy Ice Cream
  • Joy Ice Cream Cones
  • Almond Joy Candy Bars
  • Kickapoo Joy Juice Soda
  • Mother’s Joy Coffee (very Old)
  • Moore & Kling Oil Bottles
  • Tom Moore Cigars
  • Chisholm-Moore Mfg (made Hoists in the 1920s)
  • Pattulo Jo Copeland Women’s Dresses (1940s clothing designer)
  • Copeland & Ryder Co Fine Shoes
  • Copeland Electric Refrigeration (cool old 1927 Ad)
  • Copeland Spode Dinnerware from England
  • Copeland Ranch Girl Peanut Chocolate Stix Bottles (1940s)
  • Copeland Express Baggage Transfer
  • Copeland & Bacon Mine Hoist Engine (1893 Ad)

You get the idea——- You can find just about anything imaginable with Advertising on it.

Coffee Mugs, Drinking Glasses, Actual product containers such as Old Tins and Bottles just touch the surface. You can find magazine and newspaper ads, Calendars, pencils, pens, all sorts of give-away souvenir advertisers for use everywhere inside the house including Neon Clocks.

AND Hmmmm? Wonder if any of these folks were related? Might this also be an opportunity to do some geneology research? Collecting items with your family name could get your kids connected with their own personal family history. Now that’s a treasure no one should miss!

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Shadow Box Miniature Figurines – Nice Collectibles for Small Spaces

October 30th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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While going through boxes of stuff we’ve had stored for years, I’ve found so many cute things that would be fun to collect. Lots of tiny little figures and treasures.

Miniature Metzler & Mortloff German Character

Miniature German Character may be Metzler & Mortloff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It brought back memories of when I lived in a small 2 bedroom trailer, back in the early 1980s. Space was so limited, and it was difficult to find places to store what was needed, let alone collect anything.

The only real place to put anything was on the wall, so I guess that’s why Shadow Box Display shelves were made. There are many manufactured types available, and crafty people make them out of old yard sticks too. Homemade shelves can be made to actually fit the items you want to display, wasting virtually no space.

Teenie tiny objects come made in glass, porcelain, bone china, rubber, plastic, resin, tin, Pewter, copper, and wood plus many other materials. You’ll find Antique, Vintage, and brand new itsy bitsy figures that were made in many countries. Hundreds of wee little Wade figures were made in Ireland, many were premiums in Rose Tea. Millions of pint sized objects were made in Japan, Taiwan, Scandinavia and now China. Petite Hallmark pieces were made in the U.S.A. and all over the world.

American Art pottery figures were made in places like Ohio, the Dakotas, Colorado, California, and probably every state in the US.

Even when living in a house trailer or small apartment, the options for collecting are endless. Most of those little treasures make inexpensive gifts, great Christmas Stocking Stuffers or Party Favors.

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Re-Purpose your Ceiling Fan with Style – Add a New Light Shade

September 26th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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Tired of looking at the same drab schoolhouse style light shade day after day?

Richard came home the other day with several really pretty light globes with flowers on them. It gave me an idea, so I started thinking about how changing from one shade to another, could give the room and entirely different look and feel. You can do it with very old or brand new shades.

If you have enough storage, you could change the fan shade with the seasons, from spring flowers, to fall flowers. Or go with Decorated Fan Light Shades in the colors in your decor.

During certain sports seasons, it would be fun to have just the perfect Sports Light Shade when inviting friends over to watch a ball game on TV. Or add some fun to the kids bedrooms.

With Hunting Season upon us, your favorite Duck Hunter would most likely enjoy a Flying Duck Light Shade for his office, den, or bar.

And if you are like me, I love white. It looks so bright and clean. Just a change of shape would add new interest to an otherwise tired, boring look. There are dozens of different White Fan Light Shades in all shapes, styles, and sizes. Some might be antique treasures found among the attic cobwebs, others may be brand new, made from old glass molds, re-purposed for today’s use.

This simple, inexpensive change is a great opportunity to add some variety to your family’s surroundings.

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1930s Art Deco Light Fixtures & Glass Shades – Fun Decor

August 29th, 2011 by Sally No comments »
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Do you like Early 1930s Modernistic Decor?

On a recent trip to a flea market, we found some really fun light shades for sprucing up home decor.

Art Deco Lighting

Every generation considers the styles of their parents and grand-parents to be tired, boring items to be discarded for the “New” more popular styles of the day. Youth always wants to do their “Own Thing”, something which sets them apart from the previous generations.

During the early 30s there were a variety of Art Deco Styles of lighting. My favorite is this modernistic style. The one we found pictured above was the type being made and used in restaurants, office buildings, trains, planes, and even cars. Very few homes were built in the art deco style so modernistic light fixtures and shades were highly desirable decorating accessories to give homes an art deco flair.

Today, this style has skipped a few generations, but has been re-discovered and remains a terrific choice for kitchen and office lighting.

My picture shows the shade we found, along with a couple potential types of light fixtures it can be used in. Deco shades can be found in sizes similar to ceiling fan shades, or in a magnificent 14 inch wide, depending on your desired use.

This type shades are one of my favorites. After walking through our house, I think a couple flush mount fixtures with small deco shades would be terrific in our hall. It’s a simple change which can alter your surroundings, become the focal point of a room and a conversation piece as you tell the design history.

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