Published March 2nd, 2008
Now I’m not sure that gift giving is tradition for any of you celebrating St. Patricks Day, but I couldn’t let this opportunity go by without putting our best Green forward. Do you know what the day is all about?
St. Patrick’s Day – Celebrating the Green
St. Patrick is believed to have driven the snakes from Ireland. Once a pagan himself, St. Patrick is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures.
The modern secular holiday is based on the original Christian saint’s feast day also thought to be the date of the saint’s death. In 1737, Irish immigrants to the United States began observing the holiday publicly in Boston and held the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City in 1766.
Today, the tradition continues with people from all walks and heritages by wearing green, eating Irish food, and attending parades. St. Patrick’s Day is bursting with folklore; from the shamrock to the leprechaun and to pinching those that are not wearing green.
Well we’re not going to pinch you if you don’t have green Murano Lamps but aren’t these gorgeous??? Ok a few pics are not green but aren’t they cool?
Enjoy and Happy St. Patty’s Day from Swank
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Published February 2nd, 2008
How could we let this wonderful Holiday of Amore pass without highlighting some of our sizzling hot red Murano Lamps. The beauty of authentic mid 20th century Murano Lamps is all the vibrant colors these artisans used. Here is just a sample. Visit our inventory pages for more.
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Published January 20th, 2008
We are pleased to announce that Patricia Grayof Vancouver British Columbia is the lucky winner of these beautiful Cranberry and Cream vintage Murano Lamps. The drawing was held last Friday morning 1/18/2008 at Debris Antiques in Dallas. Our friend Jim, the manager of Debris did the honors.
As soon as we knew the name of the lucky winner, I of course did a google search and was so blown away by Patricia’s work. Please check out her website to see for yourself how talented she is. Patricia has been published in quite a few of the major design magazines including Architectural Digest. I love the subtext on her home page, “Exceptional Homes for Exceptional People”.
Patricia first heard about Swank Lighting and our contest through one of our favorite blogs This Is Glamorous.
Now about that Karma… Unbeknownst to any of us, Patricia was actually just a few blocks away at the Dallas Market Center when her card was drawn. She was on a buying trip at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, and then on to Dallas for the Total Home and Gift show at Market Center last week. Patricia tells us that she was visiting with her friend Joni from Cote De Texas the night before and they even talked about Swank Lighting.
Congratulations to Patricia and thanks to all who entered. We had so much fun with this contest. We wish we could give all of you a pair of lamps. Seriously! But, we would probably be out of business. I promise we will have other contests though. Maybe sometime in the spring when we release our line of Vintage Deruta Italian Ceramic Lamps from the mid 20th century, also found hidden in the Balboa warehouse. Ooops did I let that slip out. Oh well, more to come.
Enjoy!
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Published January 19th, 2008
I posted a teaser last year about a major design publication featuring Swank Lighting’s Murano Lamps in their Jan/Feb issue. Well I can now finally “spill the beans”. We were approached by the fabulous D Home Magazine in early December to arrange a photo shoot at the studio of the wonderful photographer Chris Plavidal. We had a wonderful day with Chris who shot 11 of our lamps chosen by the editors of D Home.
As things usually go in magazine publishing, you end up with more material than you can actually use in the magazine. So in the end the editors chose 8 of our lamps and published the article under the heading “I Want Candy”. The article is so much fun, and if you are lucky enough to be in a location where D Home is sold, pick up a copy. The Jan/Feb issue is the first issue of a major re-design and take it from me, it is BEAUTIFUL.
Swank had one of 3 lamp finalists for the cover shot as well. Unfortunately we were not chosen for the cover, but there is a cute little article about the cover titled “Goldilocks and the three lamps”. We are in great company. The lamp chosen for the cover was a Gray Morrell sculpted arm lamp at Allan Knight and Associates. The other finalist was Jan Showers Venitian Series #4. This cute little article is not posted online but I will post it as soon as I have a chance to scan it into a PDF file.
Thanks so much to the wonderful Rebecca Sherman, Executive Editor, and Andrea Tomek, Art Director at D Home. And of course a big thanks to photographer Chris Plavidal for doing such a wonderful job and making our day in the photo studio so much fun.
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Published January 5th, 2008
Back when I was a kid, nothing was more exciting than when my parents threw a party. They would bring out the Dewar’s, fill relish trays with finger food and set up everything in the living room, which was only used for these nights. The hi fi would be stacked with Tony Bennett and Frances Fay and the guests would arrive all dressed up. Soon the room filled with smoke and laughter.
It was on one of these evenings that my mama got a hostess gift to end all gifts - a ceramic ashtray by Sascha Brastoff. It was shaped like a UFO. No, it was shaped like an igloo. I had never seen anything so cool.
It totally stood out from the sea of teak and Naugahyde that was our living room. My mama never really appreciated the ashtray or the bubble-filled Murano lamp it sat next to. That’s why she gave them to me as a present for my first house. And, that’s what got me started on my Brastoff and Murano lamp collecting.
Sascha Brastoff was hugely famous for his ceramic works. He had a very successful studio in Los Angeles in the 1950s, and was supplier to the stars in all matters ceramic. Check out the well written bookby Steve Conti if you want more info on the late great Sascha B, as he signed his pieces.
You want my take on his pieces? He is just now being rediscovered. His art pieces can be had for a song, still. Check out the current eBaylistings. And in this Crate & Barrel / Design Within Reach world, Sascha is infinitely more affordable, more chic, and certainly more of an investment steeped with California heyday - Hollywood Regency lore.
My mama’s ashtray? I still have it - are you kidding? It’s priceless to me.
Sascha Brastoff pieces are part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as several other museums around the U.S.
Enjoy!
Doug at Swank
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Published December 21st, 2007
Thank you all for your support this year. We have been overwhelmed with the positive response we’re received since opening our Showroom and launching our web site.
Don’t forget to register for the drawing to win these lamps. Deadline for entries is January 15, 2008. The drawing will be held at Debris Antiques in Dallas on January 18, 2008.
See you next year!
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Published December 15th, 2007
One of my favorite daily responsibilities is to see what’s new in the world of design blogs. I know I promised to keep you informed of the ones I visit regularly, and those reports are coming. We’ve been very busy here at Swank with lots of exciting things I’ll announce just after the 1st of the year, so I just haven’t had time to update my blog regularly.
As much as I resisted, I just have to call your attention one more time to one of my all time favorite blogs. This is Glamorous just keeps getting better and better. Everytime she takes a trip, her blog post about the trip takes the reader along on the trip. The photos are fabulous…. you can almost taste the food photos. And her sense of style is unmatched. The photos, the layout, the writing. I seriously recommend that you subscribe and take her daily journeys with her.Enjoy!
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Published December 13th, 2007
When 1stdibs released this week’s new offerings, I was immediately captivated with all the beautiful chandeliers. Most of the vintage lighting we post about here and our Murano Lamp items for sale are table lamps….but how can you not love these great ceiling mounts. For some reason I’m having trouble including a link to the “chandelier” search page at 1stdibs, so just click HERE and type chandelier in the search box to see all of their great listings. Photos below are some of the ones that jumped out from the page at me. By the way, they are now promoting registration with pop-up prompts. Registration is quick and easy and you’ll get weekly email updates as well as be able to view prices with all listings posting them.
From left to right above:
- Snowflake Sputnik from VenfieldNYC: $3,400
- Jet Black Crystal from VenfieldNYC: $14,000
- Multicolored by DRIAD from De Parma: $6,400
- Rock and Roll Brutal from SusaneR: $5,900
- Leaf Green Murano Lamp from Candace Barnes: $13,400
- Austrian Cyrstal from Downtown: $5,500
- Three Tier Glass Rod from Home114: $2,200
- Silver Plated Shell Chandelier from Sinotique: $3,750
Don’t forget to register at 1stdibs!
Enjoy!
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Published December 12th, 2007
We were extremely pleased to find out yesterday that Swank Lighting was included in the new Design Guide: Dallas by Design Sponge. The list was compiled by Paige Phelps of The Dallas Morning News. We want to thank Paige Phelps of The Dallas Morning News and Grace Bonney of Design Sponge for including us. It is truly an honor.
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Published December 7th, 2007
Swank spent the last two days in Dallas for a photo shoot. Our Murano Lamps are being featured in a major design publication early next year. But I’ve been sworn to secrecy….. Stay Tuned!
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