NEW LAMPS

They're mine...

Here is a close up of the gorgeous deep cerulean blue of the opaline glass:

Opaline glass has always been very desirable, especially the colored pieces. This beautiful opaque glass was first developed in France and reached its height of popularity in the late 19th century. Although these vases (now lamps) were created in the mid-20th c., their desirability is increasing as opaline glass is no longer made. The French method of creating opaline glass involved blowing powdered lead into the molten glass which created the desirable opacity. However, this process was highly toxic to the glass workers and its manufacture is now prohibited. These lamps were very pricey and I was not careful enough during preview and missed a restoration to the opaline base at the back of one of the lamps.....I HATE IT WHEN I DO THIS...I get absorbed in the beauty of an object and neglect my homework. Marcos (glass restorer) will pick up the lamp next week--and there goes my profit margin. The repair will be almost invisible, but I will still disclose its existence and consequently the price point will be lower.

.......AND I also brought home these guys.

  

Here is a detail shot

   

These beauties are circa 1970-80's Frederick Cooper solid brass lamps with a Chinese porcelain-inspired form. Note the beautiful ribbed brass lidded jar form and the custom rosewood base. I went on the Frederick Cooper website to check for current large solid brass lamps....and there weren't any! The price of brass and copper has risen to the point where it is almost prohibitive to create large purely decorative objects with solid metals. And these lamps are big guys--they measure 23" to the top of the socket, but they also have a large girth and highly detailed molded brass lids.....all marks of exceptional metal work. I've paired the lamps with black linen shades that are lined with gold paper--not bad. They would be great with Milo Baughman  (or a contemporary) furnishings or even with period furniture as their form references antiques Chinese porcelain.

As long as we are discussing lamps....

   

   

  

I bought this pair of early twentieth century theater lamps a couple of months ago. They have been rewired for domestic use...I'd love to see them sitting on some one's library shelf. Both of these spots have a heavy and well-earned patina and lots of character. Nothing like a little counterpoint in my lamp inventory.

In my opinion, lamps are an extremely important focal point in any room. Their form, color and placement need to be considered at the start of a project, not as simply an end-of-project add on. It is possible to have a great lamp and to ruin it, or at least mask its character, by using an inappropriate or wrong-sized shade. I've been know to return shades 3 or 4 times before finding the "just perfect" shade. Because lamp shade styles (just like decorative pillows) go in and out of fashion, a great way to update a room is to change out the lamp shades.

I'm loving the extra hour of daylight--Jones gets more park time and my creativity level goes way up.

Thanks for visiting. Happy Spring.

Mary & Jones (& Cole)

SPRING AND THE LOVING TREE

This stump sits at the base of "The Loving Tree" in my back yard. Every year I anxiously await the first budding of the The Loving Tree as witness to approaching Spring. This week her leaves started popping out from their fat nubby tips. I'm anticipating seeing her in all of her glory: she is huge and spreads her branches wide--it is always moody and cool under her canopy even on the hottest Southern California scorcher. Her heart reminds me that all is well.
Wednesday was a glorious morning--crisp with cerulean blue skies and puffy wispy clouds. And The Loving Tree was full of many tiny chatty finches. I tried to get a good photo of them, but the little guys are so perfectly camouflaged that they just look like branches. Oh, well, they are there proclaiming spring.

Now on to Auction Thursday.
I'm drooling over these gorgeous French opaline blue glass lamps (the pair). I need another pair of lamps like another whole in my head, but the color of these is

spectacular and highly desirable.  

And as long as I'm going for lamps.....these brass guys are great, very large (a good thing) and manufactured by Frederick Cooper (a very good thing) and probably date to the 1980s!!! Great to mix with Milo Baughman furniture.

Wish me luck....can't believe that I'm buying more lamps!!!

Mary & Jones (and Cole) 

PILLOWS AND NEW HAUNT

I went to see Pam (my amazing pillow fabricator) yesterday to take her a length of Scalamandre "Il Leopardo" silk velvet for a pair of large 24" square pillows. I had forgotten that I had purchased 2 yards of gorgeous gold very high end Italian silk velvet a few months ago. So this gold silk velvet will be the backing for the Il Leopardo silk velvet pillows. Because of their large size and gorgeous gold silk velvet backing, and because my cost for the Scalamandre velvet has gone up a lot, these pillows will be pricey--but what a statement they will make. I had already ordered a pair of smaller Le Tigre pillows when I visited Pam a few weeks ago.

  

I also took a few selections of gold silk to back the vintage Fortuny fabric shown above, but none of the various golds were quite right for this particular piece of Fortuny. There are innumerable shades of gold from green based to orange based.......so getting just the right shade can be very tricky. I've just ordered another length in what is called "old gold"--we'll see if  it works. The gold on this particular piece of Fortuny is pretty strong (the photo is not true) and rich which is why it is more difficult to match.  Wish me luck.

I thought I would show you another of my favorite hunting/buying haunts. This dealer is located in tiny Fullerton (where I live) and has a large following of top LA based 20th c. dealers. I spotted this Milo Baughman petit sofa or love seat in its original late '70s/early '80s upholstery.

  

The piece was in great condition, and very desirable, but the price point was a little too high for me to make a profit. (I would need to professionally clean and make new pillows for the sofa before putting in up for sale). 

But sitting beside the love seat was the N-I-C-E Milo Baughman sky scraper table

in booked olive wood veneer and sky scraper chrome legs. This piece went directly into my trusty Explorer.

Roberto will be coming in tomorrow and we'll polish the chrome and wax the top. The table is in overall excellent original condition, with only one minor scratch to the top. The table measures about 34" x 34" and would make a great coffee/cocktail table, side table or corner table.

(Just before I walked in the door of this great shop, a famous LA dealer had purchased one the the most gorgeous mid-century chairs (+ ottoman) that I have ever seen--the early bird catches the worm.)

I am immensely grateful that "Sandy" has passed with limited loss of life--the property and economic damage is immense. We are an extremely resourceful and generous country; the best of our national character comes forth during times of need. I have many friends in the affected area--all seem to have weathered the storm well.

Jones is well--tomorrow is a super busy day. Roberto and I are rearranging everything to get ready for the Christmas season--can't believe that it is already here!!

Be well

Mary and Jones (& Cole)