lamp harps, shade clips, and torchière bowls
Q.: How will your lampshade attach to my lamp?
A.: Most lamps use a detachable, hoop-shaped, two piece lamp harp assembly to secure the shade to the lamp. The harp snaps into the harp saddle (the u-shaped bracket immediately below the lamp socket). The top of the harp has a threaded finial post that fits through the washer in the “spider” assembly on the top lampshade ring. A decorative finial screws onto the harp to secure the shade.
Q.: How do I measure the harp?
A.: Harps are measured from the bottom of the saddle to the flat part below the finial post. Harps are available in 1/2″ increments.
Q.: What if my lamp doesn’t have a harp?
A.: If your lamp doesn’t have a harp saddle in place, we can provide you with a clip-on bulb adapter, which attaches to the shade and clips onto the bulb itself. The threaded finial post on the bulb clip fits through the shade washer, and is secured with a finial. This method is best with smaller shades (10″ dia and under), although it can be used with larger shades as a last resort.
Q.: Which lampshade styles are available as clip-on shades?
A.: Any lampshade can be easily converted to a clip-on, but the bulb adapters work best on shades up to 13″ in diameter. If used to suspend a shade upside-down, as on a swag or pendant lamp, the clips work best with lamp shade heights 9″ and under, and on the smaller tiered shades.
Q.: My lamp has a huge harp. Can I still use one of your lampshades?
A.: We can make our drum lamp shades in tall sizes. As lamp shades, the tiered styles aren’t ideally suited to tall heights, but they do work well as pendant lamps. Most of our shades, especially the tiered shapes, are made in the post-war low-profile “mid-century/modern” style, so for the best fit you may want to change to a shorter harp. However, in many cases we can customize shades for taller harps.
A small number of older lamps have a crimped-on harp, in which case the upper portion is not removable from the saddle. If you have one of these older lamps that has a crimped-on harp which is too long, contact us for other solutions.
Q.: What if our lamp has a glass bowl around the socket, instead of a lamp harp?
A.: We can provide you with shade clips that attach to the spokes of the lampshade ring and fit snugly inside or outside the bowl. Larger diameter shades work well with glass bowl diffusers often found on vintage floor lamps and large table lamps.
pendant swag lamps and light fixtures
Q.: What is the difference between a pendant fixture and a pendant swag.?
A.: A pendant light fixture is hard-wired to an electrical ceiling junction box, and usually hangs straight down from the canopy covering the j-box; a pendant swag light is a portable lamp which plugs into an electrical outlet, and is suspended from the ceiling with hooks or hangers.
Q. What does “pendant swag lamp” mean, anyway?
A.: Pendant swag refers to a lamp whose chain or cord is draped, or swagged, between two or more points on a ceiling. According to Michael Quinion of “World Wide Words,” a swag is “…a word imported into Middle English from Scandinavian svagga, to sway (in fact, it’s the origin of sway as well). At first, the verb meant to rock unsteadily or lurch, but evolved into that of hanging loosely or heavily, to sag. Another sense of swag comes from the same idea — for an ornamental festoon, or for fabric fastened so it hangs in a drooping curve; this was first recorded at the end of the eighteenth century. It’s also the origin of the American swag lamp sense […], in which the lamp’s electrical cable hangs in a swag.
lampshade parchment, colors, shapes, and sizes
Q.: What is the largest diameter shade you make?
A.: We currently make lampshades up to 21″ diameter and pendant shades up to 24″ diameter. Our largest tiered size is 21″ diameter,. The largest “atomic tier” style is 18″ diameter. We do have some oversized rings for larger shades, but we do them only on an ad hoc basis. Oversize shades do have additional box/packing and shipping charges. Please contact us for more details.
Q.: What is the material your shades are made of?
A.: We no longer use fiberglass. We are now fabricating our lampshades and pendant lamps from Lumicel™, a resin/PET composite parchment made in Europe to our specifications. Instead of glass fibers, the fibers are made from recycled water bottles. The material looks and functions just like the original fiberglass, but without the scratchiness, airborne fibers, and off-gassing associated with improperly handled fiberglass parchment.
Our material cuts easily with scissors or matte knife, but it is almost impossible to tear, unlike the fiberglass parchment that can rip and deteriorate. It has a smooth texture, so it is easy to keep clean. The fibers are longer and thicker, and look more like the original ’50s shades with the more pronounced fibers. The material is luminous and glows just like the original midcentury lighting parchment that is so hard to find now. We think Lumicel™ is the most beautiful light diffusion material you will find, and because we hand-stain our colors and hand-apply our patterns, the options are endless.
Q.: How do you get the colors on your lampshades?
A.: We use non-toxic water-based stains that we mix up as needed. Because each shade is stained separately, colors may not match exactly from batch to batch. Therefore, if you need a matching pair, we suggest you order them at the same time for a perfect match. Because we mix up our own colors, we can match virtually any color.
Q.: Do you sell your parchment shade fabric?
A.: Yes, we do sell our Lumicel parchment by the running yard. The material is 59″ wide, with about 57″ to 58″ usable. The material is translucent white. We sell dyed and patterned pieces on an ad hoc basis depending on the blank size needed for your project.
Lumicel cuts easily with scissors or a matte knife, and is easy to punch.
The white Lumicel comes unsealed, and we recommend that fabricators seal it with a clear-coat gel or spray. Our ad hoc colored pieces will come sealed with a gel coat.
You won’t get fiberglass splinters handling and working with Lumicel, nor will you be exposed to airborne glass fibers or noxious polymer off-gassing. Lumicel is a polymer laminate and we recommend fabricators wear gloves or at least wash their hands after working with the material.
More information (aka “the hard sell” ;-p) on our Lumicel fiberglass-alternative lighting parchment page, and you can order it in the midcentury lighting store.
Q.: What bulb wattages do you recommend with your shades?
A.:If you’re using LED or CFL bulbs, wattage is moot because the bulbs generate so little heat. UL bulb wattage guidelines are kore of a concer with incandescent bulbs that get hot. For a 6″ diameter shade, we recommend 60 watts max; for 8″ diameters, 75 watts max; for 10″ diameters, 100 watts max.
Q.: Why don’t you have more cone shapes on your Styles page?
A: We offer some basic midcentury-style cone shapes in our Store. There are hundreds of possible cone lampshade configurations using the following parameters: 4″-15″ top dia., 5″-18″ bottom dia., and 7″-16″ tall. We can make most configurations. There are too many possible configurations for us to list — contact us with the dimensions you need, and we’ll see if we can do it. For most custom cone shapes, there is a template upcharge of $50 or more, depending on the parameters.
production and shipping
Q.: Where are your lamps and shades made?
A.: Our lamps and shades are stained, fabricated, and assembled by hand at our workshop in San Francisco, CA. Our Lumicel™ parchment is made in Europe to our specs. All other shade components (wire rings, pigments, and lanyard) are made in the U.S. American-made electrical hardware no longer seems available, but whenever possible, we source American-made components.
Q.: Do you ship abroad?
A.: We ship internationally via Priority Mail International. Due to limitations in the shipping module software, the Priority Mail International shipping rates shown in the shopping cart may show higher than they actually are. Orders are not billed at the time they are placed, and we will get back to you with a corrected amount before queueing the order. Please contact us directly for an accurate quote. Customers will be responsible for any taxes or duties.
Q.: How long do orders take?
A.: It depends on our workload at the time you place the order, but most orders generally take about 4-6 weeks. Depending on our workload, we may be able to meet special time considerations, so please let us know if time is an issue.
Q.: Why can’t I have my shade right now?
A. Each shade is custom-made to your specifications and our high standards. However, we do have some already-fabricated shades on hand for sale in our store Please contact us for more information.
2 responses to “meteor lights FAQ”
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Hello,
I was wondering if you sell to the trade and if you have a trade/ vendor program we can sign up for. I would love to have more information about your lamp shades and swatches if you have them.
Thank you!
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We’ll email you directly (check your spam folder)
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Please use the comments form for, well, comments, as well as general questions, suggestions, reminiscences, recipes, and camping tips. Please email us directly ( store(AT)meteorlights.com ) if you have specific questions.
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