When we rewire and refurbish lamps, whether our own for sale, or other people's in our vintage Lighting Repair Shop, we try to use high quality, European-made parts whenever possible.
We start from trying to re-use existing original parts, including refurbishing them, even though it might be quicker and easier to just replace them with new parts.
For instance I love some of the styles of Danish bakelite lampholders from the 1950s/60s like the white one in the photo at the top. They are a pleasingly simple shape and were made to last - as proven by the fact they still work now!
But to re-use them I have to take them apart and clean them up to remove any traces of 70 years of use, often including vintage flies! Sometimes they need a little oil to keep things working nicely, and I need to adapt them slightly for modern use. But all that is ok because I run a boutique specialist business, and its a bit of a labour of love. I can take the time to restore beautiful items sympathetically, rather than being a high turnaround business driven by doing things as quickly and cheaply as possible.
When we can't re-use original components, we try to source European-made new parts, and of course rewires require new cable. Thankfully, there's a company, Creative Cables, who make beautiful, high quality fabric cable in Italy. Things have become more difficult for us since Brexit, but still over 90% of the cable Scandiwegians use is made in Italy.
We keep the seven most popular cable colours in stock (see photo above) for use with plastic lamp holders, and three (black, dark blue and brown) for use with metal lamp holders. For an addtional fee, and with a slight wait, we can custom order in any other available colour from their wide range so you can truly personalise your lighting to suit your style and home decor.
We also use stylish metal British made lamp holders, made in Birmingham by specialist brass manufacturer, S Lilley (established : 1840). They are superb quality, come in a variety of beautiful metal finishes (nickel, brass, bronze etc.) and can really enhance the look of a vintage lamp. We don't offer an upgrade to these on our website because of differing international electrical standards, but if you buy one of our lamps and would like a metal lampholder get in touch and we'll let you know your options.
