Guest post by Alana Coleman, artist, designer and bright shining light
I have always loved the old gas outdoor street lamps the kind you see in Europe. But I didn’t have a yard so I decided to create one I could use inside my home. I found some old style light fixtures in an antique shop and went home to make my own indoor gas style post lamp. It turned out so beautifully that a friend suggested I create and sell them as a business.
Recycled parts were used to create an antique-looking gas light originally because I discovered all the lights I wanted to create were antique and needed to be constructed from old reused lighting parts. My focus did not begin with being a green business.
So what started out to be a home lamp redesign project to create a post light for inside my home grew into a small lighting business and then morphed to include garden art and other imaginative items, based off of reclaimed pieces and parts.
I started doing The RE Store Bellingham’s lighting window in 2009. I wanted to show what could be created by mixing odd and ends with old lighting parts, inspire people to reuse old lighting instead of buying mass production new fixtures, and to sell my art, and repair services. So on a gray rainy Bellingham day sparkling lamps, elegant fixtures and garden art entice passerby’s to enter The RE Store to look closer at the glittering lights, get ideas for their projects and absorb the warmth within.
I redesign and rearrange parts to create new lighting and invent new vessels for lights to live in through the recycling of old lighting and found objects. I love that I’m dedicating my time and vision to creating a greener world. I’ve found my passion!