Friday, January 11, 2008

It’s Friday, and not Friday. I’ll be writing more press releases for the Dallas show over the weekend, so it’s not exactly a weekend. I never cease to be amazed at how prolific Schonbek is when it comes to new product ideas. The crystal chandelier has no stronger devotee than Schonbek.

There are new crystal chandeliers in the contemporary category as well as in the traditional category. This is surprising when you think about it. Most artists have one style, which they evolve over time. They don’t have a foot in two totally different design worlds. But Schonbek does.

Geometrix®, for example, is high tech in the extreme, and Schonbek has changed the whole category of technical lighting with this collection. And the first few designs were only the beginning. The collection keeps expanding exponentially.

Then you have a whole body of traditional crystal chandelier designs in the Schonbek portfolio that are like an illustration of the history of this venerable form of lighting. Schonbek sets the standard in the industry when it comes to reviving historic styles of crystal chandeliers.

The imagination is a wonderful faculty. If we grant ourselves the freedom to reinvent ourselves and do the unexpected, we can have a lot of fun. I always think of remodeling and redecorating as an exercise in self-discovery and self-creation. When you choose a wall treatment, a style of bathtub or a crystal chandelier, you find out who you really are.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

I’m very scattered today, all caught up in the excitement just before the Dallas lighting market. The show starts next week, and I’ll be in Dallas Wednesday and Thursday.

My favorite thing about these lighting shows is interviewing Andrew Schonbek about new the products. Peering at photos, studying the details in a casting or the alluring color of a new type of crystal from Swarovski, and hearing Andrew discuss the significance of the design and how it fits into the ongoing history of lighting.

It comes home to me more and more how important the quality of the crystal is. Eileen Schonbek Beer has been in antique shops and seen chandeliers for sale at exorbitant prices that purport to be antique but aren’t. And she’s often seen examples of inferior grades of crystal on a supposedly high-end chandelier. Unless you’re shopping with a crystal expert to guide you, it’s easy to be misled. One way to protect yourself is to choose Schonbek. Then you know you can trust the quality of the crystal and the integrity of the design.

To complicate matters, crystal is not standing still as a fashion item. Swarovski is constantly reinventing crystal, just as Schonbek is continually reinterpreting and reinventing the crystal chandelier. So again, you want to stick with the experts.

Now I need to turn my attention to some product sheets, all part of the fun of  having so many new products to introduce to the trade this month.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Elements is a contemporary crystal chandelier that I don’t want anyone to overlook. It’s remarkable in many ways.

First of all, the design alludes to the honored traditions of the classic crystal chandelier. It has arms that end in lights, a central body for the arms to flow from, and a recognizable crystal finial sphere. Yet Elements is anything but traditional.

The slender arms undulate like electromagnetic waves, and they end in dazzling crystal cylinders unlike any light element you’ve ever seen. The colors you can choose among are amazing. You can see photos of them on this website, but only in person will you discover how astonishing these colors really are. Schonbek has created unique composite colors, and the whole is infinitely greater than the parts. Colors interact with each other to create an experience of light that's totally dynamic and ethereal. You really have to visit a Geometrix® dealer to see what I mean.

I favor Forest Floor, Boa, Pomegranate and Ocean. But they’re all wonderful. The names give you a foretaste of how unusual these colors are.

The body of this chandelier appears to be minimalist, and it is, yet it’s actually a flawless faceted column of crystal that’s brilliant in itself, while it also reflects and refracts the wild colors in the crystal cylinders. The choker of crystal that separates body from arms is like a dramatic piece of jewelry. Echoing this design element are tiny chokers of Swarovski® rhinestones at the base of each cylinder.

Simplicity and complexity are beautifully partnered in an Elements crystal chandelier.

I’ve gone on a lot about color, but you can also have your Elements in clear crystal. The look is supremely elegant.