I just saw an article about redecorating in Russia. After decades of no-frills living, many Russians now have enough discretionary income to beautify their homes, and they’re doing it on a grand scale.

Industry magnates and middle class professionals alike are participating in the redecorating craze.

Sales of crystal chandeliers are brisk in Russia. I’m very happy about this, because Russian society in the past was rich in crystal chandeliers. I love seeing a return to this tradition. If Russian aristocrats danced beneath crystal chandeliers and conducted diplomacy by the light of crystal chandeliers for centuries, then the new Russian power brokers should have a similar happiness.

Russian aristocrats were world travelers who often spent as much time in Paris or London as in Moscow or on their estates. So styles in Europe greatly influenced the decor in Russian palaces and residences. In this context, Russian society embraced the crystal chandelier with enthusiasm.

Today certain Schonbek crystal chandeliers, conversely, show influences of Russian motifs. Kirov and Romanoff are examples.

Contemporary crystal chandeliers are also popular in Russia. Russian artists have always been great innovators, and admire innovation in others. Schonbek’s collection of high-tech lighting, Geometrix™, has been huge in Russia.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

I walked to work this morning and passed by the big stone house with a crystal chandelier in the living room, the one I’ve mentioned before. This time, amazingly, there was a crystal chandelier on the front porch.

I think it’s yet another crystal chandelier, because this one has wax candles. It can’t be a Schonbek since the crystal trim is a bit skimpy. But I must say, a crystal chandelier on the porch is a great look.

Someone was moving around on the porch, but hard to see. The house sits way back from the street, and the porch is somewhat enclosed by stonework. Very private. I was tempted to introduce myself as the author of the Crystal Chandelier Blog. But then I got cold feet. What if the chandelier was stolen off the porch some night? I might become a suspect. A strange woman asking questions out of the blue about the crystal chandelier. If I were an intrepid journalist, I wouldn’t let this stop me. But I’m a paranoid advertising person. So I kept walking.

Anyway, this experience got me to thinking about candle-powered crystal chandeliers. It’s good to remember that most Schonbek crystal chandeliers with traditional arms holding electric candles can be converted to hold wax candles. Note the candle power page on this website.

Tuesday, July 17, 2006

Artemis is Schonbek’s first collector’s edition chandelier. Schonbek made only 200 of them. Each was numbered and signed.

There were articles in magazines and major newspapers about this crystal chandelier, because no one had seen anything like it before. And it was expensive. And there were so few available. Some people had to fly to a larger city to see one.

Artemis is an amazing chandelier. It has the mysterious ability to change its personality according to the environment where it finds itself. Check it out in this game room, where it looks rather playful. I talked to a homeowner who put an Artemis in his bedroom, which was ornately furnished with collectibles. There it became a spectacular presence. In a dining room it would definitely cause your guests to expect an extraordinary menu.

Artemis is rich in exotic materials. Planetoids of lapis lazuli (or onyx in one variation) trace eccentric orbits around rock crystal spheres suspended beneath crystal stars. Other trajectories are traced by mirrored and matte golden alchemical suns. A fiery central wheel seems also to be set in gyroscopic motion around a dark core of blue or black organically shaped crystal column parts.

Andrew Schonbek was even more eloquent than usual on the subject of this crystal chandelier. I quoted him in a press release as follows: “In ancient Egypt, queens wore armlets of silver inlaid with lapis lazuli. In ancient Rome onyx was used for the carving of Imperial cameos. And through the centuries rock crystal, a rare transparent form of quartz, has always been prized by collectors. Working with such valuable and venerable materials called on all the skills we have developed over many generations. Artemis seems to reach both backward and forward in time, from mythical beginnings to a future of boundless imaginings.”