Friday, August 22, 2008
A journalist just asked Eileen Schonbek Beer to define a traditional crystal chandelier as opposed to a contemporary chandelier. He’s most interested in contemporary styles.

So I’ve been pondering that question myself, just for fun.

Traditional crystal chandeliers have arms and scrolls that display crystal ornaments. The arms also support candles. These chandeliers have ancestry that can be traced back to specific historic periods. For example, Versailles crystal chandeliers look like the chandeliers Louis XIV enjoyed at Versailles. And Maria Theresa chandeliers would be recognizable to the Empress Maria Theresa, were she to come back to life.

Traditional chandeliers may also show several design influences from more than one era. They don’t have to be purely historically accurate. In fact, it can be fascinating to design a chandelier that’s a completely original design, even though it looks historic. Schonbek does this all the time.

Contemporary crystal chandeliers can be many things. They can bear a superficial resemblance to a classic chandelier, but with all the elements simplified and highly stylized – a clever comment on the antique ideal. Jasmine is a perfect example. It still has arms and candles, but they are sleek, disciplined, totally understated.

Or a contemporary chandelier can be a sculptural composition of crystal with no visible candles, the lights all hidden inside. Link to this Trilliane to see an example. Although some might argue that this design is eclectic rather than strictly contemporary. The crystal basket does show the influence of Empire styling.

Going to the extreme, a contemporary chandelier may bear no resemblance whatsoever to a chandelier of any sort. Perhaps it looks like a box or a pyramid or a sphere with a glittering crystal surface. The light sources provoking all this glitter are a mystery, concealed within the edgy shape. This look is something Schonbek invented with Geometrix®. The new Schonbek designs called Quantum and Plaza are also examples of this contemporary idea.

Should such iconoclastic designs even be called chandeliers? Yes, because they display lots of crystal – and because they illuminate a space with all the pizzazz we associate with chandeliers.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The impulse to embellish that we observe in a classic crystal chandelier is surely inherent in human nature. This morning walking to work I noticed a quite unnecessary decorative pattern on a building. It was totally pleasing, for no particular reason. Embellishment happens all around us all the time – a gift from the architects, artists and designers of the world.

The new Schonbek cast collection is a glorious expression of the impulse to embellish. These crystal chandeliers are positively lacy with etched and incised decorative patterns. Leaves and flowers are the main imagery, but there are also some tiny trellis-like patterns.

Sophia and Milano are the names of these cast chandeliers. We have lots of images of Milano on the website, so you can really get an idea of all the sizes, shapes and crystal and finish options available to you. We have just a few images of Sophia so far, but more will be coming soon. Sophia is a limited distribution chandelier, only available at select dealers, which we’ve listed on the website for your convenience.

The impulse to embellish is even a powerful force in minimalist design. Here you have a deliberate suppression of the superfluous. That disciplined effort suffuses contemporary design with its own unique energy. Where would minimalism be without its opposite? Minimalists need something to minimize.

Look at Quantum, a contemporary crystal chandelier that’s all angles – an extreme purification of the notion of a crystal chandelier. Of course Quantum is not purely minimalist, because of the dazzle of the crystal. Nonetheless, the avoidance of all curves and flourishes shows great restraint. The tension between strict angular shapes and fiery crystal appeals to all sorts of contradictory human impulses. Have fun but be cool might be the message here.

Monday, August 18, 2008
Another weekend visit from my niece Alexa, the seven-year-old connoisseur of crystal...

On her first visit to my house, Alexa got a thorough education on Schonbek crystal chandeliers and learned the difference between classic handcut crystal and historic rock crystal. I’m always struck by how naturally children warm to the brilliance of a crystal chandelier. Of course they understand more than anyone the importance of having fun with your environment. And all children are artists, too, until the day they abandon their crayons. So the incredible artistry of a Schonbek crystal chandelier is immediately apparent to them.

On this visit, Alexa’s remarks on our décor gave me new insight into eclecticism. She said she liked our house because everything matched. The fact is, nothing precisely matches in the house. The La Scala in the living-dining area is very different from the Versailles in the kitchen. A century at least separates the design influences at work here. And Versailles is entirely trimmed with crystal pendeloques of varying shapes, whereas La Scala displays entirely different classic shapes of crystal, but no pendeloques.

So I think Alexa was sensing other unifying factors – the predominance of deep reds and golds in the rugs and fabrics and the dark wall treatments. But more important than that, in any eclectic home the life and loves of the homeowner establish a unique visual persona. Within that persona all sorts of mixing and non-matching can go on while maintaining an essential coherence.

Eclecticism has given us a technique for self-expression beyond anything our ancestors experienced. Every room in your home can reveal another facet of your multifaceted individuality. When someone enters a room and says “This is you,” she or he is indentifying a case of successful eclecticism.