Friday, November 30, 2007

A crystal chandelier is an astonishing work of the imagination. Both practical considerations and a love of beauty entered into its invention. Light sources with multiple candles shed more light, and people needed all the help they could get in the days before electricity. And then the idea arose of refracting and magnifying the light by suspending faceted chunks of crystal among the candles.

Somewhere along the line, aesthetics took over from practicality. The sheer fun of designing a light source with crystal engendered fancier and fancier chandeliers. And even when electricity was invented, eliminating all problems with getting good light at night, the social world refused to give up the crystal chandelier.

Imagination figures as strongly as ever in the design of crystal chandeliers. No wonder movie makers order up lots of crystal chandeliers when they’re engaged in creating a beautiful fantasy. I’m still thinking of the new Disney movie “Enchanted.”

A longing for a fairy tale existence doesn’t disappear with childhood. In our hearts we still feel (at times) like princesses. We value true love and would like to live in a castle, of sorts. Phrases like “dream come true,” “love at first sight” and “fairy tale romance” persist in the language. And crystal chandeliers continue to appear on movie sets and in homes where a happy romantic optimism prevails.

Imagination is a gift, and gains power with use. In the years I’ve worked with Schonbek, I’ve always been amazed at their inventiveness. Take for example, Da Vinci™, world’s first dishwasher safe crystal chandelier. Who would have thought of such a thing? And The Rose, a chandelier that, inspired by the profusion of Nature, comes in 32 varieties. Schonbek also had the idea of reviving rock crystal chandeliers, practically saving the form from extinction, and using rock crystal in contemporary designs. This was a total surprise to the world of home fashion.

Now that Schonbek is working with Swarovski, we can expect to be even more amazed and delighted by their productions. Both companies are deeply imbued with creativity and have been pretty continuously engaged in redefining fashion for generations.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Last weekend I saw the new Disney movie “Enchanted,” and I was in fact enchanted. When it came to the ballroom scene, I couldn’t help noticing the crystal chandeliers, although I was focused on the characters and what was about to transpire.

The chandeliers were gorgeous. They really made the ball a brilliant affair. And they felt like Schonbek crystal chandeliers, although I figured they couldn’t be. I hadn’t heard a thing about it.

Then yesterday I found out they were indeed Schonbek chandeliers. Schonbek is doing so many movie projects lately, that it feels like business as usual to the folks in the custom design department.

If only I had known, I would have focused totally on the crystal chandeliers.

They happen to be a wonderful choice, in my opinion. The style is called Dorchester. The ones in the movie are a custom version six and a half feet long with three tiers of candles. A custom size was required to work best with the camera angles. So the image I just linked to is much smaller than what you’ll see in the movie, but the feeling is the same.

I love this crystal chandelier. It has extremely ornate cast arms and parallel prisms of handcut crystal that are long and thin like piano keys. You don’t see this type of crystal very often. The look is elegant rather than glitzy. At the same time the overall effect of this chandelier is quite magnificent, quite worthy of fairy tale heroes and heroines.

I’ve got a call in to the set designer to find out more about the project. I talked to him once before when I was writing about the chandeliers in the latest Pink Panther movie. As I recall, that interview was fun. People who work behind the scenes on movies are very likeable.

Paul Greselin, who’s in charge of the Schonbek contract divisions told me a fascinating story.

He was of course excited about the project. He forgot to tell me about it, but he did tell his daughter Lydia! True love, the castle, the woodland charmer, the prince – all these inspired Lydia to draw a castle. Just for fun, Paul sent the drawing to the set designer.

He asked for more drawings.

In the end, not only do four Schonbek chandeliers appear in “Enchanted.” Four of Lydia’s drawings also appear.

It seems that Disney is also offering dolls based on “Enchanted” characters. A photo of the ballroom, complete with Schonbek crystal chandeliers, is on the packaging. I may have to buy a doll.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing because you can enjoy the past without having had to live in those dangerous times, when doctors were still applying leeches to cure everything and world travel was by boat over stormy seas.

Most crystal chandeliers are by definition nostalgic. Except for a wild new category like Geometrix®. When you start hanging traditional crystal chandeliers in your home, a subtle shift takes place in your point of view. You may work like a lunatic at the office, but when you come home, there’s an immediate slow down. You’re stepping back into an age when people at your income level were not pathologically busy. You can dawdle over dessert. You can read novels reclining on a sofa, and fall into a catnap without guilt. You can take a prolonged bath.

I associate certain old-fashioned behaviors with certain styles of crystal chandeliers. Versailles, for example, dates back to the age of wit. Conversation was a high level parlor game, and people could improve their social standing just by uttering bon mots.

Will possessing a Versailles crystal chandelier make you a more amusing conversationalist? It might. Because it’ll encourage you to have more company. You’ll want people around to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere you’ve created. Company encourages conversation. And practice makes perfect.

Olde World is an exceedingly dressy crystal chandelier harking back to the days when people of fashion were all fashion plates. Dress-down day had not been thought of yet, and would have horrified the leaders of society. If you love this dazzling style of crystal chandelier (as I do), your décor will have to be equally elegant, and you might even feel inspired to wear silks and satins yourself. You can have a lot of fun living in the past with Olde World.

Nostalgia can be non-specific too. I mean a general longing for the ancestors your family forgot to record. I’m thinking of Artifact, a crystal chandelier that looks like something you found in the attic. You know it’s old, but who knows how old? And who knows what great aunt or great grandmother acquired it? I’m especially fond of the light amethyst colored crystal pears that dangle from the slender scrolls of this chandelier.