Antique-Style Electric Christmas Wreath Window Lights
Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 3:52 pm
Hi all! My brothers and I have endeavored to bring back one of the classic Christmas decorations of years past: the electronic Christmas wreath light. Though I'm usually an "original-purist" when it comes to antiques and vintage, these lights were just simply too scarce and too expensive to collect en masse. When you have upward of 6-1o windows on the front of your house and originals cost between $300-$400 each, the cost is prohibitive. We worked hard to create a reproduction product that would cost less than 50% of the antique originals.
Our original goal was to create enough to outfit our homes. Then we surmised that if people were willing to pay upwards of $400 for one, it stood to reason that other enthusiasts might be interested in a more cost-effective reproduction. Unlike unscrupulous scam artists, ours are not meant to deceive collectors. Here is a run-down of how they're different (and probably more suited to today's taste): wreaths are painted in a scheme meant to replicate traditional colors; more muted and in line with a vintage paint scheme. The reds have more crimson and greens have more forest. The "hoop" portion of the wreath is cast in aluminum and base cast in brass, whereas the originals were completely iron. The sockets are antiqued brass with a round turn, where the originals were painted brass with a bakelite key. The cords are gold and plug ends flat whereas the originals were bronze and plug ends round. All this said the size and form are the same.
At $165, they're not cheap, but neither is the quality. You'll get a long cord and a hand-painted light bulb from Filament Vintage Lighting ($10 per bulb on his website). Everything is done by hand, from casting, to painting, to assembly. No two are exactly the same since they're not mass-produced. Our initial run is only 200 pieces, so we don't have a glut of product. We took promo photos at my brother's (ober) house that he's documented on THD. We created a website called Westwood Lighting and Salvage and have an ad running in Old House Journal this month. It's very much a grass-rooted effort that I hope you all appreciate. Even if you don't "take the plunge" and make a purchase, I welcome you to check out the new site and the eBay listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Style- ... SwG5NdXUnI
https://www.westwoodlightingandsalvage.com/shop
Thanks in advance for your support and feedback. Fingers crossed that enough people appreciate these lights as much as we do!
Our original goal was to create enough to outfit our homes. Then we surmised that if people were willing to pay upwards of $400 for one, it stood to reason that other enthusiasts might be interested in a more cost-effective reproduction. Unlike unscrupulous scam artists, ours are not meant to deceive collectors. Here is a run-down of how they're different (and probably more suited to today's taste): wreaths are painted in a scheme meant to replicate traditional colors; more muted and in line with a vintage paint scheme. The reds have more crimson and greens have more forest. The "hoop" portion of the wreath is cast in aluminum and base cast in brass, whereas the originals were completely iron. The sockets are antiqued brass with a round turn, where the originals were painted brass with a bakelite key. The cords are gold and plug ends flat whereas the originals were bronze and plug ends round. All this said the size and form are the same.
At $165, they're not cheap, but neither is the quality. You'll get a long cord and a hand-painted light bulb from Filament Vintage Lighting ($10 per bulb on his website). Everything is done by hand, from casting, to painting, to assembly. No two are exactly the same since they're not mass-produced. Our initial run is only 200 pieces, so we don't have a glut of product. We took promo photos at my brother's (ober) house that he's documented on THD. We created a website called Westwood Lighting and Salvage and have an ad running in Old House Journal this month. It's very much a grass-rooted effort that I hope you all appreciate. Even if you don't "take the plunge" and make a purchase, I welcome you to check out the new site and the eBay listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Style- ... SwG5NdXUnI
https://www.westwoodlightingandsalvage.com/shop
Thanks in advance for your support and feedback. Fingers crossed that enough people appreciate these lights as much as we do!