We finally completed the new hard-hard art-deco slip-shade sconce for the Etsy shop. The slip-in shade system makes it possible for us to offer different shades with the same mounting so we can get these out to interested buyers quicker without compromising quality.

The Process

We have been able to draw on some of our previous work with sconces. The shade is cast from Urethane, transparent resin that can be tinted. Of course, we have experimented with various tints representing the style and modalities of the art-deco era. Our previous sconces, the Wiltern Medallion-inspired and the floral design both have untinted shades where the user employs multi-colored LED tea lights to get their lighting effect. In the latest, we opted to try the amber tint and let users just put a white light LED in which is simpler.

The wings are attached to the frame backing and the shade just slides down into a track that holds it in the correct position. Then, the user just drops a tea-light of their choice into the cavity behind the shade and hangs it on the wall with the slot that is in the backing.

The Inspiration

We looked at a lot of vintage sconces online and found some that inspired us to create the slip-shade sconce we offer today. You can see it yourself by going to this link:

What we set out to do was to make a lower cost recreation of this classic slip-shade sconce. As a result, we have conjured a new system for Lostartifax that allows us to recreate or invent new shades that will always fit in the wings/backing structure.

Provenance

Provenance (Historical Inspiration):

The design that inspired this contemporary slip-shade sconce traces its lineage to the Art Deco lighting manufacturers active in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. The overall form — a stepped geometric backplate paired with a stylized ornamental relief and a flared slip-shade cup — is strongly aligned with the output of companies such as Lincoln Manufacturing Company, Markel Electric Products, and Moe Bridges, all prolific producers of cast-metal Deco fixtures during this period. These firms supplied both residential and commercial markets with affordable yet artistically ambitious lighting, using zinc and spelter castings to capture the sharp profiles, abstract foliage, and streamlined motifs that defined American Zig-Zag Moderne design. While the exact original manufacturer of this specific pattern is not definitively documented, its sculptural vocabulary corresponds closely to designs published in Lincoln and Markel trade catalogs between circa 1928 and 1936. Today, the model survives largely through modern reproductions used in restoration projects, which preserve the characteristic geometry and ornamental logic of the 1930s Art Deco movement.

Restoration Work

We found that some buyers want to acquire just the shade because they managed to find or acquire a sconce without the shade. If one of our shades can be modified to fit an antique frame, you can buy these separately. It looks like there are a lot of sconce frames out there where the previous owners either lost or broke the shade and now it may be possible for them to replace it with one of ours. Towards this end, we are fabricating a series of new shades that all fit into our special slip frame but we will offer them as separate shade items on the shop.