Big News: Swank's Murano Lamps chosen as "Must Have" by D Home Editors

I posted a teaser last year about a major design publication featuring Swank Lighting’s Murano Lamps in their Jan/Feb issue. Well I can now finally “spill the beans”. We were approached by the fabulous D Home Magazine in early December to arrange a photo shoot at the studio of the wonderful photographer Chris Plavidal. We had a wonderful day with Chris who shot 11 of our lamps chosen by the editors of D Home.
As things usually go in magazine publishing, you end up with more material than you can actually use in the magazine. So in the end the editors chose 8 of our lamps and published the article under the heading “I Want Candy”. The article is so much fun, and if you are lucky enough to be in a location where D Home is sold, pick up a copy. The Jan/Feb issue is the first issue of a major re-design and take it from me, it is BEAUTIFUL.
Swank had one of 3 lamp finalists for the cover shot as well. Unfortunately we were not chosen for the cover, but there is a cute little article about the cover titled “Goldilocks and the three lamps”. We are in great company. The lamp chosen for the cover was a Gray Morrell sculpted arm lamp at Allan Knight and Associates. The other finalist was Jan Showers Venitian Series #4. This cute little article is not posted online but I will post it as soon as I have a chance to scan it into a PDF file.
Thanks so much to the wonderful Rebecca Sherman, Executive Editor, and Andrea Tomek, Art Director at D Home. And of course a big thanks to photographer Chris Plavidal for doing such a wonderful job and making our day in the photo studio so much fun.

Featured Artist: Sascha Brastoff

Back when I was a kid, nothing was more exciting than when my parents threw a party. They would bring out the Dewar’s, fill relish trays with finger food and set up everything in the living room, which was only used for these nights. The hi fi would be stacked with Tony Bennett and Frances Fay and the guests would arrive all dressed up. Soon the room filled with smoke and laughter.

It was on one of these evenings that my mama got a hostess gift to end all gifts - a ceramic ashtray by Sascha Brastoff. It was shaped like a UFO. No, it was shaped like an igloo. I had never seen anything so cool.




It totally stood out from the sea of teak and Naugahyde that was our living room. My mama never really appreciated the ashtray or the bubble-filled Murano lamp it sat next to. That’s why she gave them to me as a present for my first house. And, that’s what got me started on my Brastoff and Murano lamp collecting.

Sascha Brastoff was hugely famous for his ceramic works. He had a very successful studio in Los Angeles in the 1950s, and was supplier to the stars in all matters ceramic. Check out the well written book by Steve Conti if you want more info on the late great Sascha B, as he signed his pieces.



You want my take on his pieces? He is just now being rediscovered. His art pieces can be had for a song, still. Check out the current eBay listings. And in this Crate & Barrel / Design Within Reach world, Sascha is infinitely more affordable, more chic, and certainly more of an investment steeped with California heyday - Hollywood Regency lore.

My mama’s ashtray? I still have it - are you kidding? It’s priceless to me.

Sascha Brastoff pieces are part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as several other museums around the U.S.

Enjoy!

Doug at Swank