Discarded objects reborn as fixtures
NEW YORK — Household objects, industrial cast-offs and vintage farm tools — all these and more are being salvaged and upcycled into lighting fixtures that range from elegant to funky to pure wow.
The trend is evident at eateries like Malai Marke, a stylish Indian restaurant in New York City's East Village, where light in the dining room glows from bulbs surrounded by green wine bottles arranged in a circle, empty but corked.
It can be seen on websites like Pinterest, where the “Upcycled Lighting Obsession” board shows bulbs affixed to old skateboards, the metal innards of a box spring, bird cages, teacups and an upside-down colander.
And it's become a career for Robert Nicholas in Asheville, N.C., whose dramatic showpiece chandeliers made from all kinds of vintage objects sell for up to $6,000.
Nicholas' materials range from the wooden roof of an old gazebo to tobacco stakes, which were used to harvest and dry tobacco leaves.
The gazebo-turned-chandelier is going to be a showpiece for a brewery; the tobacco-stakes fixture ended up in Miami. “You're taking something that may feel more indigenous to a cabin in North Carolina and you're putting it in a modern home in South Beach,” Nicholas said.
In fact, many of his fixtures have an urban-chic sensibility despite their authentic rural roots.
Yet when it comes to an object's original purpose, Nicholas said, “I don't really care what it was, but I'm intrigued by what it was. It really is more about the aesthetic look of it and the potential of what it can become,” along with its potential for a “wow factor.”
His philosophy stems from “seeing value in things we were discarding.”
And he has a message for those who see an upcycled lighting idea and think, “I can do that.”
“Hey, create something that hasn't been done yet!” Nicholas said. “Don't copy something else.”
