Retailer
Schoolhouse Electric Co.
Lights
Up with the Classics
By Tracy A. Smith
NW
Renovation recently caught up with Schoolhouse
Electric’s owner and president, Brian Faherty
and general manager, Michelle Steinback. NW Renovation’s
purpose was to find out how this new period lighting
store located on SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
and Oak Street was doing and to learn more about
its unique stock.
Schoolhouse
Electric manufactures glass shades that have been
out of production for 50 to 75 years. These glass
fixtures were once commonplace in schools, government
buildings, and offices. Faherty purchased the glassmaking
molds for the shades from Gillinder Bros., of Port
Jervis, NY, which originally produced the shades.
These classic lights were headed for the landfill,
but today Schoolhouse manufactures over 50 handcrafted
solid brass lighting fixtures in multiple finishes
and over 100 glass shades from these once
“lost” molds. The glass shades are handcrafted
in a West Virginia glass factory. The brass fixtures
are designed in-house and polished and plated in a
LA
factory to be assembled in the store’s studio.
How
has the customer reaction
been to the new business?
“Incredible,” says Steinback, “Customers have been very positive
about our selection, quality, and especially our pricing. Some of my favorite
customer reactions include a couple from Washington D.C. who emailed us after
receiving our catalog to tell us that they were fighting over whose turn it
was to look at the catalog. We had a local customer who said that her new living
room fixtures where one of the most gratifying purchases she has ever made.
The most exciting and complimentary event has been having customers come back
two and three times to buy additional fixtures for rooms. They often say that
they are so happy with their Schoolhouse Electric
fixtures and shades that they want to re-do their other
rooms’
lighting too.”
Do
you get much out-of-state business?
“We receive a surprising number of catalog requests every day and our
catalog orders are beginning to roll in. We already have catalog customers
from all over the U.S. We anticipate that our out-of-state sales will continue
to grow exponentially in the coming years,” says Steinback.
What
is your best-selling light?
Steinback says, “Hard to say, our entire surface
mount, sconce, pan, and pendant lighting fixtures have
been selling very well. Our large collection of glass
shades has also been selling very well — they
have been a big hit with customers and are definitely
turning heads. We also have two lines of hand-painted
shades, the modern color series and the vintage color
series, that have been very popular with customers.
Both of these series are unique and give customers
an opportunity to achieve a classic style with an added
twist of color and design.”
Are
you involved in any historic preservation projects?
Faherty responds, “Many of our customers work
regularly on restoring historically significant homes
in established neighborhoods in Portland. We often
do on-site consultations with them to assist with their
selection of sensitive and appropriate lighting for
the period of
their home or project. We are also members of the Bosco
Milligan Foundation and the Historic Preservation League
of Oregon.”
Do
you have plans for adding new-style lights?
We have had a great response to the fixtures that we
already offer but as business grows we hope to offer
even more variety. We are currently working on some
additional porch light fixtures and hope to introduce
those along with other fixtures on our website next
spring,” says Faherty.
Tell
us something about the painted/stenciled globes.
“Our hand-painted shades are guided by antique patterns and historically
relevant colors that are at home in today’s environments. Our decorated
shades are hand decorated by brush and appliqué, using
traditional methods,” remarks Faherty.
You
also have medicine cabinets?
“Our paint-grade surface-mount medicine cabinets are solid wood and come
with a 2” beveled glass mirror in a streamline or Craftsman style,” adds
Faherty.
Do
you restore old fixtures?
Steinback responds: “Yes we do. We are happy
to help customers restore their old fixtures. We
even offer a vast array of antique fixtures
that have already been restored and are now displayed
in our retail store showroom. The fixtures we offer
in our store have been
completely renovated and refinished with modern wiring
and careful detailing.”
Schoolhouse
Electric Co. is located at 330 SE Martin Luther
King Jr. Blvd, Portland, Oregon. For more information
call 503 230-7113; or logon to www.schoolhouseelectric.com. |
