Greetings From Cape Cod, My Introduction.
My name is Dan Johnson and I have been restoring and selling antique lighting for over 30 years. What I would like to do here is share this experience. We will talk about antique lighting restoration, identification, what's worth restoring and what's not, and even where to find it. I am also looking forward to meeting others that share this passion with me and hope to pick up some new knowledge myself.My quaint little shop is located in Orleans, Ma. midway on Cape Cod, and is filled with over 400 antique lighting fixtures. The bulk of my collection were manufactured between 1860 through 1930. Of course, there are a few very special exceptions and I try to keep up with whatever is trending. A good example with this is the demand for industrial type fixtures that were used in factories and warehouses.
A Little Bit Of History.
How did this come to be.
My story started in high school working a part-time job rewiring lamps. Later, while at university earning my B.S. in Business & Marketing, I swung a deal with one of my professors to rewire some lamps he had for $5 each. This was a huge improvement over the 75 cents/hour that the collage cafeteria was paying. Word spread and I was soon rewiring lamps for, well, just about everyone around. By the time I graduated I was buying old lamps to restore and resell. In this part-time endeavor I was making more than most full-time starting salaries. I knew I was on to something.I then spent 17 years working different traditional jobs in industrial marketing research and sales though my lighting passion was never far from my mind. During this time I visited many antique shops and collected a pretty large collection of old lamps. I then opened my first shop, in Connecticut, on a part-time basis while I was still holding my full-time job. Also, during this time, I spent many summer weeks on Cape Cod vacationing with my wife and 2 daughters. Well, after 8 years running my Connecticut shop I decided that my two passions, antique lighting and Cape Cod was going to become my destiny and opened my shop in Orleans.
Right now I am in the process of revamping my entire website so the collection that is there is not quite complete but I will be providing a link to an archive of my original website. I also have an online antique lighting museum to browse through.
I am not sure how often I will be able to add new blog posts but will try to be consistent. Things can get very busy during my peak summertime season. But what I do hope for is for others to also get involved here and keep the discussion going.
So, please ask questions, make comments or just, at least, check back once in a while to see what we are discussing. If you are ever on Cape Cod, please stop by for a visit. Let me show you what I do and why my original, restored lighting is so much better than the onslaught of the big box store, made in China, knock off lighting fixtures.
Winston, Elizabeth. "Turning On The Charm." Cape Cod & Islands Home Oct. 2004: n. page. Print.
