Etsy is a cornucopia of the recycled, re-purposed, handmade and artisan crafted, so it seems only fitting to add a weekly post focused just on the marvelous items one can find there. Case in point?
These terrific little repurposed glass insulator pendant lights by RizBerry.
Glass insulators have been around since the days of the telegraph, and are still in use today throughout the world. Because glass is such a poor conductor of electricity, as well as fairly cheap material, it was a natural choice to insulate the lines from the poles they were supported by. Many glass insulators, especially older versions, are quite decorative looking, despite their utilitarian function. These particular insulators date from somewhere between the 1920′s and ’50′s.
Although they were made in many different colors, the most commonly found seem to be a greenish blue, or a clear. I love the retro industrial look they have!
RizBerry also makes accent lamps using the insulators, which are quite charming, although I would personally ditch that lampshade for something a bit more interesting.
So what do you think? Hip new trend in re-purposed lighting, or back to grandma’s attic?
June 17th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I have a bunch of these insulators and would love to make lights like these. How were the tops drilled out? Thanks!
June 17th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
I’m afraid I don’t really know. I’d suggest doing a Google search and see what comes up. You could also take it to your local glazier and they could probably either cut it for you, or tell you how you can get it cut. They usually deal mainly with plate glass, but sometimes they know how to deal with other stuff.
September 10th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Thanks for showing some of my antique insulator pendant lights. I really enjoy making these for my customers. I had one person that bought three of my pendants lights as the very first purchase for the new house he would not build for another year. He recently sent me pictures of the house and the lights that now hang over his kitchen island.
January 3rd, 2012 at 11:07 am
This is a knockoff the original insulatorlight.
How do you deal with NEC standards, UL Listing or costly bulb burnout rates on your penadant lights?
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Tim, those are questions you should be sending to the maker directly.