Chandeliers I've Made

For those of you that don't know, I used to design chandeliers and lighting fixtures and sell them on eBay.  Some were designed from all new raw lamp parts and then others, my  favorites, were from vintage and antique pieces that I found and re-worked.  They were all hand made.  For over three years my husband and I had an eBay store called Unique Chic Designs where we sold my creations.  In addition to lighting we manufactured furniture appliques and also created one of a kind home decor items.  For those wondering, an eBay store or and Etsy store can be very profitable, in fact for a time we made our entire living via eBay.  But I can tell you, it can also be a LOT of hard work!!!  Especially if you hand make everything yourself.

We stopped doing our store about three years ago.  My husband was working full time, and although he was a huge huge help, I was pretty much burnt out on the day to day manufacturing, posting, shipping, work work work cycle.  Once my hubby was steadily working full time, I no longer HAD to do the store, so we stopped. I was finally able to focus on fun crafting projects and my own home decor stuff again... (Yeah me!!!).

Now we have this big house, which is pretty much my big canvas.  I am working at making it beautiful, one space at a time.  I love blogging about my adventures and am passionate about decorating on a budget.  I have yet to make one chandelier for our current home, but I do have space and ideas for a few.  In time, I hope to create a few one of a kind beauties for us... For now, I thought I would share with you some of the creations we made and sold in our store.

We had a few different table chandeliers.  We offered them in black, off white and pink.  I did a distressed finish, with sandpaper, on every light we made after they were painted... Needless to say, I was always dusty!

Here are a couple of one of a kinds... They are definitely taste specific!  The one of a kind creations were always sold via auction and they always sold for the most!  Some of the craziest designs sold for several hundreds of dollars.

This next one is actually a floor chandelier and is over five feet tall.  It was definitely difficult to ship, but somehow we managed.  Once FedEx Ground rammed a forklift through the huge packaging box and bent the whole thing in half... Luckily we had it insured and FedEx reimbursed us for the damage and I got to make another for the customer.  It was a bit of a nightmare to rush make a replacement, but it all worked out in the end.

This was another of my one of a kind creations... It is definitely a bit unique.... but, as usual, the more unique the more the bidding went crazy on it.   Making these crazy one of a kinds was my favorite part of our business because it got my creative juices going. The only limit was my imagination.  My husband thought I was pretty much crazy.  He would ask, "Are you sure you want to make that"... and I would just tell him, "trust me".  Whenever he would ask that question, the most unique and bazaar creations would be the highest priced sellers with full blown bidding wars.  It was fun to see!  After awhile he stopped asking and would just wire up whatever design I gave him :)

Here are a couple of funky pendant chandeliers...  They were a big seller with Shabby Chic being so popular at the time!  Adding sparkle and crystal everywhere seemed to be all the rage.  We couldn't make these fast enough.

This next cherub chandelier was done custom as a one of a kind for a friends baby girls nursery...  In addition to crystal prisms dripping from it, I added petite pink roses.  We also did a custom ceiling medallion to match the chandelier.  After this chandelier, I started selling prisms with porcelain pink roses on them.

This next lamp was known as a waterfall lamp... It was an item we manufactured to order from all new parts.  We offered custom color choices and a variety of prism types and designs...

Although we had many more chandelier styles and one of a kind creations, this is just a sampling of the different designs we made.

I've been going to the flea market quite a bit lately.  I'm just waiting for a great old chandelier to come along that I can refurbish and/or rework for our dining room.  I like to find bargains, so I will wait for the right piece and the right price.  I saved several old lamp parts that I can use with my new creations.  I am looking forward to making some again!

Link parties I'm attending-

 

Between Naps on the Porch

Until next time,

Happy decorating!