Saugatuck Arts and Crafts Style Reading Lamp

The base model of this lamp is Fumed Dark Oak Stain Color with amber mica shade panel and brass pull chains for $711. If you would like to add customizations, please select different options from the buttons of the OPTIONS page, call the shop at (269) 275-8208 or email ragsdale335@gmail.com. We try to keep the base models of all lamps in stock and that makes your delivery time faster. All other selections are probably not in stock and will take longer depending on the selection and amount of customization.

To add real acorn pull chains or an oak leaf medallion to your order please select them from the products page and add them to your shopping cart separately.

The right mission oak lighting can add drama and elegance to your rooms.  Different mission oak lamps lighting effects contribute to create atmosphere.  General or ambient mica or stained-glass lighting begins to se the mood; whether turned up bright or dimmed down low.  The even glow of mica shaded lamps or a mission chandelier sets the tone.  The mission oak light through a pleated shade is exactly the tone of this rich warm light. Ambient mission oak lighting often works along with task lighting; an arts and crafts lamp pulled up next to a reading chair or next to a bed provides the direct beam of light that is the task light. This is the light that lets you read or work in a dimly lit room.  But it is also the contrast between general mission oak light and the sharper pools of task light that provide mystery and drama to the interior.   The most romantic lighting is accent lighting in our world that means mica lamp shades. The gleam of candles through mica hurricanes, the glow of votives in stained glass scattered through the room across the dining room table or along the mantel.  Tappers aloft above a dining table, bathe the china and crystal in a soft glow, nothing is more atmospheric than mission oak light.  Often all three types of light are used together as a dark entrance hall glow with candles and barely a glimmer of a mission oak chandelier in the hall gives way to the brighter sparkle from silk shades and crystal from the room beyond.

I was born in Battle Creek in 1959, on the whole I enjoyed school and looking back years later I realized that I actually built my first arts and crafts style lamp in 7th grade woodshop in 1972. In high school I was interested in electronics, and took a job in the western suburbs of Chicago soon after graduation.  Even though my career in electronics was satisfying during that time period I always loved woodworking and as early as 1982 I had a little woodshop and craft show stand where I created little Frank Lloyd Wright inspired items like boxes and shelves.  

I began designing and drawing furniture seriously in 1998, though not full time until the early 2000’s.  In 2001 upon starting my first full time wood shop and studio I discovered the designs of Charles P. Limbert, who was from my area of Michigan, and before long I did a couple reproductions of his work.   One of the first designs I did was the Limbert pagoda parlor table.  That table’s top was 33” X 33” and I recall a conversation with my brother one day where he told me it was a nice table but it would never fit in his living room.  I almost immediately said I could turn it into a coffee table for him, and a month later I had my first Limbert style coffee table ready to go. 16 years later I’m still doing those coffee tables, but along the way my lighting designs became front and center.

So, after many years of working with Prairie, and Arts and Crafts, it gradually brought me back to my Arts and Crafts inspired lighting. My lighting gradually became more popular than the tables, and I spend many years living in the details of designing the 33 lamp designs I now do.   In 2010 I received one of the highest compliments possible in the arts and crafts world as my lighting was accepted by the Roycroft Copper Shop in the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora NY. I am truly honored to have my work in the same campus where Elbert Hubbard, Karl Kip, and many others brought arts and crafts to the USA.  I am not a regular entrant in a lot of craft shows anymore as I have been lucky enough to have always had a backlog of clients calling and commissioning my work from the phone or over the website.

I always have a lamp or two in the design stage, and I have a passion for the material in the sustainable designs I create. I always have at least a dozen lamps waiting to be done, the next lamp is always just around the corner and who knows, maybe one day a masterpiece! These days I enjoy teaching and showing my apprentices that craftsmanship can be a lot less daunting than they imagine, to witness the enthusiasm in creating a piece of art that they are proud of is simply magical!