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This all started when I saw a picture of a 1910-era Limbert lamp made of copper, mica, and oak. I fell in love with it. I made a similar lamp for myself, learning the fundamentals of etching copper from a crumbling Popular Mechanics article published around the time the Limbert lamp was made. I soon discovered that the etched copper process, with its dozens of steps in transforming a sheet of raw copper into a final product, is endlessly interesting. I love the materials I work with: heavy sheets of copper, glowing art glass and mica, warm-hued oak.
The intricate patterns of the items I sell aren't cut by machine. Instead, they're created using the traditional acid etch process. Sometimes the copper is etched away entirely, to create a silhouette pattern for a lamp. Sometimes the copper is painstakingly removed in layers, creating a bas relief pattern. Each piece of copper responds slightly differently to the acid, adding an almost organic feel to each line of the design and ensuring that each piece is unique. As a final step, the copper is patinated to a warm brown glow and protected with lacquer.
Everything I make is based on my own original designs, most of them inspired by the natural forms I grew up with in Western Washington State. And, remembering how cold and gray Washington could be, I always try to make sure that everything I make has light and warmth to it. People tell me they think of my work as heirlooms, and I like to imagine my lamps casting a warm light far into the future…
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