Before you read this, you may want to watch our DVD which shows how a chandelier is made. It will help you understand just how complex the design and manufacture of chandeliers is.

Click here to view a video on these chandeliers being made.

Chandelier and lighting designers are usually born, not made. In many cases, they are from a long line of artisans who have served in the industry for generations. Whether they work in Italy or China, the Czech Republic or Egypt, they invariably have one thing in common. They can usually point to several generations of ancestors who were also involved in the manufacture of decorative lighting.

Chandelier designers are usually also 'jacks of many trades'. To be successful at designing chandeliers, it is necessary to know precisely what is possible with a whole range of materials. To learn this usually involves years of training and practice. There is little point in designing a chandelier smothered in crystal, if the chandelier frame is not strong enough to support the weight of it. Neither is there any point in designing a chandelier which doesn't hang perfectly perpendicular when suspended from a ceiling, or that is so complicated and difficult to manufacture or install, it is too expensive for people to buy and enjoy.

Due to the innumerable constraints placed on a Chandelier designer by the practicality issues of the materials used, and processes employed, it is essential that the designer has a sound working knowledge of these materials and processes. For this reason, most chandelier designers have completed years of training coupled to extensive practice in the manufacturing arts required to make a good chandelier, before they start designing them for themselves.

The Skills Employed in Chandelier Manufacture:

The Chandelier Frame:

Any chandelier needs a basic frame from which the dressing is suspended. This frame can be manufactured from a wide range of materials. Usually on crystal chandeliers, the frame is metal, such as iron, brass, copper, bronze or stainless steel. Glass or crystal frames are also commonly used. While it isn't impossible for the frame to be a hardwood such as oak, teak or mahogany or even deer antler, these materials are not common.

Most chandelier designers have spent many years working with these frame making materials. This means they have extensive knowledge of how to forge steel, caste iron, brass, or bronze and know the limitations of each metal and its strengths. This skill alone would usually take several years to perfect. Ask any blacksmith. However, a chandelier designer's required expertise doesn't stop with a knowledge of how to work a whole range of different frame making materials. He also needs to know what is possible with dressing the frame once it's made.

Chandelier Dressings:

A chandelier can be dressed in just about any material known to man. Crystal, glass, ceramic, bone, antler, coated metals, fabric, wood, precious metals, precious stones, semi precious stones, quartz crystal, even granite, alabaster and soap stone is common. I've even seen plastic used, (though I don't think we sell any of these). A chandelier designer must have a good working knowledge of all the different materials he is likely to use to dress one of his chandeliers. He must understand how each is processed and manipulated to achieve the desired result. He especially needs a good understanding of what each weighs, how easy or difficult they are to work and how available they are in the market place. This usually means that the designer has done it himself before he starts designing.

Chandelier designers therefore usually have spent many years learning and perfecting the art of glass blowing, electro-plating, gilding, carving and painting before they start designing. This training would also instil a sound knowledge how crystal is manufactured, fabrics are worked, metals are enamelled and a lot more practical skills pertaining to the working of a whole range of different dressing materials.

Understanding Light and proportion and how they work together:

There would be very little point in designing a chandelier, which ultimately has a primary function of shedding light into an enclosed space, if the final result did not shed sufficient light, or shed light in an acceptable way. Therefore, before a person can design a chandelier, he must have at least a rudimentary understanding of light, and a good working understanding of proportion and how the two effect the way a chandelier works.

It would be a complete waste of time to design a chandelier which was of a size which would only look in proportion if hung in a large room, when the light it gives off is only enough to light a small room. Conversely, there wouldn't be much sense in designing a chandelier which gives off enough light to illuminate a large room, but will only look in proportion if hung in a small room. Therefore, understanding light, and having a good spacial awareness are essential attributes for any prospective designer of chandeliers.

The Complete Chandelier Designer:

I once heard a woman define a housewife. She said a housewife must be good at diplomacy, have exceptional social skills, know how to repair virtually everything in the home from changing a lightbulb, to fixing the washing machine. She should be an excellent taxi driver, a part time teacher of virtually any subject, a laundress, a seamstress, and a good cook. When any member of the family is sick, she must be a nurse, to get the husband off to work on time and the kids to school, she must be a timekeeper. She must know how to keep records and be a reasonable economist to see that the bills are paid on time, and the available money stretches across everything the family needs. She must also be immune to illness herself. Then finally, she must be good at sex.

In a similar way, though with different skills, this is much like what is needed to be a good chandelier designer. The complete chandelier designer is a good metalurgist and forger. He is a glass-master. He understands light, diffraction characteristics of light, and the luminosity given of by a standard bulb and that needed to light a given area. He needs to have a flair for style and design, and he needs to know how the electricity required for each lamp on every chandelier will get there. He must understand proportion, space and how to fill it. An appreciation of colour and how different colours blend is also essential. Finally he must have a good working knowledge of gilding, enamelling, anodising, or painting a whole range of surfaces from iron to plastic.

In short, a good chandelier designer is probably one of the most highly skilled artisans in the world. No wonder they are usually born into the industry rather than trained into it.

What we have done to help:

The Chandelier Company offers a whole range of lighting products designed and manufactured by dozens of different designers, working for many different companies in several different countries. They all have their own particular styles, from strictly traditional to ultra modern. We are in constant contact with all our designers, and we have our own designer team to help our customers get precisely the chandelier they want. Our service is second to none and we believe we have the widest choice at the most competetive prices in the world. We look forward to helping you select the perfect chandelier for your room. Once you've chosen it, we will even install it for you if required.