Bespoke lighting

As part of the restoration of the famous Brighton Belle luxury train, we were commissioned to design and manufacture table lamps for the Pullman dining cars. As well as looking as close to to the genuine article as practicable, all the materials used had to conform to modern UK railway safety regulations, such as smoke-free armoured cabling without internal joints.

When these Art Deco lamps were designed in the 1930s, plastic for the lampshades was a new invention, however they were delicate and prone to damage. Modern polycarbonate (lexan) is much stronger and fire-resistant. The power supply in the carriages is 70 volts, so the lamps have to accommodate the traditional tungsten bulbs.

English Heritage guidelines for All Saints’ Church, Old Glossop (which is listed) severely restricted the lighting options. We designed and manufactured a multi-purpose chandelier which, in the centre, has an uplight to highlight the ceiling and two adjustable halogen spotlights below to highlight the 14 Stations of the Cross paintings around the walls.

Each type of light is on a separate circuit to suit the lighting scheme for the church interior. At the suggestion of the architect, the metalwork for these chandeliers was produced at a local workshop. It was beautifully finished with decorative strips of highly polished brass

To display some treasured paintings, our clients wanted subtle accent lighting that would be easy to adapt if they later moved the pictures around. We designed and made purpose-built pattresses. Each cube has some lateral adjustment so the beam direction can be altered for different sized paintings, and brightness can be adjusted on a step dimmer.

Minicubeus lights mounted on these angled pattresses provide even illumination of the upper half of the wall. In contrast to traditional picture lights, paintings can be arranged and re-arranged in any formation on the wall, so the lighting is future-proof.