My bad, I’ve never done a story about Moon Shine Lamp & Shade. I think it was because I thought, “Everyone knows about them.” Well, in case you don’t, Moonshine is one of two key places to go to get custom-made, fiberglass lamp shades in true vintage atomic style. If you have a lamp base or a pair that need shades — and only a fiberglass beauty will do — and you can’t find vintage — now you know where to turn. D’Lana Arthur and her husband James (the cuties at the right) have been making the shades since 1998. Over that time, they’ve surely “done it all” — and D’Lana is trained in interior design — so they can recommend a design to make your pretty lamps truly stunning.
2021 Update: The Moon Shine Shade website is now gone. Not sure what happened. For another company that does shades like these, try Modilumi.
.
D’Lana writes:
We started in 1998 in Memphis, TN. I went to school for interior design but was working as a bartender when a friend mentioned he was selling left over stock from making reproduction vintage lamp shades for his vintage furniture store to replace missing shades on vintage lamps he had found. My husband, James, is a musician. We decided to buy the materials and started building a business. At that time, there were about six styles and four different patterns to choose from. We had a friend build a website for us and started going to trade shows. We started with gift shows and gradually moved to design shows.
We do crazy projects almost weekly. The way we expand our knowledge is by accepting nearly ANY design and rising to the challenge. We have done 8 ft diameter shades, 8 ft tall shades, ones made entirely of ribbon, a steel laser cut shade of the Houston skyline, wood veneer shades, aluminum mesh shades, 3 ft cubes…we can make lamp shades out of almost any material. We do custom printing on shades as well.
We are very busy and have remained steady through the trying economy.
Thank you, D’Lana, for sharing all these photos. It’s great to hear success stories like yours of entrepreneurs in the mid mod space — taking a chance, focusing on quality and craftsmanship, and in reality, creating their own markets. Good on you!
Where to buy: Moon Shine Lamp & Shade
I also want to note that in addition to being pretty snappy, fiberglass shades can be better for the environment in that: They generally are quite translucent and let a lot of light show through. If you want to save on electricity, make sure your lamp shades are made of materials with a lot of translucency. Many decorative shades — I have some myself — look pretty, but in reality block out the full effect of the bulb. Which means I have to turn on more lights elsewhere. Remember how, in way back olden days, they put clear glass over their hurricane lamps — because they wanted to maximize the available, costly light? Duh.
RosemaryMartin says
How fab! I need lamps for my living room and have bookmarked this page for when cash isn’t so tight.
Thank you, Pam!
Desirae says
I’m not sure if the other place you were referring to for fiberglass shades was: http://www.deadlynightshades.com/. This is where I got mine. I had no idea that anyone else made them. Glad to know. Yay for options! : )
pam kueber says
I was thinking of meteorlights.com — but many thanks, Desirae, now we know of three. I’ll get to the other two as soon as I can….
DougH says
Thanks for this post. I’ve been looking for just the right fiberglass shades for a pair of lamps I found in a thrift store. The ones I found look too short. I’ll give them a try.
Carole says
Love the Scotty dog and cityscape shades!
Seeing these reminds me of a retro place in Portland that carries shades, furniture, and accessories from earlier era’s. It’s a cool place to browse.
Kelley Sandidge says
My entire house is outfitted with Moon Shine shades. Granted, I have the inside advantage, since these guys live just down the road and are dear friends of ours, but I would buy their shades anyway. They are incredibly creative people and such a pleasure to work with. I’m sure there are still plenty of readers out there who haven’t heard of them yet, and it’s time they did!
pam kueber says
Hi Kelley, it’s so great to hear from you, you are quite the entrepreneur yourself!
Kelley Sandidge says
Thanks Pam. New and fun things brewing here. I’ll send you a note wearing my “work hat” when they are ready. Kelley from Hip Haven.
clampers says
I love business success stories like this, particularly in the home accents/furnishings industry. I had not heard of Moonshine before so I appreciate this story!
Oh and I voted!
pam kueber says
Hey, Pammy Whammy here. Has everyone voted to nominate Retro Renovation as a finalist in the Apartment Therapy contest? Just a few more days left to nominate, and we’re currently #3 — we need to stay in the top six.
Head here to vote: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-home-design-blog-nominations-the-homies-2012-166616
Thank you!
June Cahill says
I’m ‘awe-struck’ – gorgeous! Was just showing a friend their ad in Spring, Atomic Ranch. So much fun to see the larger pics! I’m sure she’ll splurge and get one of these incredible shades for a couple of her retro lamps! Thanks for the info!
Caitlinvs says
Wow! Those are fantastic! Thanks for another great source!
Sherree says
Luckily for us mid century decor is not very popular where I live; these types of shades are in the thrift shops and at garage sales. I absolutely love those green ones. Thanks for sharing!