A couple of years ago, my friend Pam at Retro Renovation did a post on mid century modern pendants. As I was reading about them, I was so surprised to see that I owned a a pair of pendants that were in the catalog she was showing. They were in a box in my studio and...
Spring time always has me opening up draws in my studio that have not been opened for a long time. The past couple of weeks have been so warm, the door has been open and so have all of my studio draws. I came across a box of 19th century tin horns I had purchased a...
Murphy’s Law “Everything takes longer than it takes.” Shandell’s arrived in it’s new home in July. The unpacking of 100’s of lamps, parts, papers, setting up and painting is finally done (still have some more to do). In my mind I...
Thank you to Hudson Valley Magazine for the current mentions. Shandell’s is thrilled that you picked our Honeysuckle vintage image wastebasket for your “the hot hue of the home”. I have fallen head over heals in love with pink this year, I have...
Make Pendant Lights Out of Thrifty Vintage Finds — Put A Bulb In It! from RetroRenovation.com on Vimeo. I got a call from my friend Pam at Retro Renovation a couple of weeks ago. She talked to me about making a video for her readers. “Put a bulb in...
Last winter customers, Frank Delaney and Diane Meier came into the studio and spotted a pair of 19th century cream separators that I had just found. They have been looking for a pair of lamps for their barn. They fell in love with them and we proceeded to create a...
For the third year Shandell’s is having a summer sale. It is that time again to thank all of my customers with 15% off of all in stock items online or in the studio. The studio is fully stocked for your enjoyment. Hope to see you either in the studio or online. Susan...
“Toot your own horn” an interesting expression, when I found a large lot of 19th century tin party horns in an amazing array of colors, that is what first came to my mind and second, what fabulous lamps they would make. These are tin horns that were made...
The scrap yard, as you know is one of my favorite destinations when I travel. This pair of lamps I have pictured are from a wonderful piece of 19th century fencing with a great silver paint. So, off to the welders they went. When I got them back from him, I was...
Recently, I was reading one of my favorite blogs The Sister Project. Each month I start off reading Sheilaa Hite’s horoscope and find that she has an amazing ability to sum up my life(I am a true Capricorn). This months she talks about “The whirlwind...
These fabulous ginger jar shaped lamps, with gesso flowers came right from the Dorothy Draper era. They are classical and funky wrapped into one. The tone on tone feeling is soothing. I have found quite a few examples of gesso decorated lamp bases lately. This is...
Scrap yards, junk yards, the dump (some people call it the transfer station, so it sounds better), are great places. I have been a recycling for years. People throw away wonderful pieces of metal. The more industrial the better, I have a true love affair for it. ...
I have making a lot of “Hats” ( small shades for chandeliers and sconces) this summer. A great way to change the appearance of a room, a quick change in wardrobe. From Sassy Sleeves to Hats, here are my newest, Half Hats for sconces. Wonderful shapes and...
Lately I have been a daily reader of Retro Renovation, a great blog dedicated to mid century home life. Recently I was looking through my drawers of vintage wallpaper that is prepped for lampshades and found this wonderful sea foam green paper, with leaves and Greek...
A couple of weeks ago I took a Sunday to go shopping with Eddie & Jaithan (my blogger pals). We went to Stormville Flea Market, I had not been in a couple of years. Luck was on our side that day, the sun came out and lots of treasures were found. The first find...
For 15 years, I’ve been making lamps. From table legs to iron machinery parts to portions of fences, with lavish doses of the more expected pottery and glass vessels, I’ve delighted in making lamps of just about everything, as you can see in my studio. As my...
For anyone who knows me, they know that purple is my favorite color. I do not wear it, but I use it as much as I can. My second, is Peacock Blue. Not Navy or Turquoise, but the deep stunning Peacock Blue that Maxfield Parrish could paint and that came from the Orient....
Shandell’s is getting ready to move into a fabulous new studio. Still located in Millerton, NY, Shandell’s will be located at the corner of Rt 44 (Main Street) & Rt 22, in a restored 1930’s garage. I have taken some pictures of the new space and...