3505 17th St.
San Francisco, Ca. 94110
(415) 255-6700
Contact: store@meteorlights.com

How will your lampshade attach to my lamp?
How do I measure the harp?
What if my lamp doesn't have a harp?
Which lampshade styles are available as clip-ons?
My lamp has a huge harp. Can I still use one of your lampshades?
What if our lamp has a glass bowl around the lamp socket, instead of a harp?

What is the difference between a pendant fixture and a pendant swag?
What does pendant swag lamp mean?

What is the largest diameter shade you make?
What are your shades made of?
What are your lampshades stained with?
Do you sell your parchment shade fabric?
What bulb wattages do you recommend with your shades?
Why don't you have more cone shapes on your styles page?
Why don't you offer deep drums as a standard shape?

Where are your lamps and shades made?
Do you ship abroad?
Why can't I have my lamp or shade right now?

Q: How will your lampshade attach to my lamp?

A.: Most lamps use a detachable, hoop-shaped, two piece lamp harp assembly to secure the shade to the lamp. The harp snaps into the harp saddle (the u-shaped bracket immediately below the lamp socket).The top of the harp has a threaded finial post that fits through the washer on the lampshade ring. A decorative finial screws onto the harp to secure the shade.

Q: How do I measure the harp?

A.: Harps are measured from the bottom of the saddle to the flat part below the finial post. Harps are available in 1/2" increments. Most of our shades are designed variously to work with harps from 7 1/2" to 9".

Q.: What if my lamp doesn't have a harp?

A.: If your lamp doesn't have a harp saddle in place, we can provide you with a clip-on bulb adapter which attaches to the shade and clips onto the bulb itself. The threaded finial post on the bulb clip fits through the shade washer, and is secured with a finial.

Q.: Which lampshade styles are available as clip-ons?

A.: Any lampshade can be easily converted to a clip-on, but the bulb adapters work best on shades up to 13" in diameter. If used to suspend a shade upside-down, as on a swag or pendant lamp, the clips work best with shade heights 9" and under, and on the smaller tiered shades.

Q.: My lamp has a huge harp. Can I still use one of your lampshades?

A.: Most of our shades are made in the post-war low-profile "modern" style, so for the best fit you may want to change to a shorter harp. However, in many cases we can customize shades for taller harps. A small number of older lamps have a crimped-on harp, in which case the upper portion is not removable from the saddle. If you have one of these older lamps that has a crimped-on harp which is too long (over 10"), contact us for other solutions.

Q.: What if our lamp has a glass bowl around the lamp socket, instead of a harp?

A.: We can provide you with shade clips that attach to the spokes of the lampshade ring and fit snugly inside or outside the bowl. Larger diameter shades work well with glass bowls.

Q.: What is the difference between a pendant fixture and a pendant swag?

A.: A pendant light fixture is hard-wired to an electrical ceiling junction box, and usually hangs straight down from the canopy covering the j-box; a pendant swag light is a portable lamp which plugs into an electrical outlet, and is suspended from the ceiling with hooks or hangers.

Q.: What does pendant swag mean?

A.: Pendant swag refers to a lamp whose chain or cord is draped, or swagged, between two or more points on a ceiling. According to Michael Quinion of World Wide Words, swag is "...a word imported into Middle English from Scandinavian svagga, to sway (in fact, it's the origin of sway as well). At first, the verb meant to rock unsteadily or lurch, but evolved into that of hanging loosely or heavily, to sag. Another sense of swag comes from the same idea -- for an ornamental festoon, or for fabric fastened so it hangs in a drooping curve; this was first recorded at the end of the eighteenth century. It's also the origin of the American swag lamp sense [...], in which the lamp's electrical cable hangs in a swag."

Q.: What is the largest diameter shade you make?

A.: We currently make custom shades up to 30" diameter. Please contact us for more details.

Q.: What are your shades made of?

A.: We fabricate our shades from a resin/fiberglass composite developed in the mid-twentieth century. This is the same material used on the original post-war low-profile fiberglass lampshades. Back in the day, dye was put in the resin during the manufacturing process to attain a range of stock colors. Only plain white is still available, so we have to individually hand-stain each shade to achieve the desired effect.

Q.: What are your lampshades stained with?

A.: We use non-toxic water-based stains that we mix up as needed. Because each shade is stained separately, colors may not match exactly from batch to batch. Therefore, if you need a matching pair, we suggest you order them at the same time for a perfect match.

Q.: Do you sell your parchment shade fabric?

A.: We don't make a practice of selling our shade parchment, but we may be able to provide small quantities in some cases.

Q.: What bulb wattages do you recommend with your shades?

A.: For a 6" diameter shade, we recommend 60 watts max; for 8" diameters, 75 watts max; for 10" diameters, 100 watts max.

Q.: Why don't you have more cone shapes on your styles page?

A: There are thousands of possible cone lampshade configurations using the following parameters: 4"-15" top dia., 6"-18" bottom dia., and 7"-16" tall. We can make most configurations, but not every one of them. There are too many possible configurations for us to list -- contact us with the dimensions you need, and we'll see if we can do it.

Q.: Why don't you offer deep drums as a standard shape?

A.: When lamp bases became bulkier in the '60s, lampshades had to become correspondingly bulkier in order to balance the mass of the base. When a wide drum is increased in height to about 12" and over, an optical illusion occurs that makes the top of the shade look wider than the bottom; this illusion is circumvented with a properly-proportioned deep cone. Our hand-staining process becomes increasingly problematic on shades of this size, so we choose to feature the lower-profile shades appropriate for more streamlined bases.

Q.: Where are your lamps and shades made?

A.: Our lamps and shades are stained, fabricated, and assembled by hand at our workshop in San Francisco. All of our shade components (fiberglass stock, wire rings, stains and paints, and plastic lanyard) are made in the U.S. Whenever possible, we use American-made lamp components. (socket, cord set, harps, finials, etc.); unfortunately, as time goes by, fewer and fewer lighting components are being made in the U.S.

Q.: Do you ship abroad?

A.: Outside the lower 48 states and abroad, we ship Air Parcel Post. Customer will be responsible for any duties or taxes.

Q.: Why can't I have my lamp or shade right now?

A.: We are a small company, and each shade is custom-made to your specifications and our high standards. However, we do have some samples on hand for sale in our lamp and shade gallery. Contact us for more information.