Go For the Glow
Issue #20
Seattle’s Wired Women offer affordable, artistic lighting
By Brangien Davis
Published: June 1st, 2004 | 12:00am
Those in search of a guiding light need look no further than Seattle, where a posse of like-minded illuminati has formed an electrifying consortium. Known as Wired Women (wiredwomenseattle.com), the group consists of six local designers (Diane Graves, Jil Smith, Kate Kilpatrick, Wendy Tomkins, Stacy Lewars, and Joan Bazaz) dedicated to the creation of fine-art interior lighting.
The switch was flipped on this intrepid lighting league when Graves saw a networking opportunity (and a chance to get out of her basement). "I was working from home and I read an article that Jil was in," she says. "And I thought, 'Shouldn't I know her?'" Soon Graves discovered the names of a few other women designing light fixtures and invited them all to breakfast. "I asked them, 'Don't you want to have a society?'"
Indeed they did. Now the bulb beautifiers meet monthly to talk shop, share ideas, and pass along job connections. "It's nice to be able to brainstorm with people who have the same gripes and concerns," says Smith. Kilpatrick agrees, adding, "I know my business has grown because of this group. We're all being inspired, motivated, and encouraged." The six women do design shows together and help each other from concept through application. "We're a big support group," says Graves.
The women, most of whom came to lamp-making after years doing other artwork, offer an extensive and original array of hand-crafted lighting options. "Commercial lighting is so uninteresting," says Bazaz. "That's what got me going." In addition to frustration with less-than-inspiring designs, the Wired Women felt there wasn't much on the market in an affordable price range. "There's Home Depot and Restoration Hardware and then there's nothing 'til you get up to the really expensive Italian stuff," says Smith. As Bazaz points out, with a light from Wired Women, "People get a good value — a piece of art that's functional."
Function is naturally a top priority, but not at the expense of form and fun. The Wired Women's lamps vary to all tastes and needs. "With all of us together, we have a broader range," Kilpatrick says, "from industrial designs to more feminine stuff." Graves employs found objects and vintage thrift-store lamp bases, while Smith paints Japanese rice-paper shades. Kilpatrick crafts nature-inspired lights featuring willow branches and hand-picked leaves, while Tomkins makes use of vases, bottles, musical instruments, and nearly anything else. Lewars creates large-scale pendants of silk, linen, and grass cloth, while Bazaz makes patterned glass panels framed in copper and leaded glass.
The Wired Women each maintain their own separate businesses, designing and fabricating lights in their homes or private studio spaces and selling via interior designers and assorted retail outlets. After countless customers asked, "Where's your store?" they decided to open a joint showroom in Seattle's Roosevelt neighborhood (by appointment only). The proprietress of the bodywork studio next door donated the many-windowed space. "She wanted some positive energy on her corner," says Smith.
What's next for these luminous ladies? Tripping the light fantastic, of course. They dream of establishing satellite groups in other cities, even daring to envision a Wired Women International some day. But for now the plan remains modest: continue spreading sweetness and light.
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