“Hell, there are no rules here;
we’re trying to accomplish something.”

Three months of formal schooling, 1,093 US Patents including the Phonograph, the Kinetoscope (think motion pictures), the Alkaline Battery, and the Incandescent Light Bulb. Thomas Alva Edison was famous for both his inventions and his irreverent perspective, exemplified by the quote above. His inventions transformed the world, and his perspective revolutionized everyone in it.

He held the status quo in disdain. He broke the rules. He recognized that risk-taking and failure were the only ways to truly advance society. When asked why he was not discouraged by his many failed attempts to invent the light bulb, his direct response was, “There is no failure here, I’ve learned 10,000 ways how not to make a light bulb.”

That’s some perspective.

It is that perspective that has led to the many innovative interpretations of Edison’s invention represented among the pages of our Famous Fall Lighting Sale Catalog. From the exquisite Wine Barrel Chandelier, crafted from 100-year-old oak planks that were once soaked in French wine (an invention of Rudi Nijssen and Mark Sage from Belgium), to the Royal Master Sealight, a luminary statement piece whose origins trace back to a British Naval Ship (courtesy of Theo Eichholtz, Amsterdam) or the Filament Chandelier, a pure and modern expression of Edison’s incandescent bulb.

With fall settling in, and our days growing shorter, we tip our hat (and lampshades) to Mr. Edison. His uncommon perspective, unwillingness to be bound by the rules, and ability to learn from 10,000 ways how not to make a light bulb, have illuminated our lives and continue to spark our imaginations.

Carpe Diem,

Gary Friedman
Chairman & CEO