New boutique lamp shop plugs in St. James

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This article was published 07/09/2011 (5141 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The name on the business card and storefront sign says Mr. Lamp Shops, but Denise Swart is the one bringing the popular retro-style jigsaw lamp back to western Canada.

Swart opened her showroom at 2641 Portage Ave. at the end of June. The unmistakable glow from the lights has been catching the eyes of passersby ever since.

“The biggest form of advertising we have right now is our window,” joked Swart, a St. James resident.

“Most of the people come in and say ‘I saw you lit up at night and had to come to find out what it was about.’ They tend to be overwhelmed, and absolutely love them but have to go home and find a place to put them first.”

The lamps, popularized in the 1970s by Danish designer Holger Strom, are sold in kits or preassembled.

The kits come in six sizes and 11 different colours, and can be made into 21 different shapes. The plastic pieces are heat-resistant and designed to be used inside or outdoors, Swart said.

“Retro is just coming back into style…and the lamps are just hitting Canada right now,” she said.

Swart, who works as a sales agent, said the lamps first caught her attention at a tradeshow in Alberta earlier this year.

“I’m very much attracted to light and glitter,” she said. “I was walking down the halls, and the man only had six or seven of them hanging, but I was in awe.

“I thought it’s the perfect product — it’s small, you can’t really damage it and it doesn’t freeze. From a distributor point of view, it’s perfect. From a retail point of view, they don’t take up a lot of space, (and it) has a lot of appeal to consumers because it’s flexible and you can make it into more than more one shape.”

The store is currently the sole provider of the lamps to consumers and retailers across Western Canada.

Swart plans to use her existing customer and retailer base to help get the business off the ground.

She is also planning to host a grand opening in September and hold workshops on how to build the lamps and incorporate them into the home.

“(The lamps do) have a bit more of a contemporary presentation, but when you put it with traditional furniture it does go very well,” she said.

Twitter: @metroWPG

matt.preprost@canstarnews.com