Antique-Style Electric Christmas Wreath Window Lights

[MJ1987]

Hi all! My brothers and I have endeavored to bring back one of the classic Christmas decorations of years past: the electronic Christmas wreath light. Though I'm usually an "original-purist" when it comes to antiques and vintage, these lights were just simply too scarce and too expensive to collect en masse. When you have upward of 6-1o windows on the front of your house and originals cost between $300-$400 each, the cost is prohibitive. We worked hard to create a reproduction product that would cost less than 50% of the antique originals.

Our original goal was to create enough to outfit our homes. Then we surmised that if people were willing to pay upwards of $400 for one, it stood to reason that other enthusiasts might be interested in a more cost-effective reproduction. Unlike unscrupulous scam artists, ours are not meant to deceive collectors. Here is a run-down of how they're different (and probably more suited to today's taste): wreaths are painted in a scheme meant to replicate traditional colors; more muted and in line with a vintage paint scheme. The reds have more crimson and greens have more forest. The "hoop" portion of the wreath is cast in aluminum and base cast in brass, whereas the originals were completely iron. The sockets are antiqued brass with a round turn, where the originals were painted brass with a bakelite key. The cords are gold and plug ends flat whereas the originals were bronze and plug ends round. All this said the size and form are the same.

At $165, they're not cheap, but neither is the quality. You'll get a long cord and a hand-painted light bulb from Filament Vintage Lighting ($10 per bulb on his website). Everything is done by hand, from casting, to painting, to assembly. No two are exactly the same since they're not mass-produced. Our initial run is only 200 pieces, so we don't have a glut of product. We took promo photos at my brother's (ober) house that he's documented on THD. We created a website called Westwood Lighting and Salvage and have an ad running in Old House Journal this month. It's very much a grass-rooted effort that I hope you all appreciate. Even if you don't "take the plunge" and make a purchase, I welcome you to check out the new site and the eBay listing here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Style- ... SwG5NdXUnI

https://www.westwoodlightingandsalvage.com/shop


Thanks in advance for your support and feedback. Fingers crossed that enough people appreciate these lights as much as we do!

[Willa]

They look great ! Everything looks just right.

Personally I am not an Xmas decor type, but I know there are many, many who are. I remember garage sale shopping with a pal years ago, and he was unapologetic about pestering anyone (ie EVERYONE) about what old Xmas stuff they *might* have for sale, that was still in the basement. Of course he had an amazing collection because of this.

Have you considered opening an Etsy shop, too ?

[Manalto]

Very nice, Matt. They look perfect sitting on a windowsill (especially a frosty one) but I see the opening at the top and wonder - did people also hang them up?

[MJ1987]

.....but I see the opening at the top and wonder - did people also hang them up?

That's a great question. Not to my knowledge, since they have a prominent base, but who knows? I just assumed it was decorative.

[phil]

walked into wally world the other day, noted that the christmas trees were about 160 to 200 dollars and completely made from plastic.

[1918ColonialRevival]

Those wreath lights look amazing! Looking at the picture, they look like they would be nearly impossible to distinguish from a nicely repainted original.

walked into wally world the other day.....

That's a place I avoid like the plague!!

[MJ1987]

Those wreath lights look amazing! Looking at the picture, they look like they would be nearly impossible to distinguish from a nicely repainted original.

Thanks! I really think they're excellent quality. The feature and ad are running in Old House Journal this week. Really exciting. Even if they sell slowly, I'm confident they're an aesthetic game-changer for the right people. I love them

[1918ColonialRevival]

Hope you get some bites from OHJ. I'd order a few myself, but the budget is tight now. Had to get a good bit of tree work done this year and that's left an impact on extras for the rest of the year.

[MJ1987]

Hope you get some bites from OHJ. I'd order a few myself, but the budget is tight now. Had to get a good bit of tree work done this year and that's left an impact on extras for the rest of the year.

Thanks. We're huge OHJ fans so the opportunity was pretty cool. We only reached out about an ad and they suggested the feature so that was really exciting.

Budget is never easy. These babies will be in my windows from 11/1 through 1/30 to maximize value! I think it's pretty cool that they look great during the day, too. The plastic candles just never did it for us during the day.

I think sales might perform better if they're featured in Balsam Hill, FrontGate, or a Williams-Sonoma type catalog/store. I suppose we'll see soon enough. I think OHJ comes out today. Hopefully, we see a little (or big) blip in sales. Who knows... this business stuff is for the birds.

[1918ColonialRevival]

...These babies will be in my windows from 11/1 through 1/30 to maximize value! I think it's pretty cool that they look great during the day, too. The plastic candles just never did it for us during the day.

Good to see I'm not the only one who leaves Christmas decorations up for a while. We celebrate Christmas on the Julian calendar (January 7th on the Western calendar), so I'm used to having to explain to neighbors why the decorations stay up past everyone else's!