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Frederick News-Post Article

The following newspaper article appeared in the September 9, 2002 edition of the Frederick News-Post newspaper of Frederick, Maryland.

Using teacups to embellish light fixtures
by Susan Guynn, News-Post Staff

Finding new ways to use old things is one of the most creative trends in decorating. Sometimes it requires real imagination.

Antiques dealer Marydon Ford dreamed up some unusual ways to use teacups and saucers. She uses them to create lighting fixtures.

Colorful antique teacups and saucers replace globes and bobeches on chandeliers, form the bases of lamps and the shades of nightlights.

It's an idea that came to her in the middle of the night, she said. "I don't know why teacups were on my mind at that moment," said Mrs. Ford, who along with her husband, Harold, owns Blushing Rose Boutique, a booth at Old Glory Antiques in Frederick. Her booth is filled with pretty things — mostly china and glassware from another era.

Vintage light fixtures are popular now, she said. On a recent buying trip, she purchased a collection of antique table lamps of various styles.

"Lighting was the last thing I ever expected to get into," said Mrs. Ford, who lives in Mount Airy. Her husband, however, restores old lamps and chandeliers.

Now it's one of the most popular items she sells.

The concept of teacup chandeliers, she acknowledges, was not an original one. She began making them in January and has since seen them promoted in a Neiman Marcus catalog for thousands of dollars. Hers are priced from around $450 for a simple design and higher for ornate chandeliers. Each is unique.

Most of the fixtures predate 1960, but a few are more recent. They've been cleaned and polished to shine like new pennies. Some are painted.

Mrs. Ford selects the cups and saucers for each chandelier, her husband wires them and a friend assembles them. Most pieces are by English or German makers of china.

"The English were very inspired by the Orient," she said. "They liked Japanese designs and country cottage scenes. They're sweet designs in contrast to the German (patterns), which are very heavy.

"English china seems to be the trend right now," said Mrs. Ford, with blue and white patterns most popular.

Teacups and saucers are perfectly matched on each chandelier and are in mint condition — no nicks or crazing. If the saucer has a pretty design, it's turned upside down to enhance the effect when viewed from below.

Sometimes clear bobeches are used in place of saucers, she said, pointing to a white fixture adorned with a spray of metal star-shaped flowers. For this fixture she chose gold-trimmed white teacups decorated with a circle of single flower blossoms. Each cup is perched on a clear bobeche from which hang several crystal prisms.

"People are into the prism thing right now," she said. "It's definitely Victorian."

Each flame-tipped bulb is covered with a white shade.

She also makes candelabras and lamps using demitasse cups and, most recently, teapots and pitchers.

By cutting teacups in half she makes shades for nightlights. One of the most popular patterns is from the 1950s. Rose and rooster pattern tableware was sold in dimestores. The teacups have a rose on one side and a rooster on the other. "They sell out immediately," said Mrs. Ford. The nightlights cost $25.95.

"You can put a little fragrance on the inside and the heat of the bulb will help diffuse the fragrance," she said. Cream pitcher, sugar bowl, and salt and pepper shaker halves also work as nightlight shades.

She also uses teacup halves to make wall pockets. Popular in the 1930s through 1950s, wall pockets were used to display plants or nosegays. The half-cup is glued to the face of a saucer. Sometimes they match, some patterns just blend.

Teacups can be used in gardens, too, when they're transformed into charming, warm-weather bird feeders. A teacup and a carefully placed silver spoon are glued to a saucer. The unit is fastened to a metal pipe flange which is attached to a length of copper pipe and serves as a post. The spoon is a perch, the saucer holds seed and the cup holds water for a bath.

"A friend saw them on a visit to Maine and suggested it," she said.

She also has other ideas to make once-functional vintage household ware useful again.

Large turkey platters and plates can become wall mirrors or vanity trays. Just cut a piece of mirror to fit the base of the platter and glue in place. Decorative trims give it a finished look.

Glue ribbon and tassels to salt and pepper shakers to use as tiebacks.

Candlestick holders can become the base for a lamp. Inserts made to fit tapered candle holders do that. Just add a petite lampshade.

"We're trying to make things functional that were no longer functional," said Mrs. Ford. "That's what we're doing."

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