THE CRYSTAL OCTOPUS - jen's chandelier

Most who read my blog and follow my adventures

already know I love working with wood but I also enjoy working with other vintage finds.

The other thing I am very proud of is the ability to take a friend's needs

and desires and create it for them.

A very good client and now close friend has been seeking just the right chandelier.

It had to be large in diameter yet shallow in height for her lower ceilings.

The right one was just not available no matter where we looked.

So I told her to leave it with me and I'll see what I can do.

That is where the monster octopus road side chandelier came in.

This thing had so many arms and was in such disarray I could never quite count how many
arms there actually was. Finally when I started to take it apart I got the count of 21.

I have worked with lamps, chandeliers, and general light fixtures for many years and understand

they really are just bits and pieces of a jigsaw puzzle but together in a pleasing form.

You can mix and match all sorts of parts together.

I started with the center of the octopus which had 6 arms and began adding

decorative bits top and bottom. It's trial and error what will look good so

I continued rebuilding my jigsaw puzzle over and over till I found the pleasing shape I wanted.

Once she was built and painted came the many long hours of adding wonderful sparkling crystals.

I drilled holes for hanging hooks and hand tied beads in just the right places.

I only manage to do about 2-3 chandeliers in a year because

they take countless hours to fiddle with.

I would not show my friend the final look through emailed photos because I wanted to see

her reaction in person and getting a pictures of a chandelier that

actually looks as good as it does in person is difficult.

She said "I'm so jealous, ... but it's mine and I can't wait to get it home"

It really is a masterpiece and so beautiful in person. I hope I have taken the right photos to

share with you so you can see for yourself.

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