Why Your Lamp Sucks
Don't search the web for mid-century lighting until you listen to this week's episode.
Welcome to the podcast Organized Money. You can listen to today’s episode on Apple on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This week we discuss the recently rediscovered history of mid-century lighting, the elegant modernist style of lamps and fixtures that emerged in small design firms and flourished from the 1940s through the 70s before being consumed by mega corporations that flattened their products’ quality, style, and influence.
This style was spearheaded by a company called Modeline, but until very recently dealers and scholars alike often misattributed their work and the work of similar designers. Our guest today is Nick Ferrell, a dealer, author of Modeline of California: Pioneer of Modern Lighting, and proprietor of EstheticVintage, who has been instrumental in correcting the record. Together we discuss the history of these nature-inspired lamps, how a spirit of artistic openness and economic solidarity fostered these beautiful objects, and how greed and consolidation spelled their end.
Listen via Apple or Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
We also provide transcripts and video for every episode. Here is last week’s episode.
Thank you so much for listening. If there’s a monopoly you’d like us to explore this year, or if you have anything else to tell us, please let us know by leaving a comment or by responding directly to this email.
My favorite episode yet! It brought together my love of midcentury modern and my hatred of monopolies and the enshitification of everything. I’ve been a collector of mid century modern for 25-30 years mostly costume jewelry, chairs and accessories, lamps have always scared me but I’m now going to start keeping my eye out for them! Jewelry is another thing that most great artists from the 40’s through 70’s didn’t sign their pieces and many dealers making up stories and bogus websites claiming to be experts.
I was really skeptical at first. They did an episode about LAMPS?!?, I said to myself. But after listening I've concluded this is one of the best installments of Organized Money yet, because it made the real-life effects of consolidation and disregard for antitrust principles so palpable. Plus I learned a lot about the role lamps played in the development of the midcentury modern 'look.'