STUDIO

Founded in 2010, Michelle James creates custom chandeliers, pendants and sconces incorporating re-purposed vintage glass globes and lamp elements with brass and steel. Each unique piece is a glamorous mix of old and new where vintage glass meets sleek, modern metals. In 2014, the studio moved to Red Hook - an area of Brooklyn rich with designers and artists.

PROCESS

Like a sculptor, Michelle creates each piece through a hands-on back and forth process of constructing and deconstructing, using threaded steel rods, vintage glass globes and brass and jewelry elements, until an elegant synthesis is attained. A local craftsman works with this model to assemble and finish the final fixture to client specifications.

MICHELLE JAMES

With more than 23 years of experience as a stylist and designer, Michelle James has enjoyed an accomplished career. In 2008, she began an extensive renovation of her historic 1899 Brooklyn brownstone, a creative endeavor that led to work as an interior design consultant, and one that influenced her to design her own vintage inspired light fixtures to compliment the historic home while matching her classic, simple design aesthetic. In May 2010, Michelle displayed one of her fixtures at BKLYN Designs. With requests and accolades from interior designers and home furnishing buyers for her unique light fixtures, Michelle officially launched her collection of vintage, re-purposed glass globe light fixtures in September of 2010.

Drawing inspiration from fashion, architecture and art movements, Michelle James has grown from her first Brilliant Glass Globe Collection in 2010 to several collections today consisting of Axis, Chrysler and Art Deco. Working with top designers and architectural firms, pieces from Michelle’s collections have been placed around the globe in commercial and residential settings including Rose.Rabbit.Lie. Social Club in The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, fashion showrooms and salons in New York City, boutique hotels in England and Norway and a fashion showroom in Australia, among others. Michelle has been featured in numerous publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Living Etc., Est Magazine and Remodelista.

Michelle lives in Carroll Gardens with her son, Gray.