A Dale Tiffany lamp makes a wonderful room accent. Each is hand-crafted and features beautiful, luminous, Tiffany style art glass. We spoke with Ken Kallett, Executive Vice President for Dale Tiffany, about the company and their Tiffany lighting designs.
Q: Ken, tell us a little about the company’s history.
A: Dale Tiffany was founded in 1979. For over 30 years we've been known as the leader in Art Glass lighting and home accessories. Dale Tiffany was the first to standardize production and development of the “Tiffany” niche from a “cottage industry” into a core retail lighting and home accent category.
Q: Can you describe some of the glass types that are used in a Dale Tiffany lamp, such as hand-rolled art glass or reverse painted glass?
A: Dale Tiffany uses only the finest hand-made, hand-rolled, genuine Art Glass. There are over 300 different colors of glass available, the largest color palette in the industry. A joint venture with our glass manufacturer gives us the ability to develop beautiful exclusive colors you'll see no place else. We also utilize full lead crystal, reverse hand-painted techniques, and contemporary art glass techniques.
Q: The copper foil technique you utilize was originally developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, correct?
A: Yes. Dale’s Tiffany-style lamp designs all use genuine art glass and copper foil assembled using the traditional copper foil technique. This method of assembling the art glass patterns was originally pioneered by Louis Comfort Tiffany back in the late 1800s.
Q: Can you describe the design and production process of a typical Dale Tiffany table lamp for us?
A: 95 percent of all Dale products are copywrited, proprietary, exclusive designs. All our products are artisan hand-made by craftsmen and women with long years of experience. Each piece of art glass is hand-cut and hand-assembled utilizing the traditional copper foil technique.
Q: Each lamp is unique and different; can you explain why this is so?
A: Because each piece of glass is hand-rolled, hand-cut, and hand-assembled, no two pieces turn out exactly alike. Each shade and glass assembly is slightly different, giving each table lamp or floor lamp the uniqueness of being hand-crafted.
Q: What makes Dale Tiffany product so special and unique?
A: Dale uses only the finest top quality materials and production techniques in the “old world” hand-crafted tradition. Every piece has a unique personality.
Q: What are some of your favorite designs?
A: Dale Tiffany was originally known for its interpretations of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s famous designs, but is now known more for its own exclusive designs such as Mission Style lamps, geometric patterns, mosaics, and mixed materials. These patterns are available in traditional, transitional, and contemporary designs. Dale has over 1200 unique design offerings.
Q: What’s new and upcoming for the Dale Tiffany brand?
A: In recent years Dale Tiffany has established itself not only as the leader in traditional styled Art Glass, but has taken a leadership role in the full lead crystal categories of table lamps, chandeliers, and accessories. Dale’s fastest growing category is contemporary art glass lighting and accessories marketed under the “Favrile” brand.
Ken, thanks for taking the time to speak with us! Don't miss browsing the entire line of Dale Tiffany lighting.