Dean Goldstone ~ Antique lighting artisan

Illuminating the history of a disappearing art form that he has loved,
studied and refined, Dean Goldstone is renowned for his couture design,
restoration and recreation of period lamp shades and light fixtures.

Goldstone is a designer who takes tattered and torn remnants of the 'Early
Jewels' of lighting from eras past and literally re-constructs them to their
original beauty, using age-old customs and the finest smocking and
needlework techniques, painstakingly sewing layers of delicate fabrics and
hand-beading or hand-dyeing the fringe to restore Victorian works of art.

Fearing the craft would dwindle away to complete darkness, Goldstone took
what began as a hobby in his youth and has grown it into a life-long passion
and artisan career. Goldstone stumbled into the world of antiques at the
early age of 10, selling alongside family members at antique fairs and
markets in Western Canada. By age 15 he was immersed in restoration and
learned his fine stitching techniques from his grandmother and great
grandmother.

On an single lamp shade, Goldstone will devote anywhere from 10 hours to 300
hours plus, depending on the size and the difficulty of the top layers of
the fancy chiffon work or pleating.

Goldstone opened his first lighting gallery in Toronto in 2006, housed in
Old Town Toronto's oldest remaining shop front (1836 according to historical
records), which seemingly has been transported through time from a London
street. A treasure trove of Victorian lighting, the gallery often draws
crowds at night when closed, due to phenomenal glowing window displays
straight from a Charles Dickens novel.

In today's world of disposable consumer items, Goldstone's artistic work is
a testament to functional art that warms both the home and heart, and that
preserves history and historical artisan techniques for future generations.
If cared for properly, the average life span of one of Goldstone's silk
shades is 70 to 100 years.