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.