I’m a huge fan of the vintage-style lighting of Rejuvenation, so when the company’s PR director Nicole Curcio invited me to take a “backstage tour” the next time I found myself in Portland, I couldn’t resist. Read on to learn what makes this company amazing and unique — and be sure to visit Shelterrific’s Facebook page for way, way, WAY more photos! — Mary T.

My husband and I arrived at Rejuvenation HQ on a typically drizzly Northwest day — I say “HQ” because the word “factory” is not one I’d use for this place. No clanging machinery, no industrial assembly lines. Instead a few dozen workers painting, polishing and assembling lights by hand, an enormous jumble of the best vintage lights and parts a decor geek could ever hope to see, and a ton of weird odds and ends. In short, my husband and I were in heaven.

We started the tour in an office space shared by pretty much everyone — researchers, designers, marketers — and we quickly decided that Rejuvenation’s industrial designer Tim Wetzel has the world’s best job. Tim’s desk was adorned with cool looking vintage task lights, plus an array of interesting fixtures that he was contemplating as inspiration for future designs. (We weren’t allowed to photograph those — I felt downright in-the-know.)

Tim spends his time researching what’s popular in decor, finding vintage fixtures that are out of production, and coming up with new fixtures that would look right at home in a period house, but are made of modern materials. For instance, in a product like the mid-century modern-inspired designs above, heavy cast iron might be replaced by lightweight aluminum.

We went downstairs to the main floor of the HQ, and this is where the fun really began. I had no idea just how much vintage lighting is a part of Rejuvenation. Not only do they acquire vintage fixtures for ideas, the staff restores vintage fixtures and sells them online and in the Rejuvenation stores (one in Portland, one in Seattle, and a just-announced store soon to open in LA). We lingered so long in a storage room stacked to the ceiling with vintage fixtures that we started to apologize for wasting time. Nicole quickly put a stop to that — it seems that the folks who work at Rejuvenation welcome the geekiest of lighting geek-outs.

Compare the vintage fixtures with the new lighting just above — do they look like they have a bit in common?

Then we took a tour of the shop floor, where I was honestly blown away by the attention to detail that each fixture receives. Though Rejuvenation contracts with companies to make individual parts — glass-blowers for shades, metal casters for fittings — every part makes its way individually to the HQ, where lights are assembled, drilled, wired, painted, finished, and shined up to order. That’s right — every single order is custom made, by hand. As a final, extra-cool touch, each light comes with the signature of the worker who added the last elements! See more shop photos and works in progress on Shelterrific’s Facebook page.

I’m going to say right here: yes, I love this place. And no, I got absolutely nothing in return for writing this except a free tour. I really liked it that much!

Some things I love at Rejuvenation:
- This Selma wall-mounted light with green porcelain base
- This Classic 10″ Opal Schoolhouse Shade — all painted by hand!
- This Classic Globe Chandelier — the glass is huge in person! This Old House named it the light fixture of the year for 2010.
- And of course, the entire freaking Mid-Century Modern Lighting Collection.

Click for a few more of my favorites from the Rejuvenation store: (more…)