Whether it’s installed in the Ace Hotel bath or in the attic bedroom of Tsao & McKown’s Rhineback getaway, Schoolhouse Electric’s Alabax light features a design with a universal appeal.
The Portland, Oregon-based company’s founder, Brian Faherty, stumbled on the original fixture while thrifting one day. At first, Faherty assumed it was some sort of strange salad bowl, but upon further research he found a series of Alabax fixtures in a 1951 General Electric catalog. He decided to bring it back, and ever since, Schoolhouse Electric’s most popular surface mount fixture has been produced by hand to custom specifications. We’ve long admired the white and black porcelain fixture (both Julie and Sarah have them in their houses), but as of last week the Alabax is now available in a bright marigold yellow and a warm gray glaze.
Above: The Alabax Surface Mount Light Fixture is $135 for the large size from Schoolhouse Electric.
Above: Faherty discusses the Alabax and why it’s, as he describes it, “a quiet fixture,” in Schoolhouse Electric’s video.
Above: The Medium Alabax, measuring 7 inches wide, is $90 from Schoolhouse Electric.
Above: A view from below at the pared-down design of the light.
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