You Can’t Take Me Anywhere…

…seemingly, without me finding some cloth-covered wire.  My latest encounter with finding it unexpectedly started in a way not associated with wire at all.  It started out with ocean liners.

Twisted Wire in the Woods

Well, I’ve already established that I see wire everywhere (see this blog post), but I surprised even myself when I managed to find twisted wire in the woods.  OK, it’s not twisted electrical wire, but I had to investigate it anyway.

Lisa Raphael – Raphael Creations

We’d like to introduce Lisa Raphael of Raphael Creations. Lisa has been a Sundial Wire™ customer since 2012 and we chatted with her to find out more about her work and the process she brings to creating her pieces.

Sundial Wire™: Could you describe your work and how you got started making lighting?

Lisa Raphael: Growing up, I collected many different artifacts – from cameras to typewriters and instruments. I create functional artwork out of vintage non-working materials. Raphael Creations started with an old Underwood typewriter that was collecting dust. Next thing you know, I turned it into a lamp. I literally started creating lighting out of anything I could get my hands on as long as it was early 1800s and 1900s.

Movies, Gangsters, and Cloth-Covered Wire (You Have to Start Somewhere)

Just who is Arthur Flegenheimer, and what does he have to do with Sundial Wire™, anyway?

The answer would probably surprise you more than him.  Jim founded this company, in 1992, because virtually every single major electrical wire and cable company in the United States, had long since ceased to make cloth-covered twisted lamp cord. It was an obsolete product, no longer in demand. As a set decorator for feature films and television shows Jim had worked on many period movies and TV shows, such as The Kennedys of Massachusetts, the comedy Mermaids, and the Civil Rights era drama Love Field. Part of his job included first researching the period, then recreating authentic, period-correct sets, right down to the smallest details: stringing knob-and-tube wiring in an attic, or re-wiring an antique electric lamp or electric fan with the correct wire for the period.

Jim Kent (left) and Jim Erickson (right) on the set of Love Field.

Which brings us back to Arthur. Sort of.