Holiday Gift Ideas

As the holiday season has come to Kennebunk, we are all getting ready for our big annual holiday party known as the Christmas Prelude. For those of you that have not visited Coastal Maine for this unique event, it is really a special treat, featuring a tree lighting ceremony in Dock Square in Kennebunkport, as well as special promotions by all of the area merchants.

Also, we have seen many more people purchasing some of our more unique table lamps from us for the holiday season, including the Hubbardton Forge Stasis, as well as the one of the unique fillable glass lamp offerings that we have inclding our small fillable glass lamp and our large fillable glass lamp. We have found that lamps make for a great unexpected holiday gift.

Should you make it up to Kennebunk, make sure to stop and by and see us. We would love to see you.

Hubbardton Forge Factory Tour

We recently returned from our trip to Vermont, and man, we nailed it perfectly. The weather was great, the food was better, and we came back recharged to work at Crescent Harbor. At the end of our trip we went to Castleton to see Hubbardton Forge. This was really a great experience for us. We got to meet all of the people that we speak with on the phone regularly, and we saw the factory, which was really an extremely impressive operation. Seeing just what goes into making Hubbardton Forge Chandeliers, Ceiling Fixtures, Table Lamps, Floor Lamps, Pendants, and Sconces. I would say that upwards of thirty people work on each Hubbardton Forge Light Fixture from start to finish, which is pretty impressive. All in all it was great to see lighting fixtures that are Handmade in Vermont, and it was also great to get off to the Green Mountain State for a few days of rest and relaxation.

H.A. Framburg

Crescent Harbor Lighting has been introducing more and more of the lighting designs by H.A. Framburg to the world. Based in Illinois since 1905, Framburg features one of the most diverse lines of high end designer lighting available in the lighting industry. Framburg wall sconces, Framburg chandeliers, as well as Framburg outdoor lighting incorporate dozens of designs that come in unique series. Far from the mass-market liging fixtures that are available on the market today, lighting fixtures by Framburg are truly works of art and will alow you to showcase your tastes and styles throughout your home. To learn more about Framburg Lights, please feel free to contact us at Crescent Harbor Lighting. We look forward to helping you!

Vacation to Vermont

We here at Crescent Harbor Lighting are very much looking forward to our summer vacation to Vermont. Some of us will still be here in Kennebunk, Maine holding down the fort, so don't worry, you will still be able to place orders and get lighting consultation. On our trip, we will be going to Hubbardton Forge to see how all of the Hubbardton Forge Lights and Hubbardton Forge Lighting Fixtures are made. We have spoke with many people at the factory, and they all seem to be excited about our visit as we are! When we get back from Castleton, home of Hubbardon Forge, we will fill you in on all of the details of our trip.

Heat Wave

Greetings from Kennebunk Maine here at Crescent Harbor Lighting! We have been in the midst of a heatwave, and as a result, we have seen quite an interest in table lamps, floor lamps, and bathroom lighting fixtures, as people have been spending more time indoors to beat the heat. We have also had quite a few customers that have found use for our brass onion lights and onion lanterns, made by Brass Traditions.

Lighting in Maine takes on many forms, and we are happy to help those with their lighting needs at Crescent Harbor Lighting.

Hubbardton Forge

We have currently been seeing quite a bit of demand for Hubbardton Forge Products, whether it be for Outdoor Lighting, Chandeliers, and Wall Sconces to name a few specific items. Hubbardton Forge Table Lamps and Hubbardton Forge Floor Lamps are also extremely popular as of late. Hubbardton Forge is a really unique company. They still manufacture domestically, in Castleton Vermont, which we all know is extremely important at this juncture in American history. But economics and Patriotism aside (although those are celarly extremely important), Hubbardton Forge Lighting is of the highest quality due to the fact that it is made stateside, and they stand by their products as well. Crescent Harbor Lighting offers the full line from Hubbardton Forge, and our trained specialists would be happy to speak with you should you need assistance.

Downeast Magazine

So, this month marks the first time that we have tried any mass market advertising. Crescent Harbor Lighting is featured in the "Good Things From Maine" section of Downeast magazine. This is one of our favorite magazines as they always have great info about our beautiful home state. When company comes to visit they always ask us to pull out any old issues they haven't seen since they last visited, and find this a highlight of their visit (beyond the lobster!).

We featured the Mariana Sand-Dollar lamp this month as it seems very in keeping with the Maine style and would be the perfect accent in any summer beach cottage. It seems like something you would find in Martha Stewart's beach house.

We look forward to helping you with your decorating needs, feel free to call or email us with your specific decorating challenge.

Summer in Maine

Well, summer has finally come to Kennebunk, and we couldn't be more excited. We have seen many motorhomes coming down Route One past Crescent Harbor Lighting, and made many new friends and reconnected with old ones as well that we had not seen since last summer. Also, many more people from around the country and world have been calling in, and we have been lighting their homes with brands such as Hubbardton Forge, H.A. Framburg, Cherry Tree Design, House of Troy, and Tenth Avenue. One fixture that has been particularly popular is the Hubbardton Forge Stasis Floor Lamp. We have just been so thrilled to help out people all over the country with their lighting needs, offering them a level of customer service that we feel is virtually unequalled in any on-line shooping of any kind.

Should you ever be up our way over the summer, stop by and visit Crescent Harbor Lighting. The whole gang here would love to see you!

Rustic Lighting

Rustic Lighting is very near and dear to our hearts. After a challenging day at Crescent Harbor, there is nothing more that we like do do than settle down at home and relax. Rustic lighting, including that made by Stone County Ironworks, Cherry Tree Design, and Hubbardton Forge all adorn our home and set a tone for relaxation around the house. Home lighting, whether it be casual, rustic, or lodge inspired, really will allow you to make your home feel like a vacation home, stting the tone for relaxation day in and day out. If you are looking for beautiful home lighting such as this to complete your home decor, Crescent Harbor Lighting can offer you the light fixtures that you need.

Cherry Tree Design

When we were at the lighting show in Dallas, between great Steak dinners and Mavericks games, we actually managed to get some work done. We found a terrific lighting company out of Bozeman, Montana called Cherry Tree Design. Not only were the folks at Cherry Tree really nice, they also had some of the best chocolates that you can imagine. So, on a sugar high after consuming a ton of chocolates, we bought quite a bit of Cherry Tree Lighting, including their Yellowstone Lodge Floor Lamp, their Arbor Torchiere, and several sconces. When we brought all these lights to Kennebunk, we were really amazed with how well all of the fixtures and lamps were received by the local community. Considering that these are all handcrafted, unique light fixtures, they offer a tremendous value. We invite you to check out our great selection of Cherry Tree Design Light Fixtures, as we are sure that they will appeal to your rustic or cabin or lodge style lighting tastes.

Springtime Renovations

Now that spring has finally come to Kennebunk after a very long Maine winter, the flowers are starting to poke through, the fields are turning green, and people are making their springtime improvements to their homes, and we have seen many friends, old and new, coming in to look for new light fixtures. We have had quite a bit of traffic to Crescent Harbor, helping people light their homes all over North America, including new friends from Atlanta, Calgary, New York, and Michigan to name a few places. It is great to hear from our customers, and most of them are really surprised and pleased with the customer service that we have to offer. But that should come as no surprise since we are looking to be the best, but not the biggest lighting website on the internet. We have had quite a bit of interest in Mariana's Sand Dollar Lamp, as well as Hubbardton Forge Sconces and House of Troy Lights. Accent lamps are an easy and affordable solution to bring new life to your living room or office.

So, we'd love to hear from you! The weather is reallty starting to break, and we've taken a few walks on Kennebunk Beach Next time you are up in our neck of the woods, stop in and say hello.

Quality Light Fixtures vs. Cheap Light Fixtures

We own a lighting showroom that only sells the best quality fixtures. While some of the product lines we carry are made in China, we carry several lines that are still made by hand in the United States. It's always interesting to see the reaction on a customer's face when they fall for a hand-made Hubbardton Forge chandelier and then look to see the price. Some customers will take one look at the price and turn tail to walk out the door, others may hesitate for a moment, but then upon further inspection of the fixture and the hang-tag explaining that it is hand-made in Vermont they begin to understand why a chandelier might cost a little over a thousand dollars. Many times a customer will ask if we have something similar to the hand-made fixtures that might be less expensive and even once in a while they will actually ask if there is anything similar that is made (gasp!) in China. We explain that while we do carry some quality lines made in China, they will not find anything remotely as nice as the fixture they have already fallen in love with. In many cases eventually the people who didn't turn and run screaming from the expensive chandelier begin to realize that spending the extra money for a quality piece is probably worth it, as it will last forever, rather than needing to be replaced in a few years.

One of my favorite conversations with our customers goes something like this, "I bought my outside lights from "XYZ Big-Box Store" last year, and they're already falling apart! Will your stuff last longer?" My answer is always a resounding yes. One of the lines we carry, Brass Traditions, makes their fixtures by hand from Brass and Copper and I drive by many houses every morning that have had these fixtures up for 20+ years. The other company we deal with that makes outdoor fixtures is Seagull Lighting. Seagull does manufacture their product in China, but again they use brass and other top quality materials to ensure that their fixtures will last for the duration. We have been selling Seagull products for over 20 years with no complaints about durability. Many customers will ask why our Seagull fixtures, which are made in China, stand up so much better than the fixtures they buy at the big box stores. The answer is that the products at the big-box stores generally are not Brass fixtures and once the paint, or other finish wears off the fixture the elements eat at the metal and the fixture rusts or otherwise deteriorates. With our proximity to the ocean we also often find customers complaining about indoor fixtures rusting for the same reason.

We have always tried to stock the highest quality lighting fixtures and have stood behind our product. Now we've set out to provide an opportunity for people outside the state of Maine to have access to the same high quality fixtures by putting it out on the web at http://www.crescentharbor.com/ . While we know there will always be a market for lower quality lighting fixtures, we also recognize that a large majority of people recognize the value in buying quality fixtures that will last a lifetime.