It’s not uncommon for a business to find success when its founder is trying to fill a hole in the market. Such was the case when John MacLaren started making porcelain light fixtures. MacLaren had been making custom furnishings for 20 years when his gaze drifted upwards: While visiting the home of a friend in Sagaponack, his pal noted that he’d never seen contemporary flush-mount light fixtures as beautiful as the antique ones in his historic home. MacLaren wondered if he might be able to make some.
MacLaren had some experience working in ceramics as a teenager. “I figured out how to make press molds to produce multiples of ceramic Beatrix Potter figurines and sold them to museum gift stores,” he says. So, MacLaren headed to a local ceramic studio to try his hand at throwing some prototypes. “I did a whole series of miniature one-third scale ones to try different shapes and proportions and period-ish looks,” MacLaren says. After extensive prototyping, glaze development, mold making, and creating a mounting system, MacLaren Fixtures Co. officially launched in 2018.
Many of MacLaren’s fixtures nod to the past but are not directly copied from it. “It’s more about proportions that I like and maybe some kind of a suggestion of period,” he says. There’s one fixture that looks a bit Art Deco-like; others, like the ones with a very simple cove profile, skew quite contemporary. Every detail down to the thumb screws has been carefully considered. The glazes are a mix of quiet neutrals and surprisingly punchy hues. Every light is made to order by MacLaren in Long Island City with about an eight week lead time.
Most of McLaren’s customers are architects and interior designers (many of whom he knew from making custom furniture), but MacLaren is happy to sell directly to homeowners, as long as they are content to wait for their order to be made. So far the business has grown by word of mouth, but as his work has become more popular MacLaren is now considering getting studio help to fulfill orders. Getting help would also free MacLaren up to start experimenting on the pendant lights he hopes to develop next. We can’t wait to see what he’ll come up with. Have a look at what he’s already created:
Above: Designers like interior designer Becky Carter often source MacLaren Fixtures Co. lights for older homes like this Arts and Crafts home located in Berkeley. Photo courtesy of Studio Becky Carter, 
Above: The No. 503 is one of MacLaren Fixtures Co.’s most simple shapes and also one of its most popular.