I confess, you’ve got me. Banged to rights guv’nor. It’s a fair cop. I’m the sort of person who would frequently get a bit uppity about Christmas coming earlier every year. If it isn’t Easter Eggs in late January it’s the fact that you can’t even buy decorations in some shops once we actually get toDecember (Homebase, you know I’m talking about you beyond the grave). Also seemingly gone are the mountains of unsold Chocolate Xmas Logs piled up in Sainsburys at half price on Boxing Day. Where do they go?
LED lights are ubiquitous now, don’t get me wrong, they definitely have their uses, but what about just a few years ago when you could still get the old fashioned glass type alongside LEDs? Years before that ‘miniature’ still meant pretty large almost candle sized things, like these;
Never heard of them! The original (pre-1930s Manchester move) factory is still there though, subdivided (same as it ever is) into smaller units, or at least it was…
How about a few Xmas lights you DO remember? Woolworths sold so many that years after they went, you can still buy them like new from various online auction sites. And in case you’re wondering, I’ve refrained from trotting out a ‘history of Christmas Lights’, a bit like our KitKat history, mostly what you can find online is pages of dubious worth that have clearly all copied each other.
Here are the ones we have for sale; genuine vintage glass lamps but with the safety of a low voltage transformer, making them good for indoor and seasonal outdoor use (this means, you can’t leave them strung up for months on end outside!).
If you’re looking for something a bit more outdoorsey (but, they work well and look just as great indoors) then how about our Mini Coronet Lanterns? (We’ve done a thing about their bigger brothers here).
About 3″ high, these are the perfect size for indoor use or perhaps on an outdoor tree?
There’s still the original Coronet Lanterns themselves, full size and converted to LED.
Bit more history?
These ‘Vesta Lites’ seemed very popular at one time, with some very intricate glasswork in unusual shapes. Even then, they were manufactured overseas.
Below, a NOMA product, the history of NOMA (I know I said I wasn’t going to stray into fairy light history!) is quite an interesting one. We’ve got a few sets of these square outdoor lanterns available – all converted to LED low voltage for safety and convenience.
Have a good read of that history though – litigation! lights! possibly the first ever Printed Circuit Board (PCB)!
Don’t forget the spare bulbs! Bye for now!