Marie took me shopping yesterday. First, we made our way to the fish market. This market had all sorts of ugly sea creatures displayed. Eyeballs, gills, fins, guts...were on the open tables for any passerby to see. And people were actually purchasing this "food." Gross. I guess I just don't get it.
Next she took me to the
flower market. This place had all sorts of flowers for sell. Dozens upon dozens
of rows of exquisite flowers of every shade and hue made up the small courtyard
of our town square. I could tell that Marie was trying to get me to buy her a
dozen long-stemmed roses, with all of her not-so-subtle hints she unceasingly
gave. So, I went ahead and bought her some––they were $3.50! I couldn't believe
it. These were the cheapest roses I'd ever bought. "Anytime,
Sweetheart," was, for the first time, an honest sentiment coming from my
lips.
The
fruit market came next. Mountains upon mountains of fruit filled the small
outdoor plaza: kiwis, pineapples, guava, liliquoi, mangos, coconuts, grapes,
apples, oranges, any and all fruits you could ever think of were there. I
bought too many to take home with me.
We
walked through the meat market, which was twice as bad as the fish market.
Then, we happened to come to a street vendor who was selling lights. These
lights were more unique than any lights I had ever seen. I asked the man
selling his wares what he called this style of lighting. He answered, “Industrial
lighting. Never heard of it?” Nope, I hadn’t.
The
unique thing about these industrial lighting fixtures is that most of the time
they are designed with old junk, stuff you’d find in a dump or junkyard, in
your garage or attic: old wires, and such, even old pieces of clocks or old
industrial machinery has been used.
But
talking about the material these lights are made of makes it sounds like they
must be ugly, old-looking, or just nasty. That just isn’t the case, though, you
see. These industrial light fixtures look somewhat old, yes, but they also look
new and clean. Tarnished? Most of the time, but ugly? On the contrary––I think
they’re right down gorgeous as far as lights go.
If
I bought too much fruit for me to take home at the fruit market, then at this
street vendor selling industrial lights, I bought too many lighting pieces for
me to ever fit in my car. That’s how much I was drawn to this new form of
lighting for your home or other space: industrial light.
All
in all, it ended up being a pretty great day, even with all the fish guts that
nearly made me puke. I had a good time, after all, with Marie. But the highlight
of the day was definitely when I hung up my very first industrial pendant lighting
piece in my own home, after we got back from “running errands.” Industrial
lights now have my heart. Read www.vanessainwonderland.com for more
Until
next time,
W.W.
