Our Story
Avant Lamps is a product of my fondness for artful objects that have beauty, character and longevity built in. I have always admired artists and craftspeople who made such things and wanted to do it myself. These lamps are the result of those efforts. I hope you will find them attractive, unique and built to last.
My background
My name is Liba Brent and I am the founder of Avant Lamps, based in Cross Plains, WI. Although I have always loved visual arts, my decision to produce designer lighting is relatively recent. I am a sociologist by training, with a long career in international development. I led development projects funded by IFAD that focused on supporting farmers and rural women in remote regions of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to create businesses in fiber processing including Cashmere People Yarns. I also produced documentaries and publications about these projects.
Inventing Avant Lamps
During the past several years I took a break from development work, partially due to Covid, and began pursuing my lifelong interest in arts and crafts. I have always loved lamps, both antique and contemporary, and decided it was time to make the leap from admiring lamps to making them. After exploring different materials I discovered fiberglass which quickly became my favorite medium. After numerous experiments I developed a new technology for fusing fiberglass, resin and translucent prints to create lamp shades. The shades have the brilliant colors and pearlescent translucency of stained glass but unlike cloth, glass or paper shades, they are washable and durable. I also ventured into woodworking and learned how to produce lamp bases from walnut, ash, cherry and other locally sourced hardwoods.
Lamp design evolution
The techniques I use to make lamp shades continue to evolve and so does the lamp collection. My initial designs featured drum shades with fractal graphics I learned to create using the Ultra Fractal software. Later I began using Adobe Photoshop to create various designs and patterns including collages of nature photography and custom graphics commissioned by clients. I also started learning how to make wood and metal bases to match different types of lamp shades. My latest collection features organic, marbled designs, new lamp shade forms such as the tulip and the pinecone and new styles of wood bases. I am grateful to have access to the Bodgery woodshop where I do most of the woodworking.
More to come…
I enjoy working with wood, exploring different types of design and figuring out how to create new fiberglass forms. Please join my Instagram account to see my newest creations.
