How to Thrift Shop for Martz Lamps from Marshall Studios

Procuring thrift shops, flea markets and property gross sales could be overwhelming. With the sheer quantity of stuff, how have you learnt the place to start out? How do you see gems amid all of the … nicely, junk?

As an expert reseller who has been combing by thrift shops for the higher a part of 30 years, I will help. In case you’re prepared to chop your purchasing time in half, rating greater bargains or stroll away with brag-worthy finds you’ll be able to flip for money, learn on.

From hard-to-find home items to resale money-makers, all the things featured in my “Thrift Store Like a Professional” sequence qualifies as a BOLO (Be On the Look-Out for) merchandise. Whenever you discover it, purchase it!

Featured discover: Martz lamps

A lamp is a lamp, proper? Not at all times. Some lamps are particular. For the previous 20 years, Martz desk lamps have been on my bucket record of “dream finds.”

Not too long ago, my hunt got here to a cheerful — no, ecstatic — conclusion when I discovered an unlabeled Martz lamp within the wild for $20.

In 1949, Jane Marshall met Gordon Martz on the New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred College in Alfred, New York. Each had been college students on the school, and each had a eager sense of design and artistic exploration.

In 1950, the 2 married and determined to mix their artistic abilities by becoming a member of Jane’s household enterprise in Veedersburg, Indiana. Her grandmother, Jessie Talbott Marshall, had based Marshall Studios in 1922.

When Jane and Gordon got here on board, the corporate was producing hand-turned wood lamp bases and painted by hand lampshades. The younger couple expanded the product line to incorporate stoneware lamp bases, dinnerware, sculptures, and small tables topped with inlaid tile.

In 1953, a Martz lamp was a part of the Good Design exhibition at New York Metropolis’s Museum of Trendy Artwork.

Jane and Gordon bought their curiosity in Marshall Studios in 1989 and retired. The corporate was bought by Genesis Wooden and Stoneware, and its belongings had been liquidated within the mid-Nineteen Nineties.

Why purchase it?

Most of the up to date lamp designs we see right this moment are based mostly on the Martz aesthetic. The pair made modernism accessible to the plenty and promoted a simplicity of kind that turned on a regular basis objects into artworks.

In case you’re fortunate sufficient to discover a Martz lamp, reside with it for some time. It might launch a wholesome obsession to seek out your subsequent Martz masterpiece (and the subsequent … and the subsequent).

If you’re excited by reselling Martz lamps for revenue however are unfamiliar with Marshall Studios or Martz, brush up and money in. This pair of Martz lamps lately bought for $2,145 on eBay, and this monumental desk lamp is listed for $3,500 on Etsy.

To prime it off (pun meant), even unique Martz lamp finials get collectors excited. (Finials are the often-ignored threaded items that safe the lampshade to the lamp harp.) Not too long ago, this teak finial bought for $41 on eBay.

What to search for

Lamps had been often hand-signed “Martz” close to {the electrical} twine opening on the lamp base. The Marks Venture — a beautiful useful resource for ceramic collectors and resellers — showcases a number of variations of the incised signature.

However just like the one I discovered, not each Martz lamp was signed. (That might make life too simple, proper?) It took a strong hunch and brushing by outdated on-line product catalogs to substantiate my buy was genuine.

Listed here are a number of different options that may allow you to decide in case your discover is the actual deal:

• Finial: Although historic details about Martz finials is proscribed, we do know that many lamps had been topped with strong walnut, oak or teak.
• Glaze colour: Aside from vibrant blues, most Martz lamps had been glazed in earth tones. The usual colour vary included chocolate brown, pale gold, cream, mossy inexperienced and black.
• Shade: Although unique lampshades are sometimes changed, an aged, pure fiber shade is one other clue that may assist verify an genuine Martz piece. And in the event you discover an orphaned shade, purchase it. Critical collectors pays prime greenback to match their Martz lamps with Martz shades.
• Underwriters label: Martz lamps had been examined and authorised by Underwriters Laboratories. Many lamps nonetheless retain the paper Underwriters label co-branded with “Marshall Studios Inc., Veedersburg, Indiana.” Search for the UL label on the underside of the lamp or close to the incised signature.

Professional tip: Seventy years later, midcentury Martz lamps are nonetheless extra prevalent within the Midwestern U.S. In case you reside in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa or Illinois, you could have a greater likelihood of discovering one domestically.

Disclosure: The data you learn right here is at all times goal. Nonetheless, we generally obtain compensation whenever you click on hyperlinks inside our tales.