Crepe Myrtle Chandelier

“Redbud Floor Lamp made by David L. Zvanut Fine Art”

When they brought in my new sofa at the beginning of this year, I was extremely pleased with how it fit on the wall. After a little time had passed, the beautiful picture frame paneling behind it began to feel like a stark canvas that needed to be adorned somehow. The wall, which previously was the backdrop for a big chair, an end table and a lamp, was suddenly this huge expanse of wood rising above and around the sofa, beautiful yet empty, and very dark once the sun went down in the evening. I needed to light the space and break up the bare wall. My first thought was to find a lamp that would sit to the side and reach out over the wall. I quickly realized that my only options were those metal or plastic “War of the Worlds”-looking floor lamps, and that just wasn’t what I wanted. So I came to Custom Made, honestly with little hope of actually finding someone to take on my project.

Once I submitted my idea, David Zvanut answered almost straight away. As we exchanged emails, the ideas for the lamp shifted and grew, from a simple side piece to a more dramatic project. Fortunately, his studio is only an hour or so away from my home. He came out to the house to see the space and just seemed to grasp what was needed right off. He was completely open to my ideas and was understanding about my desire to not deface the paneling in any way: I didn’t want to put nail holes in it, or mar it, and he worked out ways to avoid that. A week or two later he was back at the house, pulling this huge branch through my front door. I couldn’t see how he was possibly going to make that work, but with some turning and trimming, it was done. He took it back home with him and worked his magic. And it is fabulous. I never dared to dream of seeing such beautiful results.

I was, I am, so impressed with David’s commitment to the project, and his focus and dedication to doing this the right way. His attention to detail was boundless. He preserved the branch so that it will never be brittle: it is supple and pliant. We decided early on to keep the natural color and texture of the bark. David sealed this, and the patina is exquisite. When unlit, the lights look like little buds rather than something unnatural on the branches, and the wires are completely hidden. Sometimes the lights will catch my eye like tiny drops of dew. They are activated with a little remote control that includes a dimmer: they can be quite bright, almost enough to read by, or dimmed down to create a romantic ambience. The plug for the light system is somewhat bulky, and he even furnished an adapter so that the plug doesn’t stick out too far. David was amazing to work with. If there was a question or problem, he’d get with me and we’d work out possibilities. We communicated quite well through the whole process and he kept me constantly up to date with what he was doing. I would work with him again and highly recommend him.

David is amazing to work with. I contacted him about creating a custom piece of art for me. He listened to exactly what I wanted and communicated with me quickly and frequently. I really appreciate him taking my ideas into consideration and giving me exactly what I wanted! I will definitely work with David again in the future and recommend that you do too.

Not only is the piece he made for us amazing but he was truly great to work with! Communication and customer service were great. I’d highly recommend him to others.

We were so impressed with the first slumped glass shade, we ordered another in a different color. It's as beautiful as the first one. Thanks David!

Very happy with my purchase. He communicated through the whole process and was very easy to work with on my custom order.