The lighting star

That warm, dusky glow in your favorite date-night place? The sconces in the new boutique hotel you just stayed at? There’s a good chance they came from Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co., the lighting company founded by Brian Faherty. Ten years ago, “most of the lighting I saw was disposable at best,” he says, so he set out to create a line of lamps and fixtures—incorporating an impossibly flattering Edison filament bulb—that puts design and quality front and center. schoolhouseelectric.com

Schoolhouse Electric: A history

2002: Faherty searches out and restores a forgotten cache of old cast-iron molds for glassblowing. With 3 employees and a 100-piece lighting line, Schoolhouse Electric is born.

2004: Manufacturing expands to a 10,000-square-foot historic factory in the Central Eastside Industrial District.

2006: Schoolhouse starts using the Edison bulb in its designs.

2007: The Ace Hotel in Portland becomes a client.

2008: Ralph Lauren’s American Living puts Schoolhouse lights in its JCPenney shops across the country.

2009: Schoolhouse teams up with Yellena James for its first local artist series (pictured).

2011: Faherty restores the 100-year-old former Pacific Hardware and Steel building on the edge of the Pearl District, and Schoolhouse moves to its new home.

2011: The company launches a home-goods line with 200+ products, including a vintage industrial–style clock.

2012: Sales volume doubles from 2011.