Coolicon Lighting

Coolicon Lighting Ltd. is a British craft-based lighting brand with a deeply rooted heritage stretching back to the factories and workshops of 1933 Britain. Specialising in classic industrial pendant lampshades, our Coolicon products are handmade using time-honoured techniques and materials true to the iconic design. We work alongside highly skilled masters of their craft to manufacture products of unique character and charm, trading in wholesale and commercial capacities worldwide.

We are the lighting brand powered by generations of craftspeople. Their skills are at the heart of what we do and with each Coolicon made, their legacy shines on. We believe in the beauty of process, the journey from cradle to creation, and the story that begins with the maker's mark.

Coolicon Lighting Limited is a brand steeped in 90 years of rich British product history. Our roots lie in lighting innovation with a speciality in cooling light bulbs and even light distribution for efficiently lighting above and below. We are leaders of Vitreous Enamel lighting products, handcrafted to last a lifetime, building on the benchmark set by our Coolicon® forefathers. We pair fine materials with the honed skills of today’s craftspeople to produce exemplary lighting products to use and love every day.

The Coolicon® lampshade is a piece of British history dating back to industrial Art Deco Britain where hand skills and production were king. The industrialisation of Britian during the Second World War saw Coolicon® feature in all walks of life, from factories to pubs. First patented in 1933, the Coolicon® shade soon became England’s choice for factory lighting due to its functional bi-directional lighting design and robust Vitreous Enamel finish.

An icon of British industry, the Standard Coolicon® lampshade and its elegant form is as fresh and ground-breaking today as it was in 1933. The lampshade’s thoughtful design and durability made it a reliable beacon for millions of workers in Britain’s industrial heartlands. The shade’s utilitarian aesthetic and functionality drew the attention of many British greats across the era. Winston Churchill’s war bunker kitchen, the government’s corridors of power, military offices, and early hospitals all featured Coolicon® shades hanging proudly throughout.

From corridors to the big screens, these utility shades made their way into two James Bond movies and were used to create special effects sounds by Delia Derbyshire, creator of the iconic Dr Who soundtrack for the BBC. The Coolicon® brand became synonymous with British industry and culture, finding its way into the collective hearts of a nation, thus establishing itself as a British design classic.

A material born out of extreme conditions with strength to last decades, Vitreous Enamel, also referred to as Porcelain Enamel, is what gives Coolicon® shades that deep colour and classic utility finish.

Vitreous Enamel is a glass surface fused to a steel substrate at very high temperatures - over 800°C. We have incorporated this traditional material into all of our products using a wet enamelling process. This process must be done by hand and is considered the most skilled form of enamelling.

Multiple applications and firings build a thick glass surface with a rich depth of colour. The glass runs and fuses differently every time allowing for Coolicon®’s signature expressed edges, deep colours and character marks to form.

As with many traditional processes, wet enamelling takes years to perfect, and the skills are often passed down from generation to generation. We see this as a great honour, not only to provide a space for craftspeople to perfect their work but also being able to keep these family traditions alive.

Lighting the way for generations, we strive to create products whose longevity and authenticity goes unquestioned. Handmade to the finest quality finish, Coolicon lampshades hang proudly alongside you for a lifetime and beyond.