Rack lighting-Antler craftsman makes functional artwork out of nature’s castoffs

Jim Swanson’s career is in a rut – and he couldn’t be happier.

For without wild ungulates’ urge to shed their racks, Swanson might still be tuning up
Chevys instead of crafting antlers into distinctive light fixtures that he sells worldwide
from his Bitterroot Valley business, Antler Chandeliers & Lighting Co.

By AMY JOYNER for the Missoulian

The art-grade antlers from which he makes chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps and
wall sconces are in plentiful supply in western Montana. His work is purely Montana
in style, yet only 10 percent of the 200 pieces he creates each year remain in the Big
Sky state.

With prices starting at $159 (for a wall lamp) and reaching upwards to $3,200 (for the
Yellowstone Rocky Mountain Elk chandelier), Swanson’s work appeals to a range of
customers. His high-end clients include Ralph Lauren, Barbara Mandrell, Gen.
Norman Schwartzkopf, Hank Williams, Jr., Arnold Schwarzenegger, former President
George H.W. Bush and a number of Fortune 500 executives.

Swanson’s work wasn’t always in such demand. What began as a hobby for the
former auto mechanic slowly evolved into Antler Chandeliers & Lighting Co.

"I’ve been a craftsman all my life," he says. "This was a hobby every night and on
weekends. I had my own cache of horns."

Though he didn’t consciously realize it then, Swanson says, "I must have had a plan."

Roughly 20 years ago, his day job was working as a mechanic for General Motors in
Portland, Ore. After returning to Hamilton in 1983, he worked for a local car
dealership. Later, he opened his own auto-repair business, which wasn’t as fulfilling
as he had hoped. "I decided I just didn’t want to twist wrenches anymore," the
42-year-old Swanson says.

Antler Chandeliers & Lighting Co. officially began in 1996 when Swanson sold his
automotive business and tried selling his first antler chandelier.

It was tough in the beginning.

"I built that chandelier in 1994," he says. "I tried to sell that thing to everybody in the
state of Montana."

He eventually booked space at a Western trade show in Bozeman, where he sold a
single lamp. "It just shattered me," he says.

"I just kept building chandeliers," he says. "But I don’t know why."

His next sales endeavor took him to Seattle with a trailer full of light fixtures and a
heart full of skepticism. This time, Swanson sold every piece he’d brought.

In 1997, Antler Chandeliers & Lighting Co. started to market on the Internet at
http://www.antlerchandeliers.com. "It really took off," Swanson recalls. He regularly ships
his light fixtures to East Coast states as well as England, Belgium, Turkey and South
American destinations.

The company continues to present its wares annually at trade shows in Denver,
Dallas, Sacramento, Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City. When traveling, Swanson
says he always meets buyers "who want to put a beautiful piece of Mother Nature in
their home. I am just commissioned to arrange it."

He once completed a custom chandelier for a buyer who wanted to combine an
antique wagon wheel with the antlers of a California blacktail deer shot 30 years ago.
Some clients have flown to Hamilton to visit Swanson’s shop and choose the antlers
they want incorporated in their custom fixture.

For his arrangements, Swanson uses only antlers that have been naturally shed by
elk, various deer species, caribou and moose. He buys the antlers from a list of
people who roam the countryside in search of the treasures. Experienced collectors
know just where elk tend to drop their antlers year after year.

Purchasing shed antlers is the most ethical way to obtain them, says Swanson.
Hundreds of antlers line the walls and are stacked floor to ceiling in the company’s
shop.

"All the shed-horn hunters in this region are pretty loyal," he says. "If you are a
consistent, reliable buyer and pay good, they call."

Dealing with the same collectors can mean dealing with the same animals year after
year. Antlers from an individual animal form the same pattern year after year, though
they do take on additional tips as they mature.

"To us, every one of these antlers has a gene pool with distinguishing characteristics
to it," he says.

Swanson is cautious when dealing with international antler brokers, as are federal
officials who monitor trade in wildlife and endangered animals.

"The people I buy from, I know them well. I will only buy legally obtained antlers."

To make that determination, Swanson studies the base of the antlers. If it’s course
like sandpaper, the antlers were shed during the rut. If the base is smooth or marked,
the antlers were probably cut off with a saw.

Swanson works out of a 1,200-square-foot shop next to his Hamilton-area home. He
begins each piece by arranging the antlers so the finished fixture will truly be a piece
of art, not just a lamp or chandelier. He uses a rigid drill bit to drill holes throughout
the antlers so no wiring is exposed. Employee Jake Dunbar then patches all drill
marks with epoxy filler and hand-paints those areas, making them unnoticeable.

"There’s a lot of hardware in one of these," Swanson says of his lights, which are
UL-approved.

Swanson’s only other employee, Bill Coffman, handles the shipping and handling.
Each light is packed in a plywood crate that Coffman custom fits to the piece.

The product design and business functions all stay with Swanson. "I’m quality
control, too," he adds. "I could have become a big company, but I didn’t want that."

http://missoulian.com/display/inn_features/homegarden/hg00.txt