Old California Lantern Co.’s first visit to a trade show four years ago could’ve been a bust. Instead, it lit up the Orange-based maker of decorative lanterns.
Founder Tom Richard had taken a break, leaving wife Lesley to watch the Old California booth. That’s when a designer for the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla walked up.
Lesley, who does the company’s books, gave the designer a business card and told him to come back later. Richard, president and deal guy, kicked himself for not being there.
But the designer came back and bought lanterns worth about $6,000.
“This project kicked us up a notch,” Richard said.
Since then, Old California has done about 80% of the posh lodge’s lights. Best of all was the satisfaction of winning the business over rival Arroyo Craftsman of Baldwin Park, Richard said.
Like Old California, Arroyo makes and sells lanterns in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1800s.
Old California sells lanterns and other lights to homebuilders, architects and designers. The lanterns are named after streets in Pasadena,considered the mecca of Arts and Crafts design.
The company’s biggest source of business: doting homeowners out for the perfect lantern.
The Business Journal estimates Old California’s yearly sales at about $5 million to $10 million.
The housing slowdown hasn’t been a factor, Richard said. Homebuilders, which aren’t putting up as many homes as they were a year ago, are a growing but small part of the business, he said.
Homeowners,even with the slowdown in remodeling fueled by mortgage refinancing,are a steady source of sales, according to Richard.
“It’s an isolated niche,” he said.
The Arts and Crafts style traces back to 19th century England and also is known as Craftsman style. California’s Bungalow homes are an example. The Arts and Crafts movement is based on the idea that handcrafted products are best.
At Old California’s factory in Orange, the company uses sea sponges for finishing lanterns. It makes its own chains, cutting and bending ropes of brass and linking them.
“We could buy oval shaped links,” Richard said. “But then we would look like everyone else.”
Peacock “filigree” patterns are among the more popular lantern designs, according to Richard. The peacock is pounded with a special hammer to give it texture.
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Antonio Mora, Rosario Salgado at Old California: most workers are Hispanic, son Craig is fluent in Spanish |
Old California’s most popular type of lanterns is its Western style. Old California’s ads in Cowboys & Indians magazine help drive sales, according to Richard. Advertising in magazines and trade shows are the company’s primary ways of promoting its lanterns.
Richard designs the lanterns. The inspiration comes from his library of lantern catalogs, including one from H.J. Peters Co., a Chicago company around in the early 1900s.
Streets in Newport, R.I., are the inspiration for Old California’s new cottage collection. Richard grew up in Rhode Island and spends a couple of months a year there.
The company just did two 4-foot wide, 275-pound copper lanterns for Irvine’s Claim Jumper Enterprises Inc. Claim Jumper, in the midst of remodeling its restaurants, has ordered three more so far, Richard said.
The company found Old California in a magazine.
Another Old California customer: The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.
Greenbrier found Old California in a magazine called Period Homes, a trade publication for builders and architects.
Old California employs about 30 workers, mostly craftspeople.
“We have a factory full of workers who have experience making lighting for many, many years,” Richard said.
Old California ships about 3,500 lanterns and other products a month. Turnaround is about six weeks.
“We’ve been trying to get turnaround quicker,” Richard said.
Underwriters Laboratories Inc., a company that approves electrical wiring for use in the U.S., inspects Old California’s products. That adds to the turnaround as products first are shipped to Brea, where UL has an office. UL also makes regular inspections at the factory.
Old California’s biggest chunk of business is sales to consumers via its Web site, catalog and Orange showroom. Old California customers are a discerning bunch, according to Richard.
“They tend to look to unique suppliers,” he said. “They research more.”
Salespeople have to have a design sense, Richard said.
“We spend a lot of time training,” he said. “It’s not easy to buy things over the Internet or over the phone.”
Selling to consumers was a move of survival. When the company started out in 1996, Richard, armed with a just-printed 24-page color catalog, made sales calls to stores.
But they shooed him away, he said.
Why should they sell Old California’s lanterns when they already sold rival Arroyo?
That’s when wife Lesley suggested going directly to consumers.
Old California’s lanterns aren’t sold in any stores except for its own showroom. Richard said he would like to open a store in downtown Orange someday.
That might be his son Craig’s call.
Craig, who started working at Old California as a painter when he was 19 and eventually will take over the business, is “the new and improved version of me,” Richard said.
His son, who oversees the factory, is better at computers and managing people, Richard said. Craig speaks fluent Spanish, an advantage because most of the lantern makers are Hispanic.
Before Richard can step back, Old California needs to hire a designer, which always has been dad’s forte.
Sometimes dad and son will disagree on issues, such as the company’s latest piece of manufacturing gear, a water jet that uses sand and water to cut through 10 sheets of metal at a time.
Craig pushed for it. Richard wasn’t so sure. It cost $130,000.
“I don’t have any debt,” Richard said. “I’m not a stick in the mud.”
But he said he likes to be conservative.
“That was a big family discussion,” he said.
The water jet has worked out well. It allows the company to cut its own designs rather than outsource the metal shapes.
Old California is focused on finding more historical niches and holding costs down.
“Prices are plummeting,” he said. “But costs keep going up.”
Orange County used to be a hub for decorative lighting but the industry moved to China, he said.
“We’re one of the few left in the county,” he said.
The company uses chemicals so it deals with the state’s air quality regulators. Health insurance premiums have gone up significantly. General business expenses continue to rise, he said. On the upside, workers’ compensation insurance has dropped by more than 50%, he said.
Richard, 54, wants to leave his son a thriving business.
“I’ve got 10 years to hit it,” he said.
