Building a Lamp

A couple of weeks back when we were in Paris we bought a couple of old antique surveyors tripods with the intention of converting them into standing floor lamps. At the time I figured this would be pretty easy to do. I would just run to the hardware store, but a couple of light sockets and cords and wire myself up a lamp.

I had done it a million times in the U.S. making lamps out of pipes, glass jars, whatever I could get my hands on. What I didn't count on was that the Swiss are not by any stretch of the imagination DIYers. The don't do anything themselves. Any kind of home improvement task around the house can not be done by the 'man of the house' but rather must be done by a licensed professional.

So why, do I care, well this means you can't get all the same trivial pieces and parts at a hardware store like you can in the U.S. I could not find light sockets, treaded lamp rods, or lampshade brakets available at my local Jumbo home improvement store. I was floored.

Luckily, I had a chance to stop in a Home Depot during my recent trip back to the U.S. In no less than 10 minutes I had found and purchased the parts I needed and was set to pack them in my bags for my return trip.

A couple of nights ago I pulled out the parts as well as a trusty screw driver, and in about 20 minutes did something no Swiss would ever do. I turned a wrench without a local certification from some governing body. Amazingly, nothing blew up, no one was injured, life continued, and now I have a really neat looking lamp in my living room.