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Industrial Lighting

Factory-found or designed by the Trainspotters team, browse the industrial lighting collection to add dynamic functional lighting to your space.

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Industrial Lighting

The thousands of industrial pendant light fittings that we reclaimed from Fort Dunlop and the Rover car plant in Birmingham were what really kick-started the business back in 2005. Truckloads of incredible vintage enamel shades amassed in our yard, with no space to house them in the showroom, a pretty modest affair in those days. Cleaned and polished these lights underwent a transformation, the grey, white and British Racing green enamel bursting into new life as the decades of accumulated grease and dirt was washed away.

It then seemed a natural step to the abandoned communist-era factories of Eastern Europe. We unearthed all sorts of exotic examples of factory lighting designed in the cold-war era, some with Bauhaus, Art-Deco or Brutalist influence, others with Soviet lineage. We had hit upon a rich seam of new and exciting industrial lighting that still flows today. We’ve supplied industrial lighting to shops, bars, restaurants, offices, casinos, co-working spaces and homes all over the world.

Over the years we’ve bought and sold a huge quantity of industrial lights in a wide array of styles.  Nowadays we focus on our favourite classic industrial designs, admiring them for their enduring style and functionality.

Industrial lighting is in our DNA, it will always be an integral component in what we do.

Why re-use reclaimed industrial lights?

For one thing, build quality. It’s no cliché to say ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’ when it comes to historic industrial light fittings. Every industrial light that we supply would be considered over-engineered by today’s standards. Be it heavy gauge spun steel, vitreous glass enamel, explosion proof glass, chunky aluminium or solid cast-iron, the materials and processes used result in sometimes astonishingly solid and resilient lights. This means durability and longevity, a welcome tonic to the culture of planned obsolescence that has pervaded manufacturing in recent decades.

In this spirit our own range of manufactured industrial classics is made to a standard at least equal to the originals.

If we’re not reclaiming and re-using we’re manufacturing lights to last generations.

Why are industrial style lights stylish?

Our customers have long appreciated industrial lighting for the unique style it can bring to an interior. There’s an honest functionality that an industrial pendant or wall light can bring to an interior, giving your space an authentic feel. Compared to the mass market offerings that have become predominant, a quality retro industrial light can lend serious style and a sense of integrity to an interior.

What about the carbon footprint?

This is a very important issue to us and a key driver of our business. With our salvaged industrial fittings the carbon footprint is limited only to the restoration work that goes into them. When you buy a reclaimed light you are re-using, pretty much the number one thing you can do to mitigate carbon emissions. If you purchase from our own manufactured range you are buying lighting that has been made to a now uncommonly high standard. ‘Buy once buy well’ is at the heart of who we are and what we do, with quality coming above cost considerations in the design and manufacturing process.

And so our manufactured industrial lighting range is built to last generations, combatting the wasteful throwaway culture we find ourselves in. Read more about our environmental policy here.

Where can industrial light fixtures be used?

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Our industrial lights would generally be used as feature pieces, so are usually used in areas where they can get some attention.

Common uses around the home would be as stylish downlighters above kitchen island units or hanging over kitchen bar counters. Industrial luminaires also work fantastically above dining tables. In these areas where head clearance is not required then larger light fixtures can be used without any issues.

We generally recommend that when hanging lights over kitchen islands or over dining tables that the light is hung just below standing eye level, avoiding bulb glare. And it just works aesthetically.

How do I fit my industrial light?

We would always recommend that you use a qualified electrician. Tempting as it might be to get up the ladder and give it a go yourself we would strongly recommend that fitting our pendant and wall lighting is definitely one for a professional.

How do you wire industrial lights?

Worried about how compatible one of our salvaged industrial lights may be with your home? Don’t be. We strip out every light and completely re-fit it with standard modern electrics, tested to CE & BSEN standards. In electrical terms our industrial light fixtures are exactly the same as most off-the-shelf modern light fittings.

What about ongoing maintenance?

Trainspotters takes great pride in supplying light fittings that can light a space for many years to come. It’s all about the quality, and our reclaimed industrial lights don’t disappoint.

So the only future maintenance on our industrial light fittings should be limited to the occasional bulb change, very occasional if you use LED bulbs, and the odd wipe down with a slightly damp cloth.

Please just make sure that the light is turned off when bulb changing or cleaning.

Can I use LED bulbs?

Yes, and we would positively recommend it. We supply a small range of high quality TALA bulbs and there’s a huge choice of LED’s available on the market. Our clients tend to use dimmable LED bulbs which are available in different colour temperatures. Dimmable bulbs mean you can easily change the ambiance in a space. There’s really no reason to not use LED bulbs these days, they are way more energy efficient and just as attractive as the old bulbs.

LED’s are a win win.

Just make sure that the bulb you use fits the available space in the light. This would be more of an issue on enclosed wall lights than on pendant lighting.

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