Sue W Johnson Custom Lamps

I was window shopping in Berkeley on a beautiful Spring day when I noticed a shop filled with lamps and shades. Was it an antique store specializing in lamps? I walked inside. Lamps were everywhere. What a feast for my eyes! I couldn't help myself from taking pictures with my phone. I loved the creativity I was seeing in this little shop. It was buzzing with a warm glow coming from the handmade shades.

When Sue Johnson was a young woman she got a job in Orinda making lamps. She walked away from that job making $2 an hour, with the tools to create her life work. I wonder if she ever guessed that 50 years later she would have a business selling beautiful lamps all over the world? I take my hat off to Sue Johnson for taking her skills and vision and running with it.

How many hand made lamps and shades has she help "birth" in the last 50 years? How many people have been gifted with a treasure light from Sue? You can walk into Sue's shop and get a lamp that has already been made. Or you can take a prize from your past, that means a lot to you, and see if Sue and her crew can make it into a one-of-a-kind lamp.

I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful and suitable my lamp and shade from Sue Johnson are. It took several patient email exchanges, with pics and recommendations, for me to make a choice but I had no idea how much I could love a lamp until now. Packed with care and worth the 8 week(ish) wait.

Sue is the best, she lights up the room! If you need a unique piece this is the right place to go! Ty so much!

I have rarely found a retail shop to be so rude or incompetent, including Sue Johnson herself. My husband and I commissioned two shades to be made for two lamps we would buy from the shop, and spent hours choosing elements from various shades on their website to put on our shades. Carmen was our contact. She repeatedly didn't get back to us when promised, and when once she was going to email us within a day with our deposit invoice and a photo of a recommended leaf for our shades, she didn't get back to us for weeks despite reminders from me.

I then emailed Sue, but she also didn't respond for a number of days. We finally decided we didn't have the confidence we needed to go forward, and nicely told Sue that. We had put many hours into the project, and they had put in very few. Two months later I emailed Sue to ask if she was still willing to make the shades. After a week she didn't respond to my email or a call, so I emailed again asking her to please respond.

She rudely said that she wouldn't make any shades for us but would sell a lamp with a pre-made shade. Our purchase would've been about $1,500, but clearly she thought nothing of rudely brushing us off just because I had told her, "If something happens that precludes a promised response, which I was told to expect the day Carmen finally returned my call, then a simple email or call that says, 'X happened and I will get back to you in Y days' is simple courtesy." No business should treat a customer like that, and very few have ever acted so badly to us.

If you like Art and excellent service, make this lamp shop your destination for creative inspiration.

My bf and I were exploring one of my favorite parts of Berkeley (recommend it, close to Gourmet Ghetto) and we could not help but amble into this shop - it looked too enticing. Super unique store and the lamp collection is admirable to say the least. The owner is amicable and polite; we enjoyed conversing with her! Some of the lamps are sure expensive but they are special and there's a story behind each lamp. The next time we are looking for beautiful lighting, we know where we're going :)

You're going to love this shop and convince yourself to buy one of Sue's many beautiful creations. And if you're broke, just go take a look at these one of a kind lamps and handmade shades.

This place is a gem and the craft is remarkable. As I sat in the midst of her shop I noticed that the lamps came in all shapes and colors, and that I was surrounded by a wonderful golden glow that shone through lamp shades made of mica or parchment. I especially liked the animals, and figurines that some of lamps supported. You will enjoy visiting here and Sue is especially warm and easy to talk to.

After a long unsuccessful search online and at brick and mortar shops. I was referred to and ordered 4 custom made ceiling pendant lamp shades from Sue Johnson last month and they came out beautifully done! Great look, materials and quality workmanship which is important to us. Our ceiling light now has the gorgeous elegant fine look it needed. Sue and her staff are very friendly and helpful to work with. Will definitely use them again when in need in future.

Awesomely great fantastic store. You can have a handmade lampshade made for you custom for not much more than a mass market shade stamped out by the thousands in some distant factory.

You won't find nicer people or better lamps and parts than Sue Johnson. We've bought shades and parts from her over the years but a recent trip reminded us what a gem this shop is. Once you move beyond the look alike shades of a big box store Sue Johnson provides original quite wonderful shades.

This is the best lamp store in California! They made me a custom shade years ago for a lamp my Dad made in the 40s from an antique candle mold. It was perfect! Since then, I've bought another lamp shade and a number of seashell night lites. They stand behind their products and offer gracious customer service if there is any problem.

Amazing high-end selection of arts & crafts special lamps and fixtures. I came to have a specialty fixture rewired and the repair person had it completed within 4 days! Exceptional service

I dream of owning some of Sue's creation with Lindsey's work. I finally was able to do just that, own some of Sue's work. I love supporting local artists but it goes beyond that. This is world class art and I know better being a creative director of more than 20 years in the Bay Area. This is as good as it gets people.

I love these lamps and shades. So unique and beautiful. Another customer was picking up a custom order. This is not your typical lighting store.

Sue Johnson, her staff AND her shop is MAGICAL! The first lamp that I purchased changed the room for the better. Now 10 lamps later, I can't think of changing a room w/o thinking of this special place. Excellent Service & Attention to Detail, they work with you until you are satisfied.

Lauren was extremely helpful when I came in to return the ceiling light cover I had tried at home. I almost left empty handed but she made sure to listen to me explain the room that I was trying to light and found something that I had overlooked!

My wife and I have been purchasing lamps from Sue Johnson for the past 25 years. We love the style of her lamps, her creativity, and how much she stands behind what she makes. Recently we purchased a new lamp, and had an old shade repaired. The experience was really great.

I called to find a part for a large chandelier I purchased on my Next Door site (as it turned out, totally different from the aesthetic vibe in the store, but that did not matter a lick), and I my two through directly on the phone. She helped me with my terminology to describe what I actually, which was super helpful. Then she put me on to him who was able to determine exactly what I needed. I came down to the store, really in the office, I was able to show picture of the chandelier

So I picked up a nice and sturdy (that's what they used to call my grandmother when she was young) floor lamp on craigslist. But it wasn't working so I took it here, and they fixed it all up on the spot. I just sat and yucked it up while the wizards in the back got down to work. I already had a lampshade to go with the lamp, so that saved me a bundle (I have to say, though, that the entire repair was under $70, which seemed very reasonable to me, knowing that my local electrician makes over $100/hour). But even though they couldn't sell me a shade, the staff there made sure that my shade sat right and looked well on the lamp. I'll be back.

Excellent shop for quality lighting and lamp shades. Sue also provides custom work and offers great customer service. The best lampshades I've seen here in the Bay Area.

Wow - I've been wanting a lamp from here for the longest time. Absolutely beautiful. I've read some of the other reviews - guess I lucked out - immediate service, very friendly and helpful staff willing to help customize the lamp (make it taller), ready next day, and simply stunning. But do not go in here on a budget. For some silly reason I didn't see the base and shade were sold separately so needless to say I was a bit shocked, but it's gorgeous and that's why we Americans have credit. Definitely go in and look around, maybe pick up a nightlight.;)

Everything you find at Sue Johnson Lamps is a hand-made work of art whose special ingredient is love. We purchased our 1920 bungalow in 1999 and the first thing we did was to buy a Sue Johnson Mica ceiling fixture for our dining room. It was transformative and completely changed the character of the room. I think these lamps and shades would look terrific in any style of home, but they are especially well suited to older homes (Craftsman, Tudor, Colonial Revival) such as you find in San Francisco and the East Bay.

They bring a warmth and graciousness that is timeless. They can even make a San Francisco steel and glass condo feel like a place you'd actually want to spend time in. Walk into Sue Johnson's lamp shop and be charmed. Don't expect to walk out empty handed.

Update 11-3-09: Sue's annual sale will be held November 6-15. Great chance to pick up some deals! Sue's shop is a wonderland full of unique objects that have been turned into beautiful, functional, one of a kind lamps and lighting fixtures. The workroom in the back of the shop is fascinating and the artisans who work there are free with their advice - and opinions.

Over the past few years we've purchased some pieces from her shop, and just love them. Picture a hand made mica shade with ginkgo leaves embedded within, sitting on a ribbed brass stand, topping a hunk of gleaming black walnut. A wall fixture in our hallway features a lampshade is hand made out of paper and ribbon. Not your everyday shade, that's for sure.

They do lots of custom work - bring in your object d'art and they'll turn it into a wonderful lamp for you, complete with a fabulous shade. Pricey? Indeed, but worth it for a one of a kind object that'll be the star wherever you place it in your home.

This is an eclectic store with interesting/pretty lamp shades that will burn a whole in your pocket. This stuff is not cheap, but it is quality. On the other hand though. Sue Johnson is a MEAN OLD WITCH. When we tried to return a lampshade, she gazed at us with furious eyes, arms akimbo and splattered out a whole spiel that, "We are a small business and we do not offer returns.

Store credit is the best that we can do. If you told us in advance that you might return this, then we would had put a hold on your credit card and not had charged you. But you didn't! This is not how we do things! We have already authorized the purchase! Yatta yatta yatta." After a good amount of talking and reasoning with her that we bought it as a gift for someone and did not know she'd hate it, she said with a flustered-rolly-eyed-look, "Well, you tell me what you want me to do?!" and handed us a check in the refund amount. Omg, what an ordeal! Geez, that was painful! I would never ever come back to this store again!

A lamp store? Why would Elle want to review a lamp store? She's SUCH an ARTsnob! Oh. but my children, this is NOT a lamp store one finds in strip malls and such. Ms Sue Johnson IS an artist, an artisan, a business woman. The minute you walk into the shop, lit by the lovely lamps, you are away from the land of Ikea, BBand B, Arts and Crafts Kitsch.

Each lamp is different, why you can bring in an objet d'art and tell Sue and her charming helpful assistants will transform it into a useful item, which will light up your room, and satisfy your desire to be what you have always aspired to be, ----- A person of TASTE. P.S. TASTE costs a bit more