Photo by Andrew and Gemma Ingalls
If you aren't already familiar, Christopher Spitzmiller is the world renowned ceramist who has cornered the market on beautiful, handmade designer lamps. It used to be that all rooms in shelter mags had a high-end Hermes blanket visible somewhere. Now, that token high-end covet-worthy piece is a Spitzmiller lamp or two, by the way - a pair of these handcrafted masterpieces can run you upwards of $10,000.

His pieces are gorgeous, and are probably the mostly beautiful glazed pieces you'll ever find. His shapes have been copied over and over by a variety of home decor manufacturers looking to provide the "look for less" to budget conscious shoppers, but nothing will ever match his signature ability to create a lamp that shines brighter than the bulb. For more info on the lamps and how they're made, I highly recommend taking a look at this One Kings Lane interview and article on Spitzmiller's studio.
Christopher is best friends with designer Bunny Williams and her antiquarian husband, John Rosselli. He also consistently rubs elbows with the likes of Carloyne Roehm, Jeffrey Bilhuber, and Martha Stewart to name a few.

Recently, I was on the phone with my friend Joni of Cote de Texas, where I found out that a post I had been working on was one she had already touched on here, and I realized I had to start over. I went to my books and magazines, looking for inspiration, and I realized the inspiration was everywhere, room by room, book ...