Monday is Fun Day - Italian Tole Daisy Lamp

I'm starting a new feature today, called "Monday is Fun Day".  Every day should be a fun day, really, but Monday rhymes so we'll go with that.  What we'll do is look at fun items I've collected from flea markets, antique stores, art shows, thrift stores, and garage sales.

I went to my first flea market of the year earlier this month.  One vendor caught my eye because of all the hanging chandeliers.  It was a perfect day, temps in the 60s, and the sun made all the chandeliers sparkle.

I don't have any use for a chandelier, but I definitely needed one of his Italian tole lamps.  This one is from the late 1960s to early 1970s.  I love lamps.  I counted how many I had once, and it was such a big number that I put a mental block on it and can no longer remember how many it was.  Then I told myself not to count them again.

I love my new lamp because it reminds me of this daisy pin from the same era, which I bought last year. 

The lamp didn't have a lampshade, just a harp.  I carried the lamp to numerous stores looking for a shade that had the "cross hairs" level with the top of the shade.  Most of the shades nowadays have that part dropped about halfway down the shade.

I wasn't having any luck, but I did find out I was harp-challenged when I explained my predicament to a store employee.  She grabbed the harp, squeezed, (while I held my breath and hoped she wouldn't break my lamp), and said "They usually come out like this."  And miraculously, she removed the harp.  I had tried pulling and pulling on it previously, to no avail.  Squeezing did the trick. 

And now, being harpless, I  found myself with a plethora of lamp choices.  I picked this one from Target, because it looked like metal (even if it wasn't), and matched the metal base.

Good thing I won't be using the harp in the future, since I managed to lose the finial.  I think some things get done accidentally on purpose.

The vendor had rewired the lamp, so it's safe to use.  With the light on, the shade turns a nice pale grey.

Now, how fun is that?!?!