Luminaria sold to Portland firm

Downtown Spokane’s shopping scene will dim next week when Luminaria closes and moves to Portland.

Owner Mark Mansfield has sold the business to Schoolhouse Electric Co. as part of an ambitious plan to give the Luminaria brand national exposure.

“The people who know me understand this is one of the most difficult things I have ever done,” said Mansfield, who returned to his hometown and bought the business five years ago.

His plan since buying the business was to market Luminaria’s period-style lighting to a broader clientele. Merging his business into Schoolhouse made sense, he said

The move will end Luminaria’s 20-year run at 154 S. Madison St., where workers turned discarded fixtures into restoration treasures.

Among its most public work, Luminaria lighting can be seen at The Davenport Hotel, Angelica’s Bed & Breakfast, Luna Restaurant, Campbell House Museum, Panida Theater in Sandpoint, BlackRock Clubhouse in Coeur d’ Alene, the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park and many other locations.

Mansfield declined to disclose the selling price of Luminaria, but said some of Luminaria’s employees will make the move to Portland, where business will be conducted out of a 1910 warehouse building two blocks from the Schoolhouse Electric showroom in the city’s revitalized Central Eastside.

“We have the expertise and (Schoolhouse) has the resources and drive,” Mansfield said. “It’s a good match.”

Production abilities will be dramatically different: Mansfield said Luminaria workers still mix patina solutions in 5 gallon buckets. At Schoolhouse, which has been operating for one year, patinas are mixed in 300 gallon tanks.

The market for restoration goods has been growing and mainstream shoppers now have an appetite for period-style lighting.

Mansfield said its time to take the little company founded 20 years ago by Geoff Loftin focused on restoring antique light fixtures and move toward its potential as a maker new light fixtures adhering to the look and quality of the antiques.

Luminaria will retain its name while operating as a Schoolhouse subsidiary.

Mansfield said a majority of Luminaria’s sales are now made to out-of-state customers, reflecting the success of its catalogue and online sales.