Quoizel originated in New York in 1930 and, until the 1960s, retained its manufacturing specialization as a producer of hurricane lamps. While Quoizel is not a family name, the original owner and designer Michael Chaiken and his successors the Phillips family reflect the close-knit quality of the lighting-manufacturing industry.

Even though Quoizel headquarters are now located in Charleston, SC, and has also established a manufacturing site in China, the company adheres to its slogan “Timeless Lighting” irrespective of location. Its collections are categorized somewhat differently from the industry traditional, transitional, and contemporary classifications. Quoizel fixtures are classified as European, Americana, Contemporary, Modern, and Bohemian.

Specialized collections include a large variety of fixtures based on original Louis Comfort Tiffany designs and a contractual relationship with Lenox Fine China. Quoizel retains its strong sense of American origin and its debt to American design elements. The distinction between Contemporary and Modern categories is an unusual but sensible decision, with the Contemporary category showing traditional glass and metal materials used in new design forms, while the Modern classification stresses the use of newer materials in distinctively functional forms.

The Bohemian category may be the portal through which many retail customers first encounter Quoizel design. The company describes this category as “whimsical,” and so it is. Its largest collection within the Bohemian category is “Salamander,” a line showing Pre-Raphaelite and Arts & Crafts influences both in metal shapes and finishes and in its intriguing art-glass shades. Bohemian fixtures combine a respect for tradition with a gentle sense of humor about its uses.

Quoizel products as a whole show the same respect for the past and recognition of future needs. This strong set of values produces a consistent “Quoizel look” which, combined with the company’s interest in quality, makes Quoizel an excellent resource for shoppers who want lighting consistent with their lifestyle and decorating style all through the house.

How well does Quoizel adhere to its origins and traditions? By continuing to make a classic line of two dozen hurricane-style lamps. Hurricanes, originally chimneyed lanterns, weathered the adaptation to electricity without losing their particularly charming qualities—ruffled glass shades, hand-painted floral designs, lamp-bases with more detail than one would think possible in from a glass-manufacturer.

For customers interested in keeping this remarkable tradition going, Quoizel hurricane lamps range from the very American Abigail Adams fixtures to those showing French and other European influences. Names are highly evocative: Americana Grand Dream, Frosted Gold-Polished French, and Satin-Lace. As their own descriptions point out, sharing their origins contributes to the future heritage-treasures of customers’ own families.

The Quoizel name has been so well-known in the lighting industry that the company launched its very first identifying logo in the 1990s after seventy-five years of business.