Ugone and Thomas Lighting at Smith Galleries

When she was only 5 years old Janna Ugone knew she was an artist. As a teenager in high school she focused her talents on jewelry and received awards and scholarships. When she entered the Massachusetts College of Art at 17 her love for jewelry was surpassed by her interest in the hand-painted ceramic surface and at the same time she fell in love with the possibilities of mixed media. At 21 she had to find a way to make a living, so she spent her early twenties as a corporate product developer for a national company. This also was the time she found a love for blending art and

Bronze Tree Trunk Table Lamp

business into the design process. At 27 she left the corporate world.

Like pieces of a puzzle that alone have no significant function, yet joined they make a well defined unit; Janna connected these independent experiences to define her niche in the art world.  It was while she was visiting a successful home store and saw a “run of the mill” sconce that the light came on, both figuratively and literally.  Using her artist’s point of view, which she combined with technical capabilities, her blank canvas became a product that filled a market need. Janna launched a business making  beautifully creative lighting that performs a needed function while still being pleasing to the eye.

Steel Table Lamps

Thirty years later the products of Ugone and Thomas have evolved, blending historic references with industrial elements and a fresh contemporary approach that continues to inspire. Incorporating their backgrounds in jewelry, ceramics, and painting with their business experiences and design skills, they have created unique lighting products. The lamp shades are printed on museum quality archival paper or hand cast out of earthenware clay. The molds for the pewter finials and pull charms are first made in jewelers’ wax and then each one is individually cast. Bases include ceramic, brushed copper combined with Vermont slate, and hand forged

Edison Globe Lamps

steel. Each element of the lamp is carefully designed and constructed to bring function and unique beauty for generations to come. In a world of uninspired mundane lighting, Ugone and Thomas lamps shine brightly. See more...

Smith Galleries is located in the Village at Wexford, Suite J11 (UPSTAIRS), on Hilton Head Island. Gallery hours are 10 - 6 Monday through Saturday. 843-842-2280