The Tavermere Swing Arm Wall Sconce started from the reading lamps in old ship cabins, mounted on a wooden plate beside each bunk with a folding arm that swung out to read by and tucked back against the wall afterward. We kept the folding arm and the small wooden plate, and gave it a shade made of rounds of shell, the way coastal houses once used shell in place of window glass. The joints stay visible, the way they were on those cabin lamps. Lit, the shell softens the bulb into a pearly glow over the page.