A Rant and a Plea for Help

The Sophia Flush Mount


The Basil Flush Mount


"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

You know how I try to keep things positive on my blog, and I'm a firm believer that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Well.... most of the time. But there are times when I can really get mad as a hornet, and that's the state I'm in right now.

You see, I'm majorly irritated with Circa Lighting. I've been a long time customer of Circa because I think they have a wonderful selection of lights and the prices are really affordable. I'm hardly one of their bigger clients, but I furnished my last house with sconces and ceiling lights purchased from them. And in my new condo, I found some great ceiling mount lights that I ordered back in early August (see above). The Sophia Flush Mount light was to go in a hallway, and I chose to use the Basil Flush Mount in my closet. And what was even better was that I found out later that these two lights were part of Alexa Hampton's collection for Visual Comfort (a company that is related to Circa), and I'm a big admirer of Hampton's work.

The Sophia was supposed to arrive on September 5, 2008 and the Basil was due in at the first of last December. So... where are my lights?? Well, I've just checked on them again, and now I'm told they should be in sometime in May. May??? Come on, that's nine months after the Sophia was supposed to be in stock. That's ridiculous. When I checked on the lights last Fall, I was told the delay was due to the hurricane and because they were waiting on UL approval. And now the explanation is that they sold more of these lights than they anticipated. Did my order get shoved to the back of the line??

I'm obviously very disappointed because I love these lights and thought they would be perfect in my new home. But can I live with wires hanging out of the ceiling for five more months? Nope. Sorry, but there are too many light fixtures out on the market for me to wait around.

So, I'm asking for your help readers. First, do you think that I should sit tight and wait for my Circa fixtures? Or should I cancel my order? Secondly, I would really love some suggestions for alternatives to these two lights. I would especially like to find a ceiling mount star fixture that is similar to the Sophia. I figure that if anybody can help me find other options, it would be you.

And tomorrow, I'll go back to being positive!

Update: I want to let everyone know that I spoke to the top brass at both Circa Lighting and Visual Comfort. First, I want to say that Circa is not responsible for the delays as they are simply a retail outfit that sells Visual Comfort. The delay is due to a longer than expected production process. In addition, the lights I chose have turned out to be far more popular than anticipated, which meant a larger production run than expected. Both Circa Lighting and Visual Comfort were very concerned about my experience and stressed that they do not take customer service lightly. Visual Comfort is doing everything they can to get these lights in stock and they should be available by sometime later this Spring. I appreciate that they contacted me, and as I think the lights are so good looking, I think I'm going to wait. Thank you to everyone for their help and their suggestions!