Our workshop
A small workshop
by the harbour.
Norrlys is three people, a long workbench and a showroom on Verkstedveien in Tromsø. This is where every lamp is pleated, turned, wired and switched on for the first time.
Why we make lamps
Before there was Norrlys, Ingrid Solheim repaired lamps. Brass floor lamps from the fifties, pendants with brittle cords, shades that had yellowed in a sunny window for thirty years. Most of them had been made with more care than anything she could buy new, and they had lasted because of it.
In 2016 she started making her own, in a corner of this workshop by the harbour. There are three of us now. We still make every lamp by hand and in small batches, and we still repair the old ones, because a lamp worth making is worth keeping lit.
How a lamp is made
By hand, from shade to bulb.
Every lamp passes through all three of us before it leaves the workshop. It is slower than a factory, and that is rather the point.
The shade
Each shade is pleated by hand from a single length of cotton or washi paper. It takes about two days, most of them spent waiting for the folds to set.
The base
Bases are turned in oak or glazed in stoneware, a few dozen at a time. No two glazes come out of the kiln quite the same.
The light
Every lamp is wired, tested and lived with for an evening before it is packed. It ships with a dimmable 2200K bulb, so it glows the way we meant it to.
The people
Three pairs of hands.
You will find all three of us in the showroom on Saturdays, usually with something half finished on the bench.
Ingrid Solheim
Founder and shade maker
Started Norrlys in 2016 and still pleats most of the shades herself.
Henrik Aas
Metalwork
Bends, brazes and finishes every stem, arm and bracket in brass and steel.
Leah Moreno
Glass and ceramics
Glazes the stoneware bases and blows the opal globes, one firing at a time.
Repairs and projects
The same bench that makes new lamps keeps old ones going, and lights whole rooms when asked.
Visit the showroom
Every lamp, switched on.
The showroom shares a wall with the workshop, so you can see the lamps lit and the next ones being made. Bring a photo of your room and we will help you choose.
Address
Verkstedveien 1, 0000 Tromsø
Opening hours
Thursday to Saturday, 11 to 17
Other days by appointment
Getting here
Five minutes from the old town, along the harbour. Look for the lit window.
Get in touch
Write to us
Questions about an order, a repair or a project? Send us a note and one of us will answer it, not a bot.
We reply within two working days, usually sooner. For an order, include your order number and we will find it faster.