Stephen Downes began as a restorer, specializing in the Art Deco lighting designs of Albert Cheuret, Ruhlmann and Pierre Chareau. He’s worked with some of the most prestigious antique dealers in NYC, along with the auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s.  He knows all there is to know about crystal alabaster, its innate delicacy as well as its natural beauty.

Downes is a native New Yorker.  As a child he attended the Young People’s Art Workshop at the Museum of Modern Art and decided then to pursue the life of an artist.  He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts where he studied under the master stone carver René Lavaggi.

His alabaster lighting designs have appeared in numerous publications, including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, House & Garden, Interior Design, Metropolitan Home, and The New York Times Magazine, along with the book, New York Interiors, Taschen (1997).