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| My amethyst Lincoln Drape |
Working at Lehman's since I was 18 (14 years now, and counting...), I've learned A LOT! Things like: how businesses operate, marketing techniques, and more information about water pumps, grain mills, and so many other off-the-grid, self-sufficient products than I thought I would ever know. I enjoy learning, and some of our products are just down-right fascinating, not to mention practical.
Over the years, I've always found our oil lamps to be one of my favorite products...mainly for aesthetic reasons. As I've had to conduct training on the lamps (among lots of other things), I've really had to learn a lot about and understand how they work. I've always been drawn to one particular kind of oil lamp - the Aladdin. I've always known they were different than regular oil lamps, and that they have some different parts than regular oil lamps. However, over the past several years, I've learned so much about them, and the more I learn, the more I am simply fascinated with them.
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| The glow of my Aladdin during a recent power outage |
To further add to my growing obsession, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Clarksville, TN with 7 of my co-workers to the Aladdin headquarters last year! Lehman's wholesale division, Crownplace Brands, bought out Aladdin, so we would be moving the entire operation to little old Dalton, Ohio. My attendance was purely for work reasons - to learn as much about the lamps as possible from the experts, so I can better train our staff. However, it just so happens that I was super excited to go for personal reasons as well...win-win!
In preparation for the trip, I started studying up on Aladdins again, and began to update my training materials. I dug a little deeper into the history of the lamps. The origins of the company are very interesting, and it's fun to see how the lamps have evolved over time, yet keeping the same basic operating principles. We got to see how lamps are put together, tested, boxed for shipping, and more! We got to meet and talk with the people who are the absolute experts, and they shared so many wonderful tips and facts with us. It was a great 2-day trip. I learned so much, and had such a good time! I'm so fortunate that I was selected to go!
One of my favorite parts of our visit was scouring their warehouse filled with thousands of old lamps that were set out in preparation for their auction. It was so fun to see in person, so many old and unique styles. We made it our mission to find an original Model #1, that they said was there somewhere. It took us awhile, but we found it! It was so hard to believe that we were able to touch an original made in 1909! I think it's safe to say that I am an Aladdin geek.
Here are some of the really cool photos I took on the trip to the Aladdin headquarters in Clarksville, TN.
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In part 2 of this post, My Aladdin Lamp Obsession, I talk about Aladdins in pop culture.
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