After three decades, Palatine lamp shop ready to turn off the lights

Lamps Shades n Things in Palatine has served for decades as a beacon for anyone needing to brighten a room, repair lighting or match up a lamp with just the right lampshade.

But if shop owner Amy Hahn's loyal customers need her services now, they had better hurry. The lights go out for good at the business on May 22.

The store's roots reach back into the 1970s. It was once known as the Des Plaines Lighthouse and then, when it moved from Des Plaines to Mount Prospect in 1976, it was called Richard's Lighthouse.

Hahn, 74, said she learned the art of lamp repairing from Richard Heard, owner of Richard's Lighthouse, and later took over the business.

Hahn moved the business to at 234 N. Northwest Highway in Palatine, where it operated for nearly 20 years, before settling in at its current location at 90 W. Northwest Highway, in the Clock Tower shopping center.

All those moves are small compared to Hahn's own journey, which began in Seoul, South Korea.

She and her husband, Jim, a retired “bean counter,” moved to New York, where Jim was a student. The couple later lived in Wisconsin before landing in the Chicago area.

“I was looking for a business opportunity. And then we found Richard's Lighthouse,” said Hahn, who lives in Barrington.

Up to that point, she said, she had no connection with lamps. But she was inspired by her father, who was in the food supply business, to own her own business.

Now Hahn is not just a successful businesswoman, but is also an expert artisan, as she demonstrated performing a “simple” job of replacing a light socket, deftly handling tools as she removed the shell and tested wires before finishing the work.

She said she enjoys turning a customer's vase or family heirloom into a lamp.

“Every lamp has a different look,” she said. “So I hear what the customer wants, then I try to meet their needs. And then when they are happy, then that makes me really happy.”

Her customers make up an appreciative audience as they watch her work.

“They feel comfortable and happy about what they get,” she said. “That's what I really like about the people coming in here.”

“She has good customers who really appreciate her service,” Jim Hahn added. “That's the fun part of the business in my mind.”

Hahn said retirement will allow her to spend more time with her family but admits having mixed feelings about closing the shop. She said she might do some work out of her home and is considering going to senior homes to do some free work.