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San Diego man has a leg up on lamp market
By David Moye
May 22, 2006
San Diego--Brian Jones has a leg up on the lamp market – and he owes it all to the 1982 movie, “A Christmas Story.”
That classic movie has a scene focusing on a lamp shaped like a woman’s leg that gets smashed to bits in a supposed accident, Jones’ version has been a smash hit since he started selling them three years ago.
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Nice gams on that lamp |
Jones, a former Naval officer who now lives in Mission Hills, runs the Red Rider Leg Lamp company, which makes the leggy lamps and sells them for $130 a pop to folks who want the honor of owning “a major award.” Not bad, considering the whole business was inspired by a joke on Jones himself. “I wanted to be a naval pilot but that didn’t work out. Instead, I did Intel. But my parents thought I handled my disappointment at not being a pilot so well that they made one of the leg lamps like in the movie and gave it to me as a major award.” Jones enjoyed the lamp so much that he decided to make one of his own, then another, and another. |
He started selling them and, amazingly, sold 500 in his first year of business.
Jones says the key to making a good leg lamp is making sure the leg is sturdy enough to stand on its own but thin enough that the light glows.
As you might expect, business is best around December when A Christmas Story seems to air every other day and 24 hours on Christmas Day.
However, Jones gets a big bump around Father’s Day and figures it’s because the lamp appeals to Dads who A) are fond of the movie, B) have good senses of humor, and C) are hard to buy for.
But Jones also gets orders from the strangest places, such as the Vegas casino, which is currently stocking itself with plenty of leg lamps.
Jones has done so well making money off A Christmas Story, it’s no surprise he’s branching out his business in that direction as well.
In 2004, he paid $150,000 to purchase the Cleveland house used as Ralphie’s home in the movie and has set about trying to refurbish it to its 1930s glory.
It hasn’t been easy. The house dates back to 1895 and Jones frankly admits it needs a lot of work.
“It was basically being used as a rental so a lot of the original windows were stripped and replaced with vinyl siding,” says Jones. He says the new house will look just like a 1930s home when it opens up for tourists around November.
Jones is not only keeping A Christmas Story alive by putting out the leg lamps and refurbishing the house but he’s helping the actors stay connected as well.
“None of the actors earn any royalties on the movie anymore and none of them made it big. So I’m working out a deal where they sign memorabilia and make appearances at the house.”
For more information about Jones’ leg lamps, check out www.redriderleglamps.com or visit the business at Red Rider Leg Lamps, 7848 Silverton Ave, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92126.
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David Moye is a fifth generation resident of San Diego county and has the same birthday as Reggie Bush--but none of the athletic ability.
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