Shannon Lamp Service
Store History

Shannon Lamp Service is a family-owned lamp and custom lampshade business in Lexington, Kentucky, with roots dating to 1955. Founded by Coleman Shannon, the business began as Shannon's Plating Service and evolved into lamp sales, lamp repair and restoration, and custom lampshade manufacturing. In 1972, Coleman and Dee Shannon began manufacturing lampshades on-site, a tradition that has continued for more than 50 years, including the past 40 years with David and Amy Shannon.

The Groundwork - The Brass Shop - 1949

After working for Lexington Plating Co. for three years, Coleman Shannon purchased The Brass Shop, located at 324 Cedar St. in Lexington, from Henry Price in January 1949.

After about three months, Coleman closed The Brass Shop and went to work for Setzer's Hardware – Plating & Repairing on Mt. Tabor Road in Lexington. He was responsible for setting up the new plating shop and served as manager of the business. He remained in that position until 1955, when he left Setzer's to once again open his own business.

That was the beginning of "Shannon's." 

 The Beginning — Shannon's Plating Service, 1955

This Quonset building, located at 765 East 7th Street in Lexington behind Thompson Sanitary Supply House, was the first location of Shannon's Plating Service. The business operated at this location for about two years.

 
This 1938 Plymouth, purchased for $125, served as the delivery vehicle for Shannon's Plating Service while the business was located on East 7th Street.

Growing the Business in Lexington

The next move was to 191 North Limestone in Lexington. This building is no longer standing, and unfortunately, we do not have any photographs of this location. After a couple of years, it was once again time to move on.

Here’s a business card from that location. Notice the phone numbers? All Lexington numbers were (606) 25——-
No need to provide anything but the last 5 digits.

The next location was 318 East Third Street in Lexington, where the business remained for several years and continued to grow. During this period, the name of the business changed slightly from time to time, with names such as Shannon's House of Lamps, Shannon's Plating, and Shannon's Polishing.

The photographs below show the showroom at the East Third Street location.     

After several years of dealing with parking problems, an opportunity arose to purchase property of our own, and the time came for another move. Property was purchased at 1210 North Limestone in Lexington, while the business continued to operate from the East Third Street location until the new property was ready for occupancy.

These front and back photographs show the North Limestone property before the store was ready to open. The original front porch had already been removed. A short time later, the front showroom that remains part of the store today was added.

1966 - New Showroom added to the property

Custom Lampshade Manufacturing Begins — 1972

In 1972, the business made a major change that would help shape its future. Lamps and lighting had already become an important part of the business, but after considerable research and investigation, Coleman and Dee decided to take the next step and begin manufacturing lampshades themselves.

They traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to purchase the machinery, equipment, and supplies needed to manufacture lampshades on-site in Lexington. This allowed Shannon's to offer customers something beyond the mass-produced, ready-made shades already available in the store. We could now make lampshades to meet a customer's particular needs, including different sizes, shapes, fabrics, and fitter styles. Customers were no longer limited to the selection of sizes and fabrics available from wholesale suppliers.

What began as an expansion of our existing lamp business eventually became one of its most important parts. What Coleman and Dee couldn't have known at the time was that this change would allow the business to grow far beyond what they could have envisioned in 1972. More than 50 years later, we continue to manufacture custom lampshades in Lexington, carrying on the work Coleman and Dee began in 1972.

After only a short time, it became evident that ready-made and custom-made lampshades would play a major role in the future of the business. As lampshade manufacturing continued to grow, the decision was made to discontinue the polishing and plating operation and concentrate on lamps and lampshades.

The Second Generation — David & Amy Shannon

Shamrock Shades was the trade name given to our line of lampshades, and many advances in our manufacturing methods and capabilities have occurred since those early beginnings.

David Shannon grew up around the family business and, while still in school, worked after school and during summer breaks alongside his dad. After graduating from high school in 1979, David joined the business full-time, working side by side with his father, Coleman. This marked the beginning of the second generation of the Shannon family working full-time in the business.

 In 1983, David's wife, Amy, joined the family business, working in sales and as part of the lampshade production team.

By 1984, the business had continued to grow, and we were once again running out of room. More space was needed for both lampshade production and the growing retail business.

To accommodate the continued growth, a large addition was built onto the rear of the property, providing much-needed space for our expanding lampshade production operation. 

  Working together in the family business also gave us the opportunity to bring our children, Kristal and Jeremy, to work with us and have them be a part of our everyday lives as they grew up. Like David before them, they spent much of their childhood around the family business.

The photo shows Kristal at work with Dad.

Shannon Lamp Service Goes Online

In about 2004, when our son Jeremy was a high school student, he was required to build his own website for a class project. The teachers provided information and resources he could use or download for free to build his site.

We had never really considered a website for the store and, to be honest, didn't really see a need for one. As Jeremy worked on his project, we started playing with the idea of building a website for Shannon Lamp Service. We thought it might be a good way for our local customers to "see" our store before they drove across town.

As the idea grew and our early attempts were critiqued by friends and foes, shannonlamp.com was born. We quickly purchased programs, web space, and domain names.

Our lack of understanding of the impact of the World Wide Web soon faded. We discovered that not only could our local customers see our store online, but so could anyone else in the world.

We were almost shocked when we answered the phone one day early on and the lady on the line said, "I am calling from Dallas, and I want to purchase a lamp I saw on the internet."

We are now pleased to receive calls from customers across the country on a regular basis. We're not sure where technology is going, but we hope we don't wait so long to take part.

In 2006, we proudly celebrated what we believed to be the 50th anniversary of Shannon Lamp Service. Coleman had always remembered starting the business in 1956, and for many years that was the date we considered to be the beginning of Shannon's. Our Golden Anniversary received some wonderful attention from the local media, helping us share the story of our family business.

Years later, while researching our family and business history, David discovered newspaper advertisements and articles documenting the grand opening of Shannon's Plating Service in October 1955. That newspaper advertisement was shown at the top of this page. It turns out Dad was off by a year! So, while our 50th anniversary celebration took place in 2006, we now know that Shannon's actually began in 1955.

More than 70 years later, we're still here—still family-owned, still making custom lampshades in Lexington, and still grateful for the customers who have allowed us to continue doing what we do.

Coleman Shannon

November 19, 1921 – May 17, 2016

With Coleman's death in 2016, some customers wondered whether Shannon Lamp Service would continue. The answer was an easy one—yes.

Although Dad could still frequently be seen around the store, he had not worked full-time in the business since 1986. Nearly 25 years before his death, he had sold the business to David and Amy Shannon, who had continued the family tradition he began so many years before.

We mourned his passing and certainly missed having him around the store, but the business he started continued—and continues today. We are grateful to Coleman for the foundation he built and to our customers for their continued support through the years.

 More Than 70 Years of Family-Owned Service

Still Going Strong — 2026

The ten years since Coleman's passing haven't brought any major changes to Shannon Lamp Service—and in many ways, we're proud of that.

We have continued doing what our family has done for generations: providing personal service, repairing lamps, and manufacturing custom lampshades right here in Lexington, Kentucky. The tools and technology around us may have changed, but much of the work we do still requires the same hands-on craftsmanship and attention to detail that it always has.

Like most small businesses, we've faced our share of challenges. We made it through the COVID years, changing shopping habits, increasing costs, and a retail world that looks very different from the one Coleman knew when he opened his first shop in 1955. Through it all, Shannon Lamp Service has remained strong.

One thing that has changed is where our customers come from. What began as a neighborhood Lexington business now serves customers from across Kentucky and throughout the United States. The internet that we weren't quite sure we needed more than 20 years ago has helped people far beyond Lexington find us—especially those looking for custom lampshades, unusual sizes and fitter styles, and services that have become increasingly difficult to find.

In 2026, more than 70 years after Shannon's began and more than 50 years after Coleman and Dee began making lampshades, we're still here. We're still family owned. We're still making custom lampshades and custom lamps in Lexington. And we're still grateful every time someone walks through our door, calls us from across the country, or trusts us with a lamp that means something to them.

The Shannon family story continues, and we look forward to seeing what comes next.