When Willard “Bill” Booth decided to retire after being an electrician for 38 years, he decided to use his skills to pursue a fun hobby.
The 60-year-old started making industrial-styled pipe lamps out of repurposed electrical parts and miscellaneous objects. His specialized hobby has produced figurines of baseball players, musicians, weightlifters, gamers and more.
And it sparked his business, The Electric Booth, to life.
“I never imagined the popularity. People love them,” he said.
Booth got the idea of selling his lamps after visiting Steel Goat Marketplace and Gifts in Penn Hills, where various vendors sell their products. He expressed interest in becoming a vendor to Steel Goat co-owners Darcy Kennedy and Jayme Visnesky. He calls them his biggest fans.
Booth started selling at Steel Goat in March 2021. Kennedy said the venue was excited to host Booth’s products because they had never seen any products like his. She said customers will come to buy his lamps for special occasions, such as birthdays, holidays and graduations.
“He is just amazing. The talent and creativity he has is unlike so many,” she said.
The lamps sell for up to $200, which Booth considers a fair price for the amount of time he spends finding parts and crafting the work. It can take between two and three hours to complete a design, or even more if it is an original design. The hours can change if Booth sees a different design to make during the process.
In just a year, Booth has produced 100 figurine lamps.
”I don’t think I’ll ever run out of ideas,” he said.
Booth’s favorite part about his hobby is people’s reactions to his art, especially kids when they come up to touch the lamps.
“People always say ‘this is the coolest thing ever,’ and you don’t expect people to say things like that,” he said.
While Booth maintains a consistent size for his figurine lamps, he hopes to be able to make larger commissioned projects, such as historical scenes, for places. He is looking to expand his business to other marketplaces and galleries. He recently secured a spot at G Squared Gallery in Ligonier.
“I don’t want to be tied down to one place. I enjoy being able to call my own shots,” he said.
Booth showcases his work on his Facebook page, facebook.com/theelectricbooth.
