Page 86 - enLIGHTenment October 2016

Under the RadaR

Fred and Vera Cohen, seen here in the 1960s,

were proud of the destination showroom they
created in the St. Louis area.

THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS

I

J. Frederic Cohen, and his f you’re in the lighting retail industry, involved in the lighting
import business, or the ceiling fan and mirror manufactur-

wife Vera, have always been ing category and haven’t heard of Frederic or Vera Cohen,

they’re perfectly ne with that. In fact, this successful couple
ahead of their time, when it from Missouri prefer to y under the radar.

The truth is, they’ve been involved in the home décor industry
comes to entrepreneurship — for more than 50 years. Together, they opened their rst store

– Lamp & Lantern Ltd. in the St. Louis area and made their selec-
from running a lighting
tion especially unique by ying to Europe several times a year to
source xtures.
store & import business to
“We went to the very rst Spanish trade fair in Valencia in
1965 and purchased bronze chandeliers in many styles that the
inventing Sparkle Plenty and
St. Louis area didn’t have,” Fred Cohen explains. “We bought

running a USA-made mirror crystal pendants in Germany to hang on those bronze xtures
and designed new styles [for our customers].” Not only did the

manufacturer.
unusual chandeliers sell fast in the showroom, but the Cohens
began selling them to other lighting store owners that they knew.

84 enLIGHTenment Magazine | OctOber 2016
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