Handmade by Earl Whitaker Β· Hocking Hills, Ohio
Paula's Lighted Florals
Paula's Lighted Florals
Couldn't load pickup availability
Paula's Lighted Florals
Hand-wired in a shed on County Road 7
Paula Grote, 68, and four women from her road have built these in northern Indiana since 1996. For nineteen years every one left under a boutique's name. This is what is left of the last batch, and the first time her own name has been on any of them.
βThe first one I ever made was for my aunt. She had moved into a small apartment where they would not allow a candle of any kind, and she kept the ceiling light off because it was too bright, so from about four in the afternoon she sat in the dark with the television on. I ran a strand of warm bulbs up through a bundle of greenery, hid the battery in the base, and put it on her side table. She put it on at dusk that first evening and she never turned the ceiling light on again. A week later she asked me to make one for the woman across the hall.β
Paula Grote Β· Nappanee, Indiana
What comes in the box
Tied at the base and pre-arranged β not a pile of loose stems in a sleeve
Up to 100 warm-white bulbs, wired up through the stems so no wire shows
Nothing burning, nothing hot, nothing to blow out before bed
Initials of the woman who switched it on and checked every bulb before boxing
Six things a maker solved that a factory would not have bothered with
Bend a branch to the side and let go. If it stays where you put it, there is wire through the core. Cheap stems are moulded plastic with a bulb glued on β they snap back, which is why they arrive thin and stay thin. Wire is what lets you fan a bundle wide enough to actually fill a table.
Wrapped into the foot of the bundle, below the rim of anything with a three-inch opening. The standard in this category is a plastic box on the end of a cord, hanging over the side of your vase. That box is the single most common complaint about lighted stems, and it is the reason Paula built hers differently in 1996.
Roughly the colour of a flame, not the blue-white you get off a bargain strand. In a dark room that is the whole difference between something that looks like a nightlight in a hospital corridor and something that looks like it is burning.
No flame, no wax, no smoke and nothing to blow out before bed. It can sit against a garland, a curtain or a tablecloth all evening, with grandchildren in the room and a cat on the table. It is exactly why the first one ever built ended up in an apartment where candles were not allowed.
Three AA batteries and nothing else. It goes in the middle of a dining table, on a windowsill, in a bathroom, on a mantel with a garland β all the places a plug-in piece cannot go and where a cord across the floor is a trip hazard.
Thirty seconds, every bulb checked lit end to end, then the initials of the woman who checked it go on the carton flap. Nineteen years supplying a shop that would have sent an entire pallet back over a handful of dark units is where that habit came from.
βWe do not allow an open flame anywhere in the building, and that includes tea lights, wax warmers and anything with a wick. Families do not always realise that when they bring something in, and we have to take it back out again, which nobody enjoys. What works is a battery piece with a warm light in it. The warmth of the colour matters more than people expect β a cold blue light reads as institutional, and our residents feel that even if they cannot name it. A soft amber one changes a room in the late afternoon in a way an overhead fixture never does.β
Marlene Ahrens Β· Life enrichment director, assisted living Β· 16 years Β· Indiana
Six pieces, 426 boxes
The greenery runs deepest because the last batch was built for a boutique's autumn and holiday floor. The spring pieces are down to a handful. When a piece runs out it stays out β the batch that would have replaced it was never ordered.
Where people put them
Why these last
- Wire core, not moulded plastic. Bend it once and it holds. That is what lets a bundle stand full instead of thin, and it is the one test you can run in two seconds the day it arrives.
- Assembled by hand, one at a time. The strand is threaded up through the stems by hand, every bulb is seated by hand, and the bundle is tied and fanned by hand. Five women, one bench, thirty years.
- Ordinary AA batteries. No sealed pack, no proprietary cell, no charging cable to lose. When they run down you buy three AAs anywhere and change them yourself.
- Cool to the touch. No flame, no wax, nothing to blow out, nothing that gets hot against a garland, a curtain or a tablecloth.
- Every single one checked lit. Boxed by a person whose initials are on the flap, not pulled off a line.
If a section arrives dark, or it does not look the way it looks here, one email to info@backroadgoods.com is enough. No forms and no explanation needed. Paula would rather have it back than have it sitting in a cupboard.
One honest note: no vase is included. For nineteen years the boutique sold the vases separately at $34 and Paula's contract did not allow her to ship one, so these have always gone out as the bundle alone. Every photograph here shows it in somebody's own vase. You need something with roughly a three-inch opening that is not clear glass at the bottom, or you will be looking at the battery housing. A stoneware crock, a pitcher or a ceramic jar all work. Worth knowing before you order, because the pictures do not make it obvious.
Product details
| What ships | One lighted bundle, pre-arranged and tied at the base. Vase not included. |
| Height | 13β18 in / 33β46 cm depending on the piece, and about as wide again once fanned out |
| Stem count | Six stems on the greenery pieces; twelve to twenty on the bloom pieces |
| Lights | Up to 100 warm-white bulbs depending on the piece, at roughly candle colour |
| Bloom pieces | On tulips and callas the bulb sits inside the flower, so the petal glows rather than a wire beside it |
| Power | 3 Γ AA, in a housing built into the base. Batteries not included. |
| Runtime | About eight evenings per set at six hours a night on alkalines; roughly two weeks on lithium AAs |
| Stems | Wire through the core β bend them and they hold the shape |
| Vase you will need | Approx. 3 in / 76 mm opening, not clear at the base |
| Heat | None. Safe against garland, cloth and curtains. |
| Quality check | Every bundle switched on, all bulbs verified end to end, initialed on the carton flap |
| Pieces | Lighted Pine Β· Lighted Olive Β· Lighted Tulips Β· Lighted Wheat Β· Lighted Callas Β· Roses & Eucalyptus |
| Care | Dust with a dry brush or a hairdryer on cold. Do not wash. |
| Shipping | Free, from Indiana |
| Made by | Paula Grote and four women from County Road 7, Nappanee, Indiana β final batch, 426 remaining |
Meet your maker: Earl Whitaker
34 years a shop teacher. Now he builds birdhouses the slow way β one at a time, signed by hand.
Read Earl's story β
The Back Road Guarantee
If anything ever fails on this birdhouse β a joint, a hinge, the roof β Earl repairs or replaces it for free. For life. No receipts, no forms, no fine print. That's the deal he made us, and it's the deal we make you.
Before You Order
When will my order ship?
The maker keeps a small number finished and ready. Orders ship straight from the workshop within 3 business days, and you'll get a tracking number the moment it's on its way. If a batch sells out, the page will say so honestly β and you can join the waitlist for the next one.
What if it arrives damaged or I don't love it?
You have 60 days to change your mind β send it back for a full refund, no questions asked. And if anything ever fails on it, the Back Road Guarantee covers repairs or replacement for life, handled directly with the maker.
Is every piece really made by one person?
Yes. Every piece is made start to finish by one maker β cut, finished, signed, and wrapped by hand. That's why batches are small and why yours will carry a hand-written number.
Will mine look exactly like the photos?
Almost β but not perfectly, and that's the point. Natural materials vary in grain and tone, so every piece is one of a kind. What never varies is the craftsmanship behind it.
Is it a good gift?
It's our most-gifted item. Every order arrives hand-wrapped in kraft paper with twine and a signed note from the maker β no receipt in the box, so it ships straight to the lucky person.