Not to worry; I'm Doing My Part for the World Economy

It's quite simple, actually.
Just do as I've done this week, and purchase something from an international seller on Ebay.

Remember my obsession with French Art Deco pate de verre chandeliers? Examples are here and here. Well, I've continued to stalk them on Ebay, and I recently found this little lovely. It's 'in the style of' Schneider, although it's not a signed piece.

It was listed by a British expat, currently living in France. Now that the dollar to GBP ratio has improved a bit, the price for the light wasn't so bad. It seemed, well, silly not to jump in and purchase it.

So, voila, a Paypal purchase in British pounds, a boost to the French economy, and the French postal system ought to help things out a bit.

Before anyone gets all up in arms and says 'what about America?!'
Again, not to worry.

The chandelier will still need to be updated for US electrical voltage, and Smithy insists that the silk cords and modern ceiling canopy need to go. So, the local lighting company will have a shot at rewiring the light, and a certain local blacksmith will rework the hanging structure.

Smithy is talking about forging long brass or copper hooks to suspend the chandelier. I'm not sure yet whether he will also forge a ceiling canopy, of if I'll go with a store-bought one. We're inspired the gorgeous, drool-worthy Deco lights at Decorum in San Francisco, but toned down a bit with non-ferrous (that's the official word for non-iron metal, like copper and brass) materials instead of the nickel finish on Decorum's lights :

Gorgeous, aren't they?

So, it's simple really.
Ebay. The answer to the global economic downturn.

(Y'all know this is all tongue-in-cheek, right?)