A ceramic base is molded, dried and fired in a kiln like any other pot. It needs enough weight to keep the lamp upright and a channel through the middle for the cord.

A hollow threaded tube runs up through the base and is locked with nuts. It is the spine of the lamp and the protected path for the cord.

Thin metal is pressed into a threaded shell that grips the bulb's base. North America uses the E26 size and Europe uses E27, the number being the thread diameter in millimeters.

The cord is fed up the rod and its two conductors are fastened to the socket terminals. The screw thread is connected to neutral, so the part of the socket a finger is likely to touch is not the live side.

A switch is built into the socket or spliced into the cord. A wire frame for the shade is clamped above the socket.

Fabric or paper is wrapped and fixed around wire rings in a drum, empire, bell or coolie shape. Some shades get an opaque lining that pushes light out through the top and bottom.

Each lamp is checked for a sound circuit and correct wiring before the shade is packed beside it.