Looking for a replica of an Arts and Crafts sconce you saw on a historic house tour? Forget Google Shopping or the big box stores.

For a fixture that’s virtually indistinguishable from the original, you’ll need a patternmaker like Eric Kaster. The Portland, Oregon, artisan practices the old-world craft of carving detailed wood positives from which molds for metal castings are made for everything from chandeliers to cabinet pulls.

Because most mold patterns today are made by machines guided by computer software, they lack the depth of detail, palpable heft, and tiny imperfections you get with forms hand-carved from a chunk of pine or alder. A good patternmaker can take a photography of a fixture you want and craft a wood replica, which is sent to a foundry to be cast in metal. “Very few people do this sort of thing anymore,” says Kaster, who worked alongside his grandfather at the family’s patternamking shop for a dozen years before opening his own company, Eleek Inc., in 2000.

In addition to custom work, Eleek sells original designs featuring Kaster’s spin on Craftsman, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and modern industrial styles. Using equal parts engineering, craftsmanship, and imagination, Kaster creates not just light fixtures but functional works of art. As he puts it, “They feel authentic, made from real stuff by real hands.”