If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the days when you had to spin an actual dial to make a phone call, your finger curled around the coiled cord as you read the juiciest bits from the “Say Anything” column in the latest issue of YM magazine to your bestie until your parents hollered at you to quit hogging the landline. Just me?

Regardless, even for digital natives brought up on smartphones and social media, there’s a certain retro chic to the old-school rotary phone, and it’s that near-universal sense of nostalgia that distributor Jackalope Kreative (asi/233246) tapped into with its latest promo project: genuine vintage phones that have been reengineered into working lamps, with a bendable arm and three light modes in the transformed handset.

Jackalope Kreative (asi/233246) commissioned a mom-and-pop artisan shop to transform vintage rotary phones into working lamps.

“Nostalgia is really important these days,” says Kim Luxenberg, president and co-founder of Jackalope. “We’re all trying to cling to something that feels safe to us, like a part of our childhood or just a time that was a little less chaotic.”

The story of the promo phone lamps began after Luxenberg received a lemon yellow one from friends – a husband-and-wife team who are collectors with a knack for creation and run a small business called CH Innovative Solutions. The art piece quickly found pride of place on a small table by her door. “No one can walk by without stopping and asking about it,” she adds.

Though expensive, the custom phone lamps evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia and could be an ideal incentive gift for a discerning client, says Kim Luxenberg, president of Jackalope.

Luxenberg and Kris Robinson, the other co-founder of Jackalope, almost immediately envisioned the unique promo potential of the lamps. CH Innovative Solutions can source the rotary phones in a variety of colors to match a client’s branding, and the plastic discs at the center can be subtly imprinted with the client’s logo.

Jackalope Kreative ordered several of the phone lamps to send out to high-value prospects and clients and so far has received plenty of positive feedback. “It’s quite a door-opener, to say the least,” Luxenberg says. “An expensive one, but for the right client, it’s a good one.”

Luxenberg envisions the phone lamps as a winning option for awards, recognition or incentive programs. Jackalope also included images of the phones in its 2025 holiday gift guide to help spark inspiration.

Beyond the nostalgia factor, the phone lamps also tell a compelling sustainability story, since each piece is giving a second life to an abundant product that no longer gets much use in its original form. It’s a whimsical way to cut back on consumer waste, with each lamp sourced from existing vintage phones and handcrafted in the U.S.

“It’s a piece of art that doesn’t scream your logo on it,” Luxenberg says. “Each phone belonged to someone and tells a story. How many phone calls did they make? Who did they call? You can feel that history.”