Brighton man's invention lands him in Time Magazine

Evan Sasiela, Livingston Daily
·2 min read

BRIGHTON — Brian Groves, of Brighton, just needed to replace a lightbulb on his chandelier.

But his persistence in doing so helped him create a nationally recognized product now available for purchase.

Groves is the inventor of the Chandelier Swan. The invention allows users to change candelabra-style lightbulbs with a specialized pole and gripper. It's available for purchase on Amazon.

Groves said he’s “solved a problem that's been around since the Model T was new and Teddy Roosevelt was in office” — changing an upward-facing lightbulb in a chandelier that’s out of reach.

The product was featured on Time Magazine’s list of "The Best Inventions of 2023."

Brian Groves, of Brighton, is the inventor of the Chandelier Swan.
Brian Groves, of Brighton, is the inventor of the Chandelier Swan.

"The idea of being alongside essentially teams of engineers from Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, NASA ... these are all teams of engineers and I’m just a one-off guy. It’s the thrill of a lifetime to be named to something like that,” Groves told The Daily.

Groves spent years testing his invention, an idea spurred in 2015. He became frustrated, put it down, thought about it again — creating a cycle of repetition. He primarily used 3-D printing to create the product.

“After about six years, I finally had a version I was happy with — it was as close to 100% as I could get,” Groves said.

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The Chandelier Swan became available on Amazon in March 2022. It fits inside small shades and works with several candelabra lightbulbs, according to the product website.

The product requires a 3/4-foot extension pole that's not included, according to Amazon. It doesn't work on standard round lightbulbs, but Groves said there are plans to include them. The Chandelier Swan also doesn't work from directly below reaching straight upward.

For more information, including steps on how to use the Swan, visit chandelierswan.com.

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton man's invention lands him in Time Magazine