I had a designer friend who loved guns and military pageantry. Admittedly, this is not your typical combination of profession and advocacy, but good design comes from many places and he delivered a lifetime of excellent, saleable designs.
One Monday morning, he arrived in the office with a pile of sketches and scraps of paper and quietly got to work. His weekend was spent at an antique armaments show and he became fascinated with the hand-tooling and fine engraving he found on the old firearms. For the next few months he used this inspiration in a wide variety of designs. “See this element, it’s based on a gunstock pattern I saw at the arms show.”
I thought of my late friend while visiting the Ruth Asawa show at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York last November. I became aware of Ms. Asawa’s work a few years back at a Museum of Art & Design (MAD) exhibit. I was so intrigued by her single piece in the show, I photographed the museum label. When I learned MOMA would be doing a life retrospective, I could not wait. I was more than amazed at her vision, but also by her prolific and varied output.
The most larcenous takeaway from the Asawa show for a lighting product person is her collection of crocheted wire, hanging forms. Through their creation, Asawa was trying to explore density, form continuity and lines. The idea was born from her teaching art to tribal Indian youth. When not teaching, she spent time with the village women who were master basket weavers. The technique so interested her that she asked one of the women to teach her and she took that skill and wrapped a substantial portion of her creative career around it.
These forms would make wonderful luminaire products. Some shapes are perfect shades, others lend themselves to floor lamp and torchiere bases. The transparency lends themselves to tiny LED and the airiness would allow them to disappear into a designed space and make a statement, all at the same time. They are remarkable.
While walking down Lexington Avenue ten or twelve years ago, I passed a gallery displaying the artwork of a Japanese artist. I couldn’t stop staring. I took a quick photo and went about my trendspotting. The whole day and into the next week, I could not get this idea out of my head. For the next year I began digging the essence of the idea out of my head and into reality. Once I figured out how I could realize the idea, I began making pieces.
If I showed you the Japanese art and what I have been making, you might not make the connection. We are miles away. Nonetheless, without the initial jolt of inspiration, I might not have created these pieces. The same goes for almost every creative person I know. An idea, regardless of how far afield, can shock the system, but you never know in which way.
Why do I frequent art museums? For multiple reasons, but one is without question. You never know what piece or what artist will light a fire that could take multiple years to contain.
Last year I read the engaging biography, “Kiki Man Ray” by Mark Braude, a book about Kiki de Montparnesse, companion and muse to artists Man Ray. While in New York this fall I had the opportunity to view the mesmerizing new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Man Ray: When Objects Dream.” In both the book and the exhibit literature, it was explained that Man Ray came to photography almost by accident. He originally went to Paris to further his painting career, but realized his passion upon discovering the wonders of photography and what could be done beyond conventional “picture taking.”
As many of you know, I studied architecture, with hopes of a career in design and building, but a part time job in lighting tore me away. The evolving industry kept me engaged for over 50 years. Over the years I have met many people who, like Man Ray and me, did not follow an expected path, but still enjoyed a rewarding career.
My old boss, while studying at Carnegie Tech helped sculptor, David Smith prepare some of his work. Whenever we visited the Cleveland Museum of Art, he was drawn to the brutal welded piece (Pilgrim) featured in the center of the contemporary gallery, at the time. While he was an excellent lighting designer, I think some portion of him secretly wanted to weld steel artwork. Another talented lighting designer really wanted to do toy designs. I’ve met accountants who wanted to create video games, marketing people who hoped for a life in comedy and sales people who really wanted to create musical theater.
It is easy to discount this in two ways. Many people say you should only follow your dreams, otherwise you will be unsatisfied. Others feel the fantasy job is a pipe dream. The real world tells us there is limited room in multiple professions. Part of growing up is buckling down and taking the work that is available. I like to consider an alternative to those ideas.
I don’t know if I would have been a good architect, but I was pretty good in my lighting career. I think there are many people, probably all the people I mentioned above and many of my friends who could succeed in almost any career, within reason. An acquaintance from high school became a bus driver. I do not think I could have survived that job choice and he probably wouldn’t have excelled in lighting. Within reason, we might all be suited for multiple avenues of employment. Some will be interesting, others a bit more boilerplate, but there can be lots of ways to earn a living.
I used to joke, no child pines for a career as a “lighting person.” Doctor, fireman, baseball player, sure, but the talented people I have encountered in my life as a lighting person have made significant contributions to the industry. They have earned the friendship of scores of people and have aided in the profitability of the folks who owned the company, or the company they started. Within the slice of time we are allotted on this planet, should we ask for more?
My wife and I really don’t do anything special for the holidays. Beyond a few small decorations, we don’t transform the house like others. Over the years we have made a few concessions. One New Year’s day, we visited a swimming pool store that transforms into a Christmas Tree retailer for a couple of months each year. There we saw the anti-Christmas Tree of our dreams. It was all-white with all red ornaments and all red lights…and it was 75% off! Whenever we were so inclined, we’d set up the tree and as soon as we did, we’d remember why we avoided it the previous year. Our cat would gather up the cotton batting we used at the base to replicate snow. In the morning it would all be in a ball next to the exposed steel tree trunk. Dutifully, we’d reassemble it. Just as dutifully, she’d rearrange it each night. The lesson here is you NEVER win in a duel of persistence with a cat. Oh, some of the low-hanging ornaments would also be on the floor, just to make sure we knew who the boss was.
Eventually, it just stayed in the attic, until we moved this spring. The white tree had aged and yellowed after a decade and a half in storage. As we were downsizing this was an easy “toss.”
As I looked at the pile of white branches ready for the trash heap, I couldn’t envision tossing the strings of lights with hundreds of miniature red dots. I unbound all the strings from around the faux needles and put them in a bag. Surely, I can come up with a clever way to reuse them in the new home.
2025 has been a year of transition and lots of work. Restoring one house, selling a second, packing, moving and the hundreds of challenges all of this brings have plunked us down in December with no good idea and even less motivation. To be fair, we barely had a moment to think of one. So I sit here with a new/old house and another Christmas with no decorations. The chorus of snowmen are not set up because of an early snowfall. Coupled with that shelved bag of red lights, our home is decidedly non-festive, just like normal.
Here’s hoping you have a “normal” holiday season, whatever normal means to you and your people. Stay tuned for more tales of lighting in 2026.
As usual, lots of comments have been tossed around this week concerning the Pantone choice of “Cloud Dancer” white as the color of the year. Much has been political. In a country where white supremacy is on the rise, DEI hiring is decreasing and disproportionate amounts of Black and Brown people are being targeted by immigration enforcement agencies, it might be easy to assume we are in for an elevation of all things white. Citizens can no longer drift from the centerline path. Keep your eyes pointed forward. Blasé white classicist design and architecture are now mandated by the president and the federal government. No bold hues will be accepted.
I’m looking instead at the tone of the white selected by Pantone. From my observation, this is a cooler, greyer white. Definitely NOT on the warm side. I’m reading this as a push against the “beige-ification” of style.
If you’ve read my previous post on BDNY 2026, and a few other this years, I have been sharing my observation that beige is EVERYWHERE. Pantone’s color for 2025 was Mocha Mousse, a warm and embracing brown that felt completely at home in the beige world we have. By all accounts, Mocha Mousse was well received and heavily adopted across industries. Both beige and mocha are also well suited for the shift to brass/gold we are seeing in lighting. Cloud Dancer white is Pantone’s antidote from such dominance. I don’t think they want to see beige, “everything, everywhere, all at once.” There should be more variety. Endorsing an alternative is a good way to stir up change.
Why can’t my idea be right? I just read a very thoughtful piece by three highly regarded critics of fashion and they could not agree on the reason or impact of a greyish-white tone of white being named the most important color for the coming year. Why not the opinion of an old lighting guy who has tracked trends for forty years? I could be right.
After a year of home rehabilitation, I needed a creative rush to recharge. The house project was fun and exciting and fulfilling, but it was a consistent expenditure of energy. At some point, revitalization is necessary. A long weekend in New York was just what the doctor ordered. I caught the Man Ray exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ruth Asawa retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. (As they relate to lighting, those will be detailed in subsequent posts.) My love of theater was satiated most evenings (“Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York” is the show to see! Avoid “The Queen of Versailles” and only see “Waiting for Godot” if your absurdist/surrealist cap is securely in place.) I spent multiple hours visiting showrooms and galleries to explore current consumer products. While reading the New York Times a few days prior to leaving home, I came across an ad for Salon Art + Design at the Park Avenue Armory, so I checked out that show, along with the real reason for the trip, BDNY.
As you likely know, BDNY is geared toward the hospitality industry. That means, while there are many elements of design that demand note, the show floor is filled with functional products that don’t tell me much about consumers and their preferences. Room safes, suite number plaques and faux artwork are needed by hospitality operators, but tell me nothing. That said, I was drawn in by three companies offering a new twist on a pedestrian problem. IAP asked the question, “Can a garbage can be sexy?” Based on their booth, I’d say, yes. Stable Table provided a solution for every diner’s nightmare, a wobbly table, regardless of the ground material. Covers & All makes custom covers (surprise!) for everything you might need to shield from the elements. Sometimes, the most mundane things become interesting, especially to an outsider like me.
Overall, it is clear that the hospitality industry, like the residential business has fully embraced warm and cozy beige. Almost every booth used some variation from off-white to brown. As I have said before, when the interior industry adopts beige as a neutral and the enjoined brass metallic, it becomes a trend for the long haul. To augment that direction, the Bulthaup showroom in SOHO, typically a bastion of hard-edged kitchen simplicity displayed a waterfall countertop made of wood. This single element softened the room far more than I would have expected.
I don’t expect much movement on this trend for at least a decade. That being the case, how do we advance design within these parameters? I believe I saw some telltale signs at both shows and in the storefronts I visited.
At the Foscarini showroom in SOHO “Buds” were in bloom. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Buds uses a variety of shade shapes, but all are in subtle shades of off-white and cream. Honestly, I have been waiting for this shift. We have used white-white glass for a handful of years now, and with the preponderance of brass, the warmer glass just seemed inevitable. We are not, however going back to 2000. The new warm glass is much cleaner, much closer to white than the heavy umbers, ambers and gold of the past. I believe this will be the tone you should expect moving forward.
Also in SOHO the Roll & Hill showroom featured The Met Pendant, likewise using a warm beige glass. The difference a quarter-century makes is the shallowness of the diffuser, made possible by LED. At that time, we needed to enclose incandescent and even the much larger fluorescent lamping. That meant bowls were quite large. This slender profile defines the difference when trends reemerge and are not exactly the same.
That warmth is carried through with the products shown at United Alabaster a Spanish company dedicated to showcasing natural alabaster in lighting products. As this is natural stone, the level of warm veining can vary, but the overall softness is evident, especially in their Ozark product. The ring and ball design could read “cold” were it not for the earthy material.
A pleasant reason for attending shows is finding someone new. I never heard of J Adams & Co. This is a British manufacturer that has developed a beautiful collection of warm and comforting, but not traditional, products. I encourage you to check out the website. There is beautiful lighting here.
In my youth, I was barely proficient with a yoyo, but I do remember being amazed at the trick others could perform. Borrowing from this childhood toy, the YoYo Adjustable Pendant (think about the cradle yoyo trick) from Sonneman is fun and functional. Suspended from a narrow cable, the lighted unit height can be adjusted as needed.
Also seeking “the next diffuser” is Ochre. The window of their SOHO showroom was graced with Marea. Rather than using beige, they employed warm smoke variations on deep blown glass. Because of a slender disc of LED, the entire Murano diffuser became the focal point, uninterrupted by a pedestrian light bulb.
Always a fun visit is the Original BTC showroom. Their Titan pendants reuses a 1940s deep industrial metal shade and pushes the LED light source far up inside to create light with almost no glare. Many colors are available to soften the hard edges of what might be a harsh concept.
Salon Art + Design 2025 – Over-scaled chandelierSalon Art + Design 2025 – Metal pods with light source tucked insideSalon Art + Design 2025 – Porcelain draped over a glass diffuserSalon Art + Design 2025 – Light tucked inside pinched, polished slender vertical surfacesSalon Art + Design 2025 – Broken mirror pieces formed into a classic European chandelier shapeSalon Art + Design 2025 – Crocheted copper wire covered with sawdust and sapSalon Art + Design 2025 – Onyx pendant / In rear, cast bronze enclosing onyx segmentsSalon Art + Design 2025 – Fine, detailed feather and leaf vein patterns painted inside blown glass shapes
The lighting at Salon Art + Design clarifies what the future might hold. Salon speaks to a very high-end client where functional product can and should also be art pieces. Museum finishes and statement pieces are their milieu. In almost every room setting/booth display, the lighting was over scale and heavily artistic. Its function as a light source was secondary. That was of course supplied by the surrounding, largely hidden, functional lighting. As we move to a world with fewer decorative luminaires, those that are used will have more meaning aesthetically. An early detection, provided by this boutique event should harken to us the likely direction of products for the future.
SOHO 2025 – Flos – SuperWire T portable lamp
One last comment about the new lighting I saw at the show and throughout New York. The Flos showroom featured their new design, SuperWire T that upends almost everything I’ve said heretofore. The table lamp features a shade (sort of) but the illumination is provided by the column. The torchiere is simply an illuminated column, the LED tubes running in tandem to the hexagon shape. It is important to remember, contemporary still has a place, as it has always.
Like most of the comments included here, you see the crucial element played by integrated LED. We are getting farther and farther away from a “light bulb” and that is a good thing. Designers are figuring out how to control glare by placing the light source correctly. Integrated LED is allowing forms to be realized in new ways. For a few years now, there has been this “argument” about retrofit vs integrated LED. I’ve always said that integrated would eventually win. As it becomes a mature technology and consumers become more accepting of the concept, we are seeing the integrate approach rise. Sure, there will still be retrofit options, but I expect that direction to lessen each year.
What About the World Outside of Lighting?
BDNY – Tomorrowland – Morpho
The “nouveau” back of the Morpho chair by Tomorrowland was beautiful!
BDNY – Mirror Image – One of many shower door decorationsBDNY – Mirror Image – A collection of decorative metal panels for walls
There was lots to appreciate at the Mirror Image booth. The custom shower enclosures were nice, especially the graphics on the glass. In a hospitality situation, I could imagine a different image on every door in each room. It could be a fun conversation point that probably won’t translate to a residence, however. The simple hardware also fit the doors. In addition, they offered a collection of patina metal panels to be used as decorative wall coverings. I found these interesting. Not rated for inside a shower enclosure, it was simple a different option for walls.
How it works was explained to me at the show and I read the description again on their website and I’m still not certain how water is turned into fire, but, Aquafire fireplace inserts do just that. Light and scent can also be added in what appears to be a very safe way to employ open flames in living spaces. This seems like a very practical answer to the need for fire.
I loved the Adagio tiles at the Mutina booth. This is a modular installation that gives the finished appearance of an unbroken weave. This is one in a series of configurable sets of ceramic tile they offer. You can imagine a vine working its way through the installation. (Their website features a looped video detailing the installations.)
I usually see one rug booth that pulls me in, this year it was Warp & Weft. This was just a nice selection of rugs that met the current demand for warm and comfortable room accessories.
BDNY – Calico Wallpaper – Calm on a busy show floor
Similarly, there are scores of wallpaper manufacturers at the show and I usually am drawn to one or two. This year, the Calico Wallpaper booth was an island of calm in a calamitous sea of people and visuals.
BDNY – hush.Acoustics – Acoustic coverings in nicely muted colors and interesting patterns
It is interesting, over the last year, I have been hearing a lot about acoustic. I have even been asked about acoustic lighting options. No surprise then to find hush. Acoustics at a hospitality show. This Canadian company showed a number of interesting colors, textures and patterns all designed to promote a quieter building and atmosphere.
As a person who in a past life spent a fair amount of time working in a show booth, I always try and find interesting and unique ways companies define their product and brand. This year, multiple booths used a monochromatic approach to tell their individual story. Most people intuitively know chairs, wallpaper and outdoor umbrellas are available in multiple color options, but their respective booths displayed only blue and white umbrellas, only brown leather chairs and all green wallpaper on the walls. Rather than a cacophony of color, the booth appeared uniform and inviting. The tailored looks allows the visitor to see a more refined solution intuitively raising their view of the firm.
The Yuanzhicheng Home Textile Company sold and displayed fabrics and wall coverings with a decidedly Asian look. Some was very detailed. The main wall included an almost mural-like embroidered scene. The staff wore blazers using the same fabric and embroidery pattern.
I’ve always favored a uniformity of look, if it went beyond matching polo shirts. I also prefer a minimal installation to raise the impact. The point of a show, such as BDNY is to make acquaintances and raise visibility of the company. Selling happens later. (You can tell I’m not a salesman!) Clever tools such as these instill remembrance. It opens a door to a sales person to assist the prospective customer personally, with the details of their specific needs, later. The more intelligently a company uses their show booth and their people, the better they are situated to move to the second phase.
Do We Really Need Bejeweled Crocs?
SOHO – Simone Rocha – Crocs – coming to a thrift store near you…soon!
I was reminded of the fragility of trends and fads while walking through SOHO. In a previous report on New York trends, I mentioned the “hot” puffer jackets and a line of customers who waited in the rain to be allowed into the Moncler store, for the privilege of purchasing one. Fast forward to today and while the ropes and stanchions were at the ready on Prince Street, the humans weren’t. Around the corner in the Simone Rocha showroom window a pair of bauble encrusted Crocs caught passerby attention. While it is easy to imagine continued use for the warm puffer jackets, it is hard to see a long-term demand, beyond curiosity, for the bejeweled Croc rubber shoes. We want new things, but most of us want them to last at least a few moments longer than a fad. I believe the items I’ve highlighted here will last for a reasonable time. We all know, however that trends change. As we enter a rough economic period, we can be insured that trends will shift soon. Most of these should last. A few will be the gem embellished Croc available at discount in a closeout store near you.
Consumer Insight Now has released the results of their August 2025 consumer shopper’s survey. You may be aware of this because of the stats on lighting (22% of those surveyed plan on buying lamps and 11% planned on buying lighting fixtures in 2025.) As lighting people, this is of course interesting, but as I dig deeper into the data, I think there is additional information we can glean.
At some point in the past, I attended a window dressing conference in Baltimore. Honestly, it was very underwhelming, but flights to Baltimore were very inexpensive at the time and I did not know what I could learn there. It could have been a bonanza, like my first ICFF. While walking the convention hall, someone looked at my badge and said, “Lighting? What are you doing at a conference covering shades and drapes?”
I told the person that we are all in the house together. A home consists of furniture, wall coverings, plumbing, appliances, floor covering, window dressing and lighting. If we hope to deliver a product that blends effortlessly with all of the other things a consumer purchases, we need to understand them just as deeply as we embrace our own product categories. Hence, the reason I’ve dug into this survey. Following are a few observations on in-store vs. online preference I’ve pulled from this report.
On average, 70% of the surveyed consumers prefer to shop in a store, with 30% favoring online purchases. If you look at the reason for the preference, it is almost a yin for yang relationship.
Store shoppers want sales associates assistance, online shoppers feel salespeople pressure them
Prices are lower online and higher at a retail location
Stores have a smaller selection, but include displays and use ideas. Online sellers have a wide selection, but include reviews and a full set of specifications not available in the store.
Intuitively, we know that the older the consumer, the more they rely on legacy purchasing habits, so Boomers are more inclined to shop in a brick and mortar location. Young Millennials still prefer a store, but by a substantially smaller margin. Here’s the interesting thing; that number is ticking up for Gen Z (ages 18-28 in 2025.) This could be a good thing for retailers, IF they know how to service that customer. Will we embrace this new customer, or alienate them?
Income has VERY little to do with preference of retailer vs. online. Customers earning less than $50K and over $100K have exactly the same preferences, with only a 3% uptick for those in-between.
Whether you like to shop for furniture, or you loath it, there is little difference in preference in stores vs. e-comm.
There is almost no difference in the retailer type if you want it now, or can wait months for delivery.
Across income, generational demographics and preference to retailer, people feel confident choosing furniture.
For those consumers who prefer a store, touch, feel, visualization, comfort and quality cannot be replaced with the perceived “risk” of purchasing online. A perceived higher-quality is also a factor for those who want to use a local retailer.
The survey also leaves us with improvements consumers would like to see to make in-store shopping easier.
Eliminate the pushy sales people
Clear and prominent pricing
Better access to “more information”
Better, enhanced technology
Why do people who shop online prefer that method?
No sales people
Prominent pricing
Lots of data and information
Visualization tools
Free shipping
Comparing these two lists, you again see the yin and yang, with one exception, shipping. I continue to be amazed at how popular “free shipping” has become. Since moving into our new home, we have paid plenty of money over and above the cost of a product in shipping costs from local retailers. Has anyone considered the opposite? Include the shipping in the cost and offer a reduction if the customer wants to pick it up? It could put them on equal footing with online retailers. Mark your store as a “Free Delivery” destination. No one knows why audiences inexplicably applauds when a theatrical chorus line kicks in unison, but they do. Join the chorus.
One last comparison is also of note. The survey revealed a four year progression of sales percentages according to categories. Between 2022 and 2025, MOST have inched toward a preference for online purchases, except sofas and only by a single percentage. In the reverse is lighting. In 2022 59% of lighting was purchased in a store, 41% online. In 2025 that ratio is 61% to 39%. A small, but perhaps meaningful shift. What could cause that? Statistical error? Consumer dissatisfaction? That is unclear, but it could be something on which to capitalize.
What to Do?
As with almost everything I write here, I try to interpolate any data I explore into a value for lighting. How do I improve my position with this information? Were I a retailer, I’d look at the four previously mentioned yin-yang bullet points. If you have a storefront, learn how your salespeople interact with customers, determine how you might provide better pricing visibility, and be ready with added data if a consumer shows interest. (Perhaps a QR Code be placed on a product to direct the visitor to more information.) Finally, how can a brick and mortar lighting store introduce more technology to help the consumer better visualize their future purchase. If you are an online retailer, why are purchases slowing? Is the need to “touch and feel,” like the sofa channel, so clear that a reverse is inevitable?
As of today, the Gen Z demographic is still up for grabs. They still remain a sliver of influence in the home retail space, but they should not be ignored. They will be an important factor in the next decade. It is time to cultivate them now.
Surveys and data can contain interesting visions and helpful tips. Ignoring information from related industries is typically a mistake. To better understand your business, learn from as many sources as possible.
How often do we think about bedding? I believe I read somewhere that most people need (or should) visit a bedding store every seven years, that being the viable life expectancy of a typical spring & fabric mattress. Interestingly, that same seven years is the average span of time most people visit a lighting store. A recent article in Bedding News Now pointed out that there is more commonality than consumer visit frequency.
The article written by Texas Mattress owner, Lawrence Heilers, detailed how smart mattress showroom layouts can elevate the store and increase the customer satisfaction and ease of shopping.
“When mattresses are placed too close together, the display can feel cluttered and overwhelming. The customer’s eye is drawn to the sheer number of options rather than the unique qualities of each product. However, when you provide ample space, each mattress becomes its own focal point.”
Now, remove the word mattress in this article’s paragraph above and replace it with lighting fixture. Mattress showrooms apparently have the same problem as lighting showrooms.
Over the years I have visited hundreds of lighting showrooms across America and 90%, perhaps even 95% are too crowded, packed wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling with products.
“…when you provide ample space, each mattress becomes its own focal point This simple change subtly tells the customer that each bed is a distinct, high-quality item worthy of individual attention.”
Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we want customers to see the unique character of the product we sell? Allowing the consumer to envision the luminaire in their personal space is the best way to secure a sale.
Years ago, I was a guest speaker for the grand owning of a newly remodeled showroom. The place took my breath away. It was the most perfectly designed showroom I had seen in my career. The invited designers and architects were likewise mesmerized. Finally, a showroom that understood what was needed to help the client.
Two years later, I was asked to provide an educational program for the local NKBA chapter, hosted by the same showroom. What I saw was Mr. Hyde. Product was stuffed everywhere. Aisles were cluttered with boxes to support a “truckload sale of ceiling fans!” Traditional crystal was mixed with Mid-Century pendants. It was a mess and it was a shame.
On one of my first trips, to a reportedly, “good customer” showroom, I saw displayed products from a company that, at the time, had been out of business for 30 years! (In their defense, it was marked down 40%.) I asked the local sales rep for an explanation. He told me, “The owner is in love with his inventory.” Apparently, he’d rather clog up ceiling space with a quarter century old item then toss it away as a business loss, which consequently prevents the display of a more saleable items. Is this a viable use of showroom space?
Last example. After a fire, a popular showroom rebuilt, but instead of the typical slats displays, installed individual outlet boxes, thereby creating a finite quantity of display options for the showroom. Their grand re-opening was met with praise from the industry. Subsequent visits a decade later and again, almost two decades afterwards presents the same satisfactory reaction. It never looks cluttered, it is easy to imagine the pieces in your home. The showroom is a joy to visit. Shopping is effortless and pleasant.
(Sorry, no showroom names will be shared, but I will be happy to share the name of the retailer who does it correctly, if you ask me!)
Displaying lighting is more difficult than a lot of retail industries, but we are not alone. Window treatments need lots of walls and must be equally challenging. Flooring needs lots of floor space and must surely be overwhelming. Furniture can’t be stacked on racks or selected from behind a glass cabinet. Despite their dissimilarities, one thing is clear, to help in the selection process, customers need retailers to step out of their own heads, take off their industry hats and imagine themselves buying a new mattress.
I had to chuckle as I read an article in the September 2025 issue of LD+A about the importance of freehand sketching. (Drawn to Life by Cristobal Correa and John Slone) https://www.ies.org/lda/drawn-to-life/ If I had any success in lighting it occurred in the twelve years I spent traveling to China to help the manufacturing facilities build the products the company wanted and consumers expected.
The scenario was essentially the same in every visit. I sat at a table with our translator. On the “opposite side” one or two people from the factory spoke English. Most did not. I had to communicate what I wanted and what we expected via translation. I quickly realized the easiest way to get what I wanted was a sketch. I sketched various ways to solve issues that caused interruptions or impasses in our conversation.
Since the 1980s, I’ve been writing with a fountain pen. These trips were no different. On an early trip to The Philippines, I found a great Waterman blue pen with a classic 24K gold nib at a local shop. Waterman pens are wonderful to use and tough as nail. The pen gallery was offering this one on sale at quite a bargain. I couldn’t resist. With fountain pens, that is a common problem I have. I can’t resist a purchase.
I began to travel with this pen on all my subsequent trips to Asia. Upon departure, I’d grab three legal pads of white lines paper, my trusty Waterman and a pile of cartridge refills. Only the pen returned. I later learned, our staff and the factory folks used to joke (in Mandarin, Shanghainese and Cantonese) “Bring out the blue pen!” Years after their creation, factories would retrieve a ratty, wrinkled sketch I created, some time ago containing a solution I arrived upon, in the moment and on the fly. To be honest, these almost always were collaborative efforts and some problems helped competitors as well.
After I exited the Engineering Department to manage product lines and eventually help in the education of lighting use, newer, younger engineers didn’t/couldn’t sketch, instead relying on CAD snippets and words. The beauty of a sketch is it contains NO WORDS. I could “talk” to the factory engineer, who spoke no English and we understood each other completely because often, he’d grab the paper and pencil-in a counter-sketch. Two or three sheets of white lined legal paper later, we had a solution.
The LD+A article discusses the limitations that computer-based “sketch” programs deliver, compared with the freedom of a clean sheet of white lined legal paper. Like Apple’s insistence on changing words in a text message, the predefined program digitally pushes back against the sketchers intent, making it more difficult than necessary. A pen or pencil is easy.
A lot of people can’t sketch. Even some talented, artistic people do not sketch well. I believe sketching should be considered a treasured gift. The most successful people I knew, who interacted with personnel in another country were blessed with the skill of sketching.
I’m the last person to discount the importance of technology. What can be done today with a computer, as opposed to a pencil “T” Square and Triangle is astounding. In a collaborative manufacturing setting, the real results are often found in conversation between the designer, engineer and manufacturing management. More often than not, that battle takes place over sheet of sketch paper.
I receive email blasts from “The Architect’s Newsletter” every day. It keeps me informed of the many things happening in an industry I thought would be my life’s work. (I studied architecture and thought I would become an architect. Lighting somehow snagged me at an early age.) I also read and scan a number of subscribed emails covering houseware, design, hospitality, interiors, kitchens & baths, furniture and a few I’m not recalling right now. While consuming this information I often run across new things that could impact lighting. Here are a few items that might help you, as you think about the future of lighting.
Soli
A Mexican industrial designer has created a landscape light that is powered by soil. Milú Brunell found when insects, fungi and microorganisms/microbes break down the organic compounds in soil, they release electrons. Those electrons can be captured and converted to small electric currents. The result of her study is Soli, a prototype landscape light.
In one of the articles I read about this product, they mentioned that this idea followed in the line of a lamp, powered by photosynthesis and a server powered by tomato plants. By her own admission, the lumen output of Soli is low, as I suspect the photosynthesis lamp is as well, but remember, LED started with that dot of light on our stereo receiver in the 1970s. (If you’re young, ask your parents or grandparents to explain!) We all know what has happened since.
Powered by Sweat
I’m not talking about hitting the gym real hard. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst are harnessing sweat for the creation of electricity. They have developed a biofilm (think of a high-tech Band-Aid) that makes use of the moisture we all have on our skin. With the use of a bacteria, it converts the moisture vapor (evaporation) into electric. They see the most viable use as a method for powering wearables. Imagine if iPhones, watches or fitness monitors did not need a battery. Consider all of the healthcare monitoring equipment. All could be considerably smaller. As we grow more and more dependent upon our mobile devices, powering our home automation with sweat could be just a few steps away.
COB Building
Far from new, COB building is undergoing a resurrection lately. COB is a mixture of clay soil, sand, water and typically straw. (Think of adobe construction.) The walls of a home are “built-up”, very thick and typically get a bit narrower as they reach the top. COB building dates back to the 1600s, perhaps farther, but have had very little use until recently.
With newfound interest in a more sustainable building world, COB is getting a second look. While the current methods of use are more expensive to construct, the end result is fire-proof, termite-proof and like adobe construction, the thick walls can be better insulators than stud-fiberglass construction.
COB is also being reconsidered now because of the high cost of building materials, especially in our new reality of tariff uncertainty and sustainability demands. It is unlikely to replace current construction techniques in mass market installations, but could become a niche player that we will need to illuminate. It is time to begin asking ourselves how.
LEDs, All Day, Every Day, Everywhere?
There was a time when I thought different light sources would start to peel away layers of the LED onion. I didn’t think we would use LED for EVERYTHING. I appear to have been wrong on that account. OLED seemed so natural for office troffer lighting, backlighting and illuminated displays. LEP (Light Emitting Plasma) were so powerful that stadium lighting, large exterior parking lot lighting and shipping docks sounded like the perfect fit. Automobiles had adopted Laser lighting and it was featured on a few production cars, mostly German imports.
OLEDs, while still out there seem to have stalled in elevated development. I haven’t heard anything about LEPs in at least five years and now I read in the “Lighting Now” blog that BMW and Audi have halted laser development, essentially because of the more cost effective LED options.
Why did that occur? Is Donald Trump right to pull federal research grant dollars from universities because, at a certain point, it is self-defeating? Was money that could have helped develop LEPs used for the mature LED industry? Once LED efficacy approached 90% of its expected efficiencies, should we have transferred those dollars to OLED research? Is it possible that LED is the perfect light source and no other competitor is even close to being strong enough to overtake them? I’m doubting that conclusion. We are now rethinking the AC/DC debate that was won over a century ago. It would be a shame to abandon options. I hope someone, some place continues to investigate these alternatives.
There are plenty of ideas that go nowhere. This could be a collection of a few more, or one might just breakout and become the next lithium battery. Like the “Butterfly Effect” a flap of the wings here might result in a seismic change in a whole industry. Paying attention to as many as possible can only help us as we continue to move into the future.
As a young guy, my group of friends loved to play the board game, Landslide. During the game, players collected electoral votes in order to win the US Presidency. (We were a VERY politically active bunch.) We cosplayed various politicians, discussed real political scenarios during the game and got so involved in the action, we managed to defeat the rules and were forced to add rule addendums to prevent us from blowing up the game. Since that time, I haven’t really played board games, so it was a quite a surprise when I read an article in the New York Times about the decimation of the current board game business thanks to Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
As I read the article, I was surprised to learn that the new board games are not big corporate endeavors. (Landslide was a Parker Brothers game, a large corporation also responsible for producing Monopoly.) Rather they are now smaller boutique businesses where the games are developed as limited-run titles for curated consumers. The reason tariffs are hitting them so hard is the same reason lighting is being blasted. Low volume.
From the outside, those not involved in lighting probably assume lighting is produced on an assembly line, much like a car or an air conditioner. Sure, some luminaires might have sales commensurate with the demands of automation, but the majority never reach that level. Low volume is typically supported by hand-built labor and that is where the reshoring argument falls apart.
In the game of Landslide there were player tokens, dice, a cardboard playing field and delegate/electorate cards. Easily produced in the US or almost anywhere. As explained in the article, the new games are much more complex with more tokens and accessory playing items, all of which require production skills not available in the United States. Those elements that can be replicated stateside, require volume, or the cost is prohibitive. These games, already pretty pricy, could rise 50% into the $80 to $300 range. That’s a lot of money for a couple of hours of comradery.
Almost everything I read in the article allowed me to harken back to family-owned lighting manufacturers and retailers. I know, many of the companies are now owned by corporations or investment groups, but volumes have nonetheless not altered much. For better or worse, decorative residential lighting is a low-volume business because it is a fashion business. The same problems that these board game producers are having are being experienced by lighting manufacturers.
The board game producers have started to back down on production. They have laid off employees and have determined they cannot produce a viably-priced game that the market will embrace. That is unfortunate. Games can bring a great amount of fun and memories to players. They are not, however, a necessity. Lighting is. We must have light. Light is a key feature of every home and its importance is growing as each new scientific study is released. We don’t have the option of stopping production. Consumers need and must buy lighting. Trump has left us with only one option, abandoned the new bejeweled, shiny boutique luminaires and go back to the lighting fixture version of glossy printed cardboard games.
Is everyone out there ready to play a game of Landslide with lighting?
Lighting by Jeffrey 