That’s Brilliant!

What’s on Trend

Hear from the executive editor of Lighting magazine on what’s trending as we prepare to release the 2023 issue. Plus, she’ll share some expert insight with Raelle and Liz on the important role lighting and lighting showrooms play in home design.
Show notes
Samantha Hart is Executive Editor of the Home Design group for Better Homes and Gardens. In that role, she oversees the group’s high-end decorating titles, including Lighting, Country Home, Modern Farmhouse Style, Beautiful Kitchens & Baths, Dream Kitchens & Baths, Country French, Cottage Style, and more. She also manages the group’s storage & organizing, do-it-yourself, and holiday-focused titles. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Samantha joined Meredith Corporation (now Dotdash Meredith) in 2006. She lives with her husband and two daughters in the Des Moines area. 
 
Lighting magazine is made possible by the ALA Advertising & PR Program, which is supported by member funding. To learn more about this program and how you can get free copies of Lighting for your showroom, email Amy@ALALighting.com.
 
Go to the ALA Conference! 
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms. 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

What’s next for ALA?

Raelle and Liz sit down with ALA’s new President and CEO to find out his plans for ALA.
Show notes
Larry Lauck was just named American Lighting Association’s new president and chief executive officer. He talks to Raelle and Liz about what will change, and what will stay the same as he develops the ALA’s next five-year plan. Plus, learn how you can get more involved with ALA.
To see the full press release, visit ALAMembers.com.
With more than 27 years of experience working for ALA as a member of the association’s senior management, Larry most recently served as executive vice president.
During his tenure with ALA, Larry has consistently placed a focus on improving the association and taking strategic steps to enhance its programs and membership. He was responsible for spearheading the research and execution of the association’s training and education programs.
Prior to working for ALA, Larry managed affiliate public relations at HBO. He studied journalism and public relations at The University of Texas at Austin and holds his MBA with a focus on business strategy from Southern Methodist University.
Lauck will officially take over as President and CEO March 1, 2023. 
Go to the ALA Conference! 
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms. 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

LED Fixtures: Integrated or Socketed Light Source?

Do you want to use an led light bulb, or use a fixture with the LEDs built in? Raelle and Liz discuss the topic with Chris Primous, who wrote a paper on the subject.
 
Show notes
With over 24 years in product development, sales, and consulting with companies such as Acuity, Progress Lighting, MaxLite, and EPA/ENERGY STAR, Chris Primous has well-rounded industry experience. A 2018 ALA Pillar of the Industry award winner, Primous is the current VP of Business Development and Sales at LiteTrace where he provides software and sensors to manufacturers and building owners for smart commercial lighting controls.
To read the industry version of Chris’s whitepaper on this subject:
https://alamembers.com/Portals/1/Socketed%20vs%20Integrated%20LED%20Guidance%20ALA_1.pdf
A consumer version will come out soon.
Go to the ALA Conference! 
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms. 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

Tape Light 101: Selling Tape Light in Your Showroom

You don’t have to be an expert to offer your customers incredible tape light solutions, you just need to know who to ask. Dane Brock of Richard Alan & Associates walks Liz and Raelle through the key considerations when it comes to selling tape light. Plus, he offers some insightful ideas on how you can sell just about any product in your showroom if you have a strong industry network.
 
Show notes
Beginning in college, Dane realized that he had a passion for lighting when he was presented the opportunity to do lighting design and programming in the theater.  That love of lighting has only increased in the 16 years that he has been in the residential lighting industry.  Beginning with showroom sales, management and outside sales, Dane concentrated on technical lighting specification and training on LED usage within residential and commercial projects.  In 2015, he had the opportunity to join Richard Alan & Associates as a manufacturer's representative and in 2020 earned his Certified Lighting Manufacturer's Representative Certification with the American Lighting Association.
 
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms. 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

Black, Brown or Navy?

When was the last time you thought about the lighting in your closet? Today is the day! Jeff Dross (LightingByJeffery.com) will take us through the many considerations for this small space.
 
Show notes
Jeffrey R Dross has been involved in the residential lighting industry for over 45 years. He has engineered products, managed the development of different lighting types, educated the industry about lighting and its use, helped designers comprehend the power of lighting and designed lighting installation in a variety of residential spaces.
Visit his site for a great blog, and more about his design services.
 
Jeffrey talks about CRI.  Terry McGowan, ALA’s resident engineer, says:
Color Rendering Index is a measure of how well people or things look when lighted by a particular light source compared to how they look when lighted by incandescent bulbs.
The scale used for CRI is 0-100 where 100 is a perfect color match.
The higher the CRI; the better (more natural) people and things will look.
For residential lighting, use LED light sources with CRI ratings of 90 and above.
From a practical standpoint, most LEDs (even the ones with poor color rendering) usually have a CRI of 70 or more.
 
If you want to really geek out about CRI, you can do that, too.
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms.
 
Contest for folks who read the show notes: Be one of the first three respondents to give a coherent summary of CRI, and you’ll win a prize.  Mostly bragging rights, but also a little prize.  Enter at Podcast@ALALighting.com.
 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

Selling Smart

The market for smart lighting and controls is growing faster than ever. Learn how to step into this crowded arena and take advantage of this billion-dollar market opportunity. Tim Vislay, Director of Sales for Lighting Showrooms at Legrand, joins Raelle and Liz, providing tips for how to bring these products to your showroom and what we can expect to see as smart lighting and controls continue to evolve.  
 
Show notes
Tim began his lighting career in 1986, when he took a job with Lamps Plus as a sales associate. He ultimately became a store manager, managing several locations within Lamps Plus. In 1999 he moved to the Expo Design Center and spent 5 years as the Lighting manager as well as several other management positions in the store.
In 2004 he joined the Minka Group, first as a product manager, then became the sales manager for Minka Lavery in the Eastern Region.
After leaving Minka, Tim worked as a Western Region sales manager with WAC, and then the Director of Sales for Maxim Lighting.
After working as a sales manager for Minka Lavery, then WAC, then sales director for Maxim, in 2013 Tim was approached by Legrand to develop the Western Region in the showroom channel of distribution. In 2018 Tim became the Director of Sales responsible for the US and Canadian markets.
Terry McGowan, ALA’s resident engineer, says “ There are so many control offerings and options today.  It’s a wild market so that both consumers, as well as retailers, designers, reps and distributors are confused.  What should they be reading, for example?  [Note:  I follow Craig DiLouie who writes for the Lighting Controls Association. “
 
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms.
Contest for folks who read the show notes: Be one of the first three respondents to tell us when the cat meows in this episode, and we’ll send you a t-shirt when we get some printed.  Enter at Podcast@ALALighting.com.
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

The Sin of a Bad Lighting Layout

From under-budgeting to poor understanding of the value and importance of proper lighting in a home, we’re discussing what leads to bad lighting and how we can fix it. Hear from Peter Romaniello as he drops some creative solutions and bold ideas on how to better light any home.
 
Show notes
Peter Romaniello, IALD, founded his award-winning lighting design company, Conceptual Lighting, in 1998. He has designed lighting systems for more than 2,000 residences, along with many restaurants, retail spaces, health care facilities, and houses of worship. He has served as a regional vice president and member of the board of directors for the Illuminating Engineering Society. Peter has taught many seminars over the years for organizations including ALA, AIA, ASID, NKBA, and IES, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven and Fairfield University.
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms.
Send questions, comments & suggestions to Podcast@ALALighting.com.
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer

Why Your Voice Matters

Clark Linstone is an example to follow for finding ways to help your industry or your community. He sits down with Liz and Raelle to discuss ways to get involved in the industry and the importance of doing so. This episode is sponsored by HINKLEY and Kichler Lighting.  
 
Show Notes 
 
President and COO of Lamps Plus, Clark Linstone is well known across ALA and the lighting industry for his successful leadership and dedication to the betterment of the industry. Over the years, Clark has worked closely with ALA staff and committee member volunteers to support association efforts. He served on the ALA Board of Governors from 2009 to 2015, including as chairman in 2014. Some of his most notable impacts on the industry and ALA have been through his role in supporting ALA’s government engagement efforts. He currently serves as chair of the Government Engagement Committee. He has also served as chair of the ALA Political Action Committee, treasurer on the Board of Governors, chair of the Membership Campaign Committee, and is a member of the Electronic Technology Committee.  Clark has twice been honored as an ALA Pillar of the Industry (2000 and 2008) and received Residential Lighting’s Industry Leadership Award in 2013. 
Get Involved! See the full list of ALA Committees.
 
Clark mentioned circadian rhythms, which we covered in our first episode.
Join us at the ALA Conference September 11 – 13, 2022. See the full schedule of events, including Clark’s induction into the ALA Hall of Fame.
Visit ALAMembers.com for more information about the American Lighting Association and membership.
ALALighting.com has lighting tips and inspiration, and a listing of ALA-member showrooms.
Send questions, comments & suggestions to Podcast@ALALighting.com.
 
Raelle Bell – Host
Liz Ware – Host
Association Briefings - Producer