Hi Everybody,
I’ve noticed that there’s been a lot of tweeting recently about my installation at the upcoming World Market Center (Las Vegas) at the end of the month. Any of you who heard the recent podcast (see last blog) got a bit of a preview of what we’re doing there. I know that I will probably run into many in the biz whom I’ve been tweeting with recently. If you see me in the halls, please say hello. While many of you know what I look like, I many not recognize you from your postage-stamp-sized twitter avatar. So please, please do not be offended if you don’t immediately register on contact.
The installation we’re doing (at the request of the Mart) is for specialty light stores who often have a hard time connecting with their consumer. Anyone who’s ever been to a conventional lighting store knows that it’s often floor to ceiling ‘fixture-overload.’ As a matter of fact it’s an outlet that many consumers say builds more anxiety then even being at Home Depot on a weekend – LOL.
In struggling economic times these retailers need a way to connect with their audience—not by offering more product, but by placing edited product into a context that will inspire a new consumer rather than confuse them. Teaming with the accessory and furniture venues, we want to show lighting retailers that simple display and use of color will help them make that consumer connection – and that the new visual aid tools that we encourage can become brand extensions for sale to boost their bottom-line too.
However, when sales are down, money to overhaul a space-challenged showroom is simply out of the question. So our job is to show these (often Mom & Pop) retailers how to create pre-coordinated displays using primarily what they ALREADY have on a very tight budget.
I will confess, when my team first heard about designing a lighting showroom, we got very excited and threw around a lot of futuristic ideas about what a showroom of the future could look like. But in the end we realized that our job was not to indulge ourselves, but to serve the local economically challenged retailer, who often have little ‘display’ expertise. So we too had to edit. Gone where the groovy ‘space odyssey’ concepts we’d imagined in favor of teaching basic merchandizing techniques that really could help these struggling merchants.
So, for those who might be expecting a typical Christopher Lowell no-holds-barred extravaganza, I just what to remind ‘non-lighting attendees’ that that’s not the point. It’s not a Rose Bowl float, it’s a hardworking tool for these folks to duplicate no matter what budget they have. But you’ll be surprised at what a little color, texture and accessorizing can do to really put the spotlight on the great lighting designs available today by editing and pre-coordinating into a more recognizable home décor context. It can really change the whole dynamic.
A final note: I’ve received many invitations from industry folk via Twitter. Currently my press obligations are filling up, changing everyday and still in the process of being finalized. So while I would truly love to attend some of these cool events and hang with my peeps, I simply do not know whether I’ll have the luxury to do so, but we will do the very best we can.
Later,
CL