Research shows Gen Y outnumbers Baby Boomers and Gen X – not only does this affect your store’s hiring choices, but the demographic of your end-consumer. By Susan Grisham They aren’t the wealthiest demographic, thanks to the staggering amount of debt they have amassed at a young age, but they are about to [...]
For Stephen Blackman, Blackjack Is a Sure Bet
by | June 6, 2013
Award-winning product designer Stephen Blackman launches his first-ever product line featuring OLED technology. enLIGHTenment Magazine: You have been creating sophisticated designs for lighting manufacturers for decades. What appeals to you most about emerging technology? Stephen Blackman: I like to work with the technology of the light source. That approach is more complicated than what some [...]
Buying Groups: Strength in Numbers
by | May 7, 2013
In a tight economy, many distributors find joining a marketing group to be beneficial to their bottom line. Lighting One, which is part of CCA Global Partners – one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S. with 12 distinct businesses, 2,700+ locations, and aggregated annual sales in the billions of dollars – [...]
Cutting Edge Casting: On the Cutting Edge
by | April 30, 2013
Diversification is the key to this New Jersey-based OEM business that services the lighting industry and is bringing back the Stiffel brand. It wasn’t all that long ago that lighting components as well as finished lamps, chandeliers, and furniture were made domestically. There were enough companies that a group of U.S.-made suppliers even had their [...]
Lighting One Continues to Move Forward in Full Force
by | April 29, 2013
Following 2012 with $380,000 distributed to members in growth incentives, reduced fees, and rebate checks, this year just may be this group’s strongest yet. Greg Garofalo LeAnn Day If you are in the lighting industry, chances are good that you’ve heard about the largest cooperative network of independent lighting retailers known as Lighting One, whose [...]
Hivo Van Teal: Living the American Dream
by | April 5, 2013
After fleeing Havana as a young man, Hivo Van Teal was able to unleash his artistic sensibilities and launch an award-winning lighting and accessories company. As a young boy in Cuba, Hivo G. Van Teal grew up yearning to be an architect. “Unfortunately, the Cuban Communist revolution in 1959 took over and destroyed [...]
Growing Up Van Teal
by | April 2, 2013
Hivo’s children share their memories and best advice they’ve received while working in the family business. “My father always told me that with my personal characteristics, I could – if I set my mind to it – do anything I chose,” reveals Eddy Van Teal. “This advice instilled in me a great sense of [...]
How to Light Artwork in the Home
by | March 3, 2013
The increasing respect for fine art as an investment means a responsibility for creating an environment in which art is beautifully illuminated without damage by light. Retailers, remodelers, and interior designers who are often asked to retrofit interiors may be inspired by two architectural firms – Jones Studio and Olson Kundig – that are recognized [...]
Leaders, Legends & Luminaries: Alan Colker
by | February 18, 2013
Magazine pays tribute to some of the most illustrious members of our industry. Category: Legend, Rep Alan Colker, Alco Lighting Sales Inc. The Early Days: My father opened an electrical supply house in Charleston, WV in the 1950s and my uncles also opened one in Huntington, West Virginia. I guess you could say I [...]
Leaders, Legends & Luminaries: Herman Lebersfeld
by | February 18, 2013
enLIGHTenment Magazine pays tribute to some of the most illustrious members of our industry. Category: Legend, Retailer Herman Lebersfeld, Capitol Lighting The Early Days: The real legend was my dad, Arthur Lebersfeld; he was the visionary. He believed in using all of the cubic feet of a lighting showroom space – not just [...]
