Page 44 - Lighting Magazine October 2018

MARIA VIOLA-KUTTRUFF (continued)
top left: For a kitchen with a double island, Viola-Ku ru supplied layers of lighting that can be exibly controlled for optimum illumination.
top right: This dining room Viola-Ku ru designed features a combination of light levels — from the centerpiece crystal xture over the table to the sconces anking the mirror on the wall, plus recessed lighting to ll in ambient light when natural daylight is not available.
installed in the home. “Lighting is a very personal thing. Sometimes it’s hard to grasp the scope of a xture — or have a sense of what the nish will look like in person,” she notes. “Designers and clients both need to understand the scale, quality, and ap- pearance of each xture before they place the order. While it’s not possible for a showroom to have every- thing on display, they’ll likely have something that has the same nish and close to the size and style. I want to be certain that there aren’t going to be any big surprises when the xtures we order are delivered and hung.”
wHy i Don’t buy DireCt
While Viola-Ku ru acknowledges that designers can sometimes increase their earnings by having direct accounts with manufacturers, it’s important to her to have the service and support a showroom o ers.
“My pro t margin would be a li le be er going direct because the manufacturers would give me a lower price,” Maria shares. “But the downside is that everything then falls on the designer’s shoulders if something goes wrong at any point in the process — or a erwards. If I’m only ordering a lamp or two, I’ll sometimes go direct. But when I’m out ing several
rooms or an entire house, I like being able to rely on the showroom to handle everything for me. They prepare the order and pricing for me to share with my client, which saves me a tremendous amount of time. Once the client approves it, the showroom pro- cesses my order and ensures that all the items are in stock with the manufacturers. They also stay on top of my orders and keep me informed from start to nish.
“I also like having the showroom as my partner for their technical expertise. If a xture involves more than just ipping a switch, I want them involved with the speci cations. I know that the showroom is going to be right there for me and my clients throughout the process — and for a er-the-sale support. It takes that worry o my shoulders.”
Viola-Ku ru says the newly renovated Bright Light showroom she partners with is se ing a new standard for the future direction of lighting show- rooms, and she appreciates the sta ’s friendliness when she brings clients in.
“Most of my clients are very high-end and expect a certain level of service,” she describes. “When they’re paying for a service or product, they expect to do business with a company that is a leader in its specialty and get the full a ention of people at those
40 enLIGHTenment Magazine | OctOber 2018
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the Designer-showroom BonD