When I think of a brand launch, two emotions come to mind: excitement and anticipation. I’ve been experiencing both of them nonstop since October, and the time has finally come to show you what we’ve been cooking up for the last three months.
Our legacy titles, Residential Lighting and Home Fashion Forecast, served the lighting and home furnishings industries well for many, many years. But as we watched the evolution of the business, we decided it was time to make a change that mirrored what we were seeing, and being told, in the marketplace.
Increasingly, today’s stores are becoming multicategory to please the 21st-century consumer — many lighting showrooms are bringing decor into their product mix, and home furnishings retailers are continuing to diversify as well. Then there are interior designers, who have become an undoubtedly popular, extremely important segment of the home decor market — one that can’t be overlooked.
We chewed on all of this, and here is our solution: the beautiful, glossy 10x12-inch print magazine that you now see before you, plus an accompanying (and truly cutting-edge) website, as well as enewsletters, social media and more. A design-savvy, product-focused core, plus content curated with our retailers and designers in mind, make Lighting & Decor the solution we think the market is waiting for.
What can you expect in the first year?
Our product mix will run the gamut, from lighting to rugs to furniture to accessories.
In every issue, we’ll speak to retailers directly in Retail Guide; provide design inspiration in Design Notebook; highlight singular categories in our Product Galleries; and paint you a picture of whole-home trends with our Idea Boards, plus so much more.
Our website, www.lightinganddecormag.com, will be responsive and customizable, chock full of web-exclusive content and videos. Maybe the coolest thing? You’ll be able to create your own virtual Idea Board from products on our site. I know I’ll have one. Or five.
The whole Lighting & Decor team is excited to celebrate the launch of our brand at the Atlanta market, in partnership with AmericasMart Atlanta.
We’ll be kicking things off with a party on Wed., Jan. 11, from 4-6 p.m. in Bldg. 1, floor 5, B-1, 3 (the Lighting & Decor Lounge), followed by several days of networking opportunities and educational seminars. We’ll also be in Dallas and Las Vegas with copies of the debut issue ready to share.
In all honesty, I feel as though I’ve birthed a child with this brand. We are committed to giving our readers something that we truly felt was needed, and something that you told us was needed as well: vibrancy, freshness and a new approach.
You all continue to innovate, pushing your businesses and the industry forward, so it’s only fair we do the same.
You asked and we listened.
Welcome to Lighting & Decor.
