Another Dallas market is in the books. For the first time as Lightovation, I have to say — what a great show. The new look and updated branding really took shape in the halls of the Trade Mart and World Trade Center, and although winter storm Jonas threw a lot of people for a loop (I hope all of you stranded East Coasters made it home in reasonable time), the things I will remember about this market don’t have all that much to do with the weather.
Several industry members who I seriously respect told me flat out that this was the best batch of introductions they’ve seen at a market in years — from innovativeness, to beautiful design, to delivering what is truly needed in the marketplace. We’ll cover many of the trends we saw in upcoming issues of Residential Lighting, but I’d like to share just a few that were notable: updated crystal looks, in fixtures and portables, giving the historically traditional material a modern update; “customizable” fixtures that can be adjusted and readjusted by the user after install; and larger pieces overall, especially bigger and longer sconces.
To document all of these amazing product intros, and to chronicle other market experiences, the new Lightovation app was the perfect tool, embraced by attendees and exhibitors alike. And, similar to the American Lighting Assn.’s 2015 Conference app, it acted as an entertaining communication forum, where Brian Creeley and Jack Fleischer once again battled it out for the top spot on the app Leaderboard.
Another Lightovation highlight was getting the chance to see our famed columnist Randall Whitehead in action. He delivered a presentation titled "Delicious Illumination," covering lighting design basics, product overviews and tips of the trade. Keep a look out for the on-site video we shot with Randall where he chose his top products from the show — it will surely be the best few minutes with lighting you've had in a while.
Wrapping up an awesomely busy market were the ARTS Awards on Friday night, Jan. 22, at the Hilton Anatole. Several worthy lighting showrooms were honored — Pace Lighting in the East/Atlantic, Hinsdale Lighting in the Midwest/Southwest and Accent Lighting in the West — as well as two deserving manufacturers — Holkoetter in the Portable Lamps category and Hubbardton Forge in the Fixtures categeory. Our 2015 Industry Leadership Award recipient, Richard Alan, was also named the winner of the Sales Rep, Midwest/Southwest category. His prop this time, although not as provocative as Ramen Noodles, was, in my opinion, the best yet — a copy of the November 2015 issue of Residential Lighting where his profile was featured.
If you missed the January market, or wish to relive it all, visit our Facebook page to check out all of the photos we took along the way. The next time I see many of you will be at June Lightovation, where we’ll be hosting our 7th Annual Showroom of the Year Awards in partnership with the Dallas Market Center. If you’re a showroom worthy of this title, or know one that is, visit www.SOTYAwards.com to enter or nominate by the Feb. 29 deadline.
Thanks for a great kickoff to 2016!
