Retail Education
Home furnishings and lighting retailers face many challenges in this ever-changing economy. From new consumer expectations to online competition, today's retailers work hard to ensure their customers have access to on-trend products and great customer service. In this section, you'll find all things retailing — news, features, analysis and tools — needed to make your retail business a success.
Last Look With Violante & Rochford Interiors
Santa Fe-based designers Michael Violante and Paul Rochford share more than just a firm — they’re also married. For this patio, the duo, owners of Violante & Rochford Interiors, balanced beauty…
3 Things We Love About Our Showroom of the Year Finalists
Each year, the Showroom of the Year awards honor lighting showrooms across North America who demonstrate a strong commitment to excellence, customer service and their communities, and each year, the…
Light + Building Report: Design Recap
Our top five lighting trends from the bi-annual fair, held March 18-23 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Plant Life
Nui Studio
Mygdal Plantlights from Nui Studio not only light up the dark, they also bring…
Design Gone Digital
At the moment, Amazon cannot come through a computer screen and pierce a person’s ears, and for mainly that reason, Claire’s Inc., the teen and tween jewelry and accessories brand found in every…
3 Tips for Answering Q&As on Your Google My Business Page
Your lighting or home furnishings showroom has a solid Google My Business page with your address, hours of operation and phone number, and as long as that information doesn't change, your page…
Simple Secrets to Subject Line Success
Whether you’re in a boutique out East, a coastal showroom, or Midwest lighting gallery, even the most talented lighting and decor professionals struggle to write the right email subject line. Here,…
5 Designs for Contemporary Dining Rooms
It doesn’t take an out-of-body experience to know that life is best lived in the moment. Dwelling too much on the past prevents us from moving forward. Longing for the future can distract us from the…
How to Engage Your Customers' Senses to Create a Showroom Experience
It's always worth attending a seminar or two at a major market because you never know when the conversation might just turn. At ICFF this week during the Making, Marketing and Selling Design in a 24/…
Design Q&A: Relamp, The Printed Light Bulb
Over the last few years, the Edison bulb trend dominated at Lightovation and market centers across the country. So many companies from Hinkley to Stylecraft to Mitzi created fixtures designed to…
Millennial Men: An Emerging Market for Home Furnishings Retailers, Interior Designers
Spring is in full bloom, as is peak home-buying season. For the Millennial generation — defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 — the dark cloud of The Great Recession that hung over their heads…