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More light!
Color and light
There’s only color and light
Yellow and white
Just blue and yellow and white
Look at the air, miss
See what I mean?
No, look over there, miss
That’s done with green…
Conjoined with orange…
~ Sunday In The Park With George – Stephen Sondheim

A trick of the light adds depth and vibrancy, and soul to art.  And when applied to architectural drawings, it can help us to envision inhabiting that space. Nikita Busyak has done precisely this.  He has allowed us to imagine what it would be like to come home to these spaces by engaging our senses with light.  Nikita digitally adds light and shadow to his sketches by photographing his works in dim light and then adding the warm glow to the windows, making us feel like there is activity happening inside the home.  With light, he has created a sense of intimacy that is not found in architectural drawings—what a fantastic way to help us feel like we belong in these spaces.

Here are some examples of his work:

*Photo Source – My Modern Met

I don’t know anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.
~ Vincent Van Gogh

This week (April 5-12th) is International Dark Sky Week. A week dedicated to celebrating the new moon in April.  A week to encourage us to turn off our lights and enjoy the beauty of the night sky.  It arrives in between Earth Hour and Earth Day.  The night sky has given inspiration to many: artists, scientists, writers, photographers, cartographers, philosophers, and lovers, just to name a few.

Here are ten ways that you can participate in this week long celebration:

1. Stargaze. Look for the Leo constellation – if you head over to Globe At Night, they outline exactly how to find this constellation.  Leo is this month’s profiled constellation. They will help you navigate your way from the familiar (the big dipper) to the less explored areas of the sky.
2. Put on your mask and go outside at night.  Go to a clearing or a viewpoint and look up.  If you can get away from the city, all the better.  Be safe and aware. Then report back here and tell me what you saw in the stars.  Did you see your future or an ancient history?
3. Visit a National Park.  Here is a guide to help you find one close to you. Or visit an International Dark Sky Place.
4. Read some science fiction.  One of my favourites is The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.  But there are loads and loads of spectacular books out there, and many of them discuss our skies and what could be lurking out there.  Its worth delving into.
5. Turn off the porch light.  Install led lights, motion dectors, timers and controls. Need a solution – contact one of our salespeople.
6. Watch the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Russia on Friday (April 9th).  You can view it live on NASA TV.
7. Show us what your night looks like. Take a walk at night with your camera.  Photograph the sky, the streets, and whatever else you come across. Share them with the world. Tag us on instagram.
8. Check out some astronomy apps to help you navigate the portion of dark sky that lives over your neighbourhood.  Two great ones (and there are many others out there) are Starwalk and Skylive.
9. Listen to the sound of a nebula with the space data sonification project.
10. Visit your local science museum.

Without the night sky, we would not have been able to navigate the world, walked on the moon, learned of our expanding universe (watched the X-Files), or discovered that humans are made of stardust (indeed we are all made of stars). We can all do our part to get our starry night skies back. The first step is to acknowledge that we need it.  The second step is to take action.  Let us help you with that action step.

 

 

Take a lesson from a plant – be kind.

 

This is our time to be kind, be calm, and be safe* ~ Dr. Bonnie Henry

If you live in a specific part of Canada, you see and hear these words everywhere.  It’s an excellent way for the government to say “mellow out.” These words are heard on daily news updates, seen on signage, t-shirts, posters; they are everywhere.  It’s one thing to be kind and tolerant of others, I think we all learned how to do that in pre-school, but it’s an entirely different kind of animal to be kind to yourself.

To be kind is an action. You have to do something.

Here are some ideas on how to be kind to ourselves.

• Set aside some time to do something you love.  Paint, practice piano, read, write, hike, cook. Do whatever you love to do (try to pick an activity that doesn’t involve screens).
• Forgive yourself. Look, we all mess up. We wouldn’t be human if we were perfect.  If you need to apologize to someone – do that. And then forgive yourself.  Once you forgive and move on, you will be able to sleep (and to sleep is to be kind to yourself).  I promise you.  Being scared and exhausted is just not worth it. Say to yourself that you messed up, think about the situation from a loving standpoint, and then learn the lesson.  It can be that easy.
• Reward yourself for getting stuff done.  I got all of my homework done yesterday (ahead of schedule), and I rewarded myself with a banana sticker.  It made me happy.  When was the last time you got a sticker – was it in the 4th grade?  If so, it’s time to earn another.
• Tell the judgemental voice in your head to shove it, and let your booster club do their thing.  If you aren’t familiar with the inner booster club, these are the encouraging voices in your head; they are loud and supportive and will cheer you on when you need them.  They are the motivators, and they are good at telling our egos to chill out and have some fun.
• Pretend you are a plant. Make sure you get enough light, fresh air, water, and nutrients every day. Try to talk to at least one person a day. Actively listen to that person. Plants are beautiful listeners. Be like a plant.
• Keep track of what you are good at.  Who cares if you can’t do a layup or colour within the lines. It’s what you can do that matters.  Make a list of what you can do – look at it, and add to it often.
• Start using the adverb yet. As in, “I can’t get this sentence to make sense – yet.”  Eventually, it will all come together.  The “yet” is potential.
• Mantras – use them.  I will share mine with you.  “Believe in yourself, O wondrous one.” Claim it as your own.
• Plan. Do you have a dream?  What’s stopping you from achieving it? Make the dream a reality.
• Treat yourself like you treat your best friend.
• Allow yourself to be who you are supposed to be. The world doesn’t want you to be exactly like your boss or your neighbour.  The only people who think they want that would be your boss and your neighbour.  And that is just not a good idea.

Now that you have some tips on being kind to yourself,  you can do things to your space that could make life a little more kind. Mosey on over to our youtube channel and learn how to make your lighting a little more mellow.

*This is the first post in a 3 part series – you can read more about the chill-out “mandate” to help you thrive during the rest of the pandemic in the coming months, as we are getting a bit tired of all this stuff.

** Photo Source – Pinterest – The Anthurium (the flower of kindness)

Today (March 8th), we celebrate the women in our lives.  We at LSW Lighting could not be more proud to have such capable, interesting, intelligent, empathetic, strong, and open-minded women on our team.  I want to highlight just some of the attributes that these women bring to our day.

• Our office is efficiently run.
• Social issues have heightened importance.
• They are flexible in their thinking and doing, and it’s rubbing off on us.
• Our business has more of a creative edge (have you seen our videos?)
• They build valuable relationships – even when face-to-face encounters have become a thing of the (perhaps temporary) past.
•  A more empathetic organization was born out of these women sharing their visions, experiences, and knowledge.
• These women are multi-layered thinkers and can make connections that others may have missed.

The women in and outside our office (as we work with many remarkable women in the industry) give us a different perspective. And when allowed to share their unique experiences, needs, stories, and lives, significant change happens. We look forward to learning more from these women as they have much to teach us.  They challenge us to do better.

#ChooseToChallenge

*Photo Souce – Pinterest

Lightfair has launched a new blog this year, and it’s got some excellent content. Besides the usual fare like why you should go to lightfair this year, there is a series of articles about diversity, inclusion, and representation in the lighting industry, and why it should be encouraged.

A quote by Peter A. Hugh, the committee chair of IES DEIR, perfectly sums up why diversity is essential.

I will take the person with a wicked work ethic and life experiences that relate to the everyman whom we do most of our lighting work for. I can teach calculations. I cannot teach empathy, imagination, or vision. These are ideals and skills regardless of color, sex, or nationality that benefit this industry and can take us much further than we are now.

Bringing in people with different backgrounds (economic, cultural, ethnic) helps your company/industry grow. You will see things in a way that you have never dreamed of, just by having a conversation with a person who has had a different experience.

The talk of belonging, ownership, passion, and being authentic is needed in business today.  And I applaud Lightfair for highlighting diversity in this time.  And the message of being bold in your work -let’s sing about this.  In the interview with Tanya Hernandez, PE, LC, she states,

Be bold in your decision making and don’t change who you are. I firmly believe there is not only room at the table for your authentic self, but a need for it.

YES!!!!  We agree Tanya!

Congratulations, Lightfair, on the work you are doing (and on the new blog).