FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY

The Fabric of Our Society editorial is a platform for industry thought leaders to provide experience-based opinions and reflections on various topics. Diverse perspectives are respected and most welcome. Want to contribute? Email [email protected]

December 2022

Building Community

Kelly Roberts, Studio Director, WALD Studio
President, Women in Lighting + Design

I’ve always felt lucky to be part of an industry that feels like a family. Coming from a small firm, the networking opportunities offered by the IES and other organizations provided a chance for connecting with peers, making friends, and learning from people across the industry. Learning not just about lighting, but about them, the people, and what makes them unique. How their past successes and tribulations, current experiences, and future goals shape their movements and interactions in the lighting community. Over the past few years, our industry has committed to celebrating the uniqueness and diversity within it. We have also begun to understand that our community must embrace various perspectives and care for our peers within, just as the industry considers its impact on the world outside. MORE >

November 2022

Relationships Underpin the Role of the Distributor

Glenn Buchholz
Senior Vice President, Chelsea Lighting

Because a good lighting distributor interfaces with all of the parties in a lighting project, from specifier to rep to manufacturer to contractor, we strive to have strong relationships with everyone involved. Ultimately, strong relationships and a thorough knowledge of roles and responsibilities helps meet the players’ needs to execute a successful commercial lighting project. Personal relationships really differentiate a distributor and allow us to fill the logistical gap between the lighting design and the completed installation. MORE >

October 2022

Equity in Lighting

Elaine Cook
Moxie Lighting, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Equity in Lighting

A lot has changed over the past 2 years. March 2020 brought us fear; fear for our health, our jobs, our personal safety. We clung to the known and shied away from the untested. But in time, we got bored of the monotony of sleep to work to Netflix to sleep. We began to dig. Dig into ourselves. Finding passions for cooking or fitness or inventing Rube Goldberg machines. Dancing in TikToks and connecting from a distance with others sheltering and mourning, across the street and across the world, to distract us from the isolation and uncertainty. MORE >

June 2022

LEDs and Public Interest

Bill Warren, PE, LC, FIES
Distinguished Service Award Recipient, Principal of Willard L. Warren Associates

Scientific research and engineering developments have provided us with remarkable increases in product efficiency, allowing us to upgrade our mechanical systems. Replacing incandescent and fluorescent light sources with LEDs have paid for themselves, and we're now looking at electric vehicles (EVs) as the latest new upgrading development to manage. But there's no agency or industry organization overseeing it in the public's interest. MORE >

May 2022

Considering the Lifecycle of the Luminaire

Jess Kaller

A wholesale shift will be required for the lighting industry to develop environmentally sustainable manufacturing practices, and then to further that effort to sustainable employment practices. Prioritizing people, then product, then money is critical, plus ensuring that manufacturers are financially stable and remain in the sector long term. There’s a sweet spot for market pricing that’s also competitive with legacy products, so that the use of sustainable products and practices can become the industry norm. I firmly believe that these changes are possible and am excited to be part of the industry as we navigate the shift to prioritizing sustainability. MORE >

March 2022

IESNYC Launches New Platform for Our
Newest Members to Engage

Zachary Pearson 
IESNYC Board Member
Lighting Designer, Fisher Marantz Stone

The IESNYC launches a new platform for our newest members to engage with in the IESNYC and the lighting community. IESNYC Next Generation has been formed to give Student Members and Emerging Professionals a place to get together for virtual events, creative activities, and networking opportunities.

IESNYC Next Generation will have a home on Discord, which will allow our members to take part in open chats and group discussions with peers. It will also be a place for virtual game nights, workshops, and presentations. Members can look forward to virtual and onsite project and installation tours given by lighting design teams, manufacturers, and others involved. It’s a great opportunity to gain insights into design and lighting strategies from the teams as well as network with them. MORE >

February 2022

Light Reach

Jenny Werbell
Lighting Designer, Essential Light Design Studio

Lighting designer Jenny Werbell, who joined the Light Reach Network in 2021 as Community Outreach volunteer, presented the initiative’s latest developments to the IESNYC board: “Light Reach is a game-changer for social action in our community” says Werbell, “It offers a clear path to scale-up the positive impact of lighting design worldwide and our industry’s philanthropic culture.” MORE >