Check out episode 246 from March of 2022. Forest and Zach were on the verge of launching Parspec. Well now they’ve been at it for a year-and-a-half and it sounds like it’s going pretty well. With AI, customer feedback and a host of talented employees, Parspec is ready to provide you better access to data and to make your product search faster and easier. They’re dangerously good at this and they’re getting better and better. Forest Flager pursued a PhD and spent some time on the research and teaching team at Stanford University, followed by a stint at the technology driven off-site construction company Katerra, where he led the company’s software and design automation efforts. Forest founded Parspec Inc. in 2020 with the mission of simplifying the process of discovering and sourcing the best available construction products and materials. Zach Mix leads Sales and Business Development for Parspec. After spending the past decade working for lighting & electrical companies including Green Creative, WattStopper, & ElectroRep, Zach is energized by providing top-tier software technology to help lighting & electrical companies perform their best. When he’s not working, Zach switches to Dad-mode and enjoys time with his family. 

Mike Johnson and the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is here to define what “good” looks like in the world, as far as the built environment goes. ILFI has a Living Product Certification which requires independent scientific validation that a product has left the world in better condition than had it not been made - a net positive effect. And ILFI lists more than 50 products so far. Listen to this episode and get on board! Mike Johnson is a net positive visionary and sustainability professional, whose decades-long career path has led him from environmental restoration fieldwork and social entrepreneurship to corporate executive leadership. As Director of Materials at the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), he focuses on creating global-scale market transformation towards the manufacturing of goods that will build an equitable, healthy and regenerative future. Mike’s understanding of how commerce is a powerful force in the balance of planet, people and economy has enabled his sustainability initiatives to grow from start-up level to industry-recognized and leading edge in various organizations. He brings an ability to offer real world context and practical solutions to individuals and organizations seeking to create net positive benefits. He is a founding member of the Living Product 50, a frequent presenter in the AD&C and educational communities, a volunteer in sustainability groups, a full-time dog dad, and an advocate for wilderness. 

Something a little different on Get A Grip On Lighting. Frank brings us some fascinating episodes in history related to light, everything from the origins of the traffic light, to the invention of the Lite Brite toy. Did you know the first President to have electric lights in the White House was afraid to touch the switches? There is much more like this in Frank’s incredibly interesting blog, Radiant History (www.radianthistory.com). Frank has spent over 30 years in the lighting industry working for architectural lighting and specialty lighting manufacturers. He started in the business in 1992 with Litetronics. After 10 years with them he went to work for Ushio America helping run their architectural and entertainment lighting divisions for just under 18 years. In 2019 he started his own media marketing company called Red Mouse Media and has consulted with Plusrite and Naturaled ever since he started Red Mouse. This past summer Frank created Radiant History, a blog that explores the illuminating history of the lighting industry and takes readers on a captivating journey into our lighted world. 

Katherine and Carrie sat down with Michael and Greg at The Archlight Summit to dive into the history and future of color. You’ll learn some really fascinating facts about color. The word ‘blue” is not mentioned once in Homer’s “The Odyssey.” Did they see blue at the time? Or did they not know how to describe it? Before trade routes opened up, people in some parts of the world never saw certain colors. The Inuit have 18 different words for white. The Russian language has different names for light blue and dark blue. Tune into this one and geek out with us. Katherine Stekr brings a fresh and up-to-date perspective on the “light and health” debate, and is skilled at crafting lighting designs that weave architectural design goals in with moments of light that accent their environments. Her role is to ensure that the client receives a lighting design that suits their programmatic requirements and budget, while staying true to aesthetic considerations. She is inspired by stories that set the tone for building design, and strives to capture what is unique about the architecture and client when developing the lighting design. As the firm’s CEO and founder of the Boston branch of HLB, Carrie Hawley brings over 25 years of substantive experience in the world of architectural lighting design. She is a dynamic and passionate leader, an architect by training, and has a design sensibility that transcends standard design schemes. Her holistic approach blends the practical with the aesthetic to deliver innovative and project-specific design solutions. Carrie’s collaborative spirit and unrivaled expertise enable HLB to navigate challenging design interventions with diligence, skill and enthusiasm. 

Rachel and Jessica from Stantec dropped by to chat with Michael and Greg at the Archlight/NAILD Convention, to talk about the challenges of lighting in the work environment. Rachel and Jessica have to take into account efficiency, safety, mental health, circadian rhythm and the quality of the lighted environment. All that while working within the customer’s budget. Rachel Fitzgerald is a senior lighting designer with Stantec in Denver, Rachel has over 15 years of experience providing exterior and interior lighting designs for hospitality, mixed-use, retail, corporate, civic/government, religious, and recreation facilities. She is a leading expert on how lighting and daylighting drive health and wellbeing, such as her net zero energy designs for the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Research Support Facilities where the lighting was designed to support its occupants’ natural circadian rhythms. Jessica Smith, in her position at Stantec, defines and enhances spaces with electric light, providing ease of functionality to end users while mitigating energy use in buildings. Coming from an architectural engineering background and having previously worked as an electrical engineer, Jessica deeply understands the needs of other disciplines within the built environment—she strives for early and continual coordination on all projects. She loves working directly with clients to understand their goals for the space, to then develop designs that fulfills their needs while also meeting stringent energy code requirements. 

Special Episode! Another successful NAILD Convention has come and gone. Michael and Greg look back at the informative presentations from experts such as Bernie Erickson, Mark Jewell and Adam Lillien. If you weren’t there, you missed the Dallas Cowboys stadium private group tour, panel discussions, education, camaraderie, and the NAILD vibe. The dates for next year’s convention aren’t set yet, so keep an eye on www.naild.org and put a placeholder in your calendar for next September. 

LED’s do burn out. With presence in 16 cities, there’s a good chance Rob Jensen and Voss lighting will be able to help you out. Rob started at Voss in 1985 and in 2017, they made him President. Rob sees the first generation of LEDs burning out and, as he tells Michael and Greg, there is a LOT of fixture replacement business out there. Sidebar: Did you know that BR did not originally stand for Bulge Reflector. It originated from the manufacturer, the B…. well, you’ll have to listen to this episode to find out. Voss Lighting is a lighting, design and services focused company started in 1939 by Henry Voss in Lincoln Nebraska, when lighting specialists were a rarity in the industry. It is primarily in the central part of the U.S. from Minnesota to Texas and branching out to the Southwest and Southeast parts of the U.S. Rob started with Voss Lighting at the opening of the Dallas branch in 1985 and lived there for 5 years before moving back and taking on the role of vendor relations - negotiating annual programs, handling products and pricing. His role was primarily in this arena, while also learning all facets of the business. He moved on the management team, becoming VP of products, pricing and purchasing before becoming the President of Voss Lighting. Watch out for Rob on the cover of the Fall edition of Today's Lighting Distributor. 

Jill sat down with Michael and Greg at the Archlight Summit to talk about the IALD Education Trust. Jill and the IALD are sharing their lighting knowledge with educators and students for the purpose of promoting the study of architectural lighting design. Understanding legacy lighting is important too, though these young bucks today might not fully grasp it, having never lived through it. 

Jill is Principal at Dark Light Design and has over 25 years of experience as an architectural lighting designer. Her projects have won numerous lighting design awards and been featured in multiple design publications. She views light as a means to craft spaces, heighten experiences, and enhance connections. This experience guides her in creating lighting solutions that thoughtfully address human factors and scales. 

Jill has directed lighting design for multiple project types, across a wide range of project sizes and budgets. Her lighting design offers balance: a balance between design integrity and technical solidity; a balance between initial design goals and future operation; a balance between dark and light. 

Connect with Jill: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-cody-8730515 https://www.instagram.com/iald https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-association-of-lighting-designers https://www.instagram.com/weare_darklight https://www.linkedin.com/company/dark-light-design

Nathalie has questioned a lot! Everything from the term “Lighting Designer” (she prefers the title “Phototect”), to what color lights to use to light different skin tones. Nathalie started the not-for-profit, Light Reach, a solar lighting initiative to help light disaster areas and underserved communities worldwide. Being the founder of a think tank on light, she shares some different perspectives on lighting issues with Michael and Greg. Nathalie Rozot, MIES, is the founder of PhoScope, a think tank on light. She is a New York-based phototect and the recipient of many prestigious awards, grants, fellowships and sponsorships, including a 2021 WIL Award for the global solar lighting initiative Light Reach. She has a strong track record of contributions to social and critical issues in lighting and to lighting and design education. These include international keynote presentations, speaking engagements and publications, as well as a part-time professorship at The New School, former engagements as senior thesis faculty in lighting design Masters programs, senior guest lecturer in landscape architecture Masters programs in Versailles and Lille, and education columnist for the IES’s publication LD+A. Connect with Nathalie: https://www.phoscope.org www.lightreach.net Social Media: @lightreachnet @lightforleb Sponsor: Griplock www.griplocksystems.com

Oh boy. Here comes another curve ball for the industry. LEDs came along in the early 2000’s. They emitted light. They were energy efficient. What could be bad? Ask Mark Baker who’s highly sensitive to certain LED lights. And there are people worse off than him who cannot neurologically tolerate the type of radiation emitted by LEDs. Imagine if you couldn’t go to a store or walk under street lights lest you get dizzy, acquire a migraine or fall into an epileptic episode. There are thousands of people who can’t leave their house, and now can't even replace their light bulbs with incandescents. Mark Baker is the President of The Soft Lights Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for the protection of people and the environment from the harms of visible radiation emitted by products that use Light Emitting Diodes. Mark is the primary author of a primer on the differences between a curved surface emitter and a flat surface emitter. His co-authors include subject matter experts in the fields of physics, engineering, medicine, and light pollution. Connect with Mark: www.softlights.org Soft Lights Foundation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/softlights.org Ban Blinding LEDs - https://www.facebook.com/groups/BanBlindingLEDs Petition to Ban Blinding Headlights: https://www.change.org/p/u-s-dot-ban-blinding-headlights-and-save-lives