GEAR TALK: Low Voltage Lighting

An illustration of an astronaut in a flying saucer with a glass dome. The top speech bubble reads "We come from the FUTURE..." and the bottom bubble reads "to bring you LOW VOLTAGE lighting." The words FUTURE and LOW VOLTAGE are bold and red. The astronaut looks very friendly.

My Gear Talk series is an excuse to geek out a bit while attempting to simplify some of the complex conversations we have about lighting. It is less about the theory, science, and application and more about the tools. And one of those tools has almost nothing to do with the photons themselves: voltage. We live in […]

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GEAR TALK: COB Tape Light

An illustration of four different types of COB tape types and the wiring that goes inside them.

Just about two and a half years ago I saw my first sample of COB tape light and I bet my jaw literally dropped. Tape light- a generic name for flexible linear LED strips- is a key tool in our quest for good lighting. We use it just about everywhere, and that makes us a […]

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GEAR TALK: LED Screw-In Bulbs

On the left, a NASA space shuttle attached to the rocket boosters. On the right, a screw-in LED lightbulb. An equal sign between them. A NASA Space Shutttle equals an LED Lightbulb

There is a popular story that ties the Space Shuttle technology to the width of Roman horse’s backside, and it just occurred to me that there is may be a parallel in lighting. The first story goes something like this: the booster rockets on the Space Shuttle were a certain diameter because they had to […]

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The Future of Shades?

A close up on strange, futuristic window shades on a window

Simply put, we need natural light to be happy and healthy.  We need lots of it in the mornings to wake up, plenty mid-day to keep us going, and a soft tapering at night to relax us towards sleep. The best source of natural light is…well…nature.  But sunshine comes with a few drawbacks, such as […]

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The Future of Control?

A black Multiverse Transmitter box with four antennae coming from the back end - 900 MHz/2.4GHz

Earlier in my career I saw theater and architecture as two separate worlds. In one world I got to use cool control systems, color-changing lights, and mood-setting scenes. In the other world I got to use brilliant spotlights and broad wash lights. At some point I realized I was borrowing tools and techniques from theater […]

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Time to Glow

A digital sketch of a living room and dining area with focus on adding soft lighting elements

It all started with a sketch. I wanted to add glow to a table that would be easy for clients to use every night, like candles but without the dripping and smoking and constant replacing. It is easy to sketch, but something altogether different to make happen in reality. Then we moved into our current […]

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Lightovation 2020

The outside of Dallas Market Center with the logo at the top of a tall red wall

January is a good time to fly south and check out Lightovation at the Dallas Market Center. The annual event for buyers is focused primarily on showrooms and distributors but integrators are beginning to show up- especially those that also do decorative lighting. I was at Lightovation to share my passion for linear lighting with […]

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Light Can Help You