27 days to go

In December of 2020, we walked in to our new business for the first time with the keys in hand. With 27 days to go, in our current location, let's relive some of the early and best days we have had. When we purchased the store, it was quite different than the way it appears today. Well worn and dirty beige walls surrounded numerous and random shelves of boxed pipes, assorted wood planks and stacks of light bulbs. Instead of a sales counter, work benches filled the florescent lit garage like space. Our original plan to redesign the space called for a very industrial look since our lamps mostly were built with similar components. The walls would be exposed brick with reclaimed wood and galvanized metal accents. After a further evaluation of that plan we decided we wanted our lamps to stand out and not blend in to the decor. We opted for the total opposite, a playful mood flled with color and bold geometric shapes that would serve as a happy background to the matte gray of the industrial pipes and rich woods. We want our lamps and lamp art to bring joy and happiness to people, so a colorful and quirky interior seemed like a natural fit. (On today's passing of Paul Reubens, Pee-wee's playhouse also provided me with numerous bits of inspiration over the years, and the interior of TLC has been called playhouse-esqe). The exact inspiration for the colors and the overall style would come from an award winning set design I had completed just a few years ago. More on that next time as it may provide even more opportunities in Sylvania since when the original warehouse studio was prepared, there was a rumor it might only be temporary as major renovations were planned for the building which would have caused the total demolition of the complete interior of south Erie St.

The center support beam and the overhead door ( which was our only door for nearly one year) are about all that is recognized today.