Fundraising season is gearing up in Cleveland, Ohio!

The Ides of March is upon us, and although the snow will still occasionally fly here in Northeast Ohio, spring is just around the corner.  Spring kicks off a wide variety of fund raising events throughout the area ranging in size and scale.  Development and marketing departments have been working since last year’s campaigns in colleges, universities, theatre companies, museums, and hospitals (among others) to ensure as many philanthropic dollars flow their way as possible.  This is no easy task with so many wonderful causes and non-profit organizations throughout the greater Cleveland area.  So, what works? 

As with any event, know your audience.  Once you know what makes them tick, it’s easy to target what will impress them.  Sometimes, this is in the venue selection and décor.  Other times it is with food or entertainment.  We have been lucky enough to light several high profile fundraisers.  We have seen that the most successful nonprofit events are when all of these elements come together flawlessly.  Creating an interesting atmosphere increases engagement with auctions and other interactive revenue generating ideas.  Each detail supports and flows to the next, enhancing the theme at every turn and creating that wow factor guests and donors notice.  As long as they feel like a VIP, they will keep coming back and spread the word. 

Although I am a bit biased, lighting can be the most important element to enhance any fundraiser.  A skilled designer can help guide guests through multiple spaces, draw focus to auctions and sponsors, and enhance any theme imaginable by creating appropriate atmosphere for each stage of the event.  Need some of that wow factor for your upcoming fundraiser?  We’d love to help.  Contact us today at 216-912-2199, send us an email or visit our website!   ~Maureen E. Patterson, Lead Designer Solus Lighting LTD

Wedding Traditions

Being in the middle of winter makes us think of wedding traditions.  What?  Now?  In February?  Yes!  As we're sure you all know, we are coming out of the winter bridal show season.  Now that there has been some time to digest all of the information that was out there at the bridal shows, it's time to think of what is most important to feature on the big day.  So we start to think about how we can incorporate some heritage wedding traditions.  We decided to put together this blog post with some links that we found on some wedding traditions from around the world.  If you would like to find out how we can incorporate your traditions through lighting at your wedding visit our website or give us a call.  Enjoy!     ~The Solus Lighting LTD Team


We all know the saying "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe".  What is a sixpence?  Anyway, did you know that your Maid of Honor is supposed to get a paper plate from the bridal shower & make holes in it, then tie all the ribbons from the gifts to it.  This then becomes the "bouquet" for the bride at the wedding rehearsal.  That was a new one for us!  This web page from Elite Dresses is full of traditional American wedding customs.

According to Irish tradition, bells are provided to wedding guests or are placed at the reception tables.  The sound of the bells is thought to keep away evil spirits and are often used instead of clinking glasses at the reception.  Irish readings can be incorporated into the services, and there is plenty of Irish music for your DJ or band to choose from to play.  Check out this article from The Knot to read more!

Anyone who has attended an Italian wedding is familiar with confetti.  No, the bride & groom is not covered with little tiny bits of paper.  Confetti is the traditional Italian candy, Jordan almonds coated with a white hard candy shell & typically wrapped in a small mesh bag, that is placed at each place setting at the wedding reception.  Italian folklore says that Sunday is the luckiest day to be married & that the bride should not wear any gold until after the wedding rings are exchanged.  The veil also comes from Italian tradition, and is thought to ward off evil spirits.  Here is a great source for some more Italian wedding traditions.

Sunday is the most popular day for Jewish weddings, however Saturday night weddings may be held an hour & a half after sunset.  Typically a jewish couple will be married under a four post structure called a chuppah.  The chuppah is a symbol that represents a house established in public that the couple will spend the rest of their lives together.  Find out about the breaking of the glass, the Ketubah and the Horah here at the Jewish Wedding Network.

An Indian wedding ceremony is flush with symbolism & tradition that starts well before the actual wedding day.  In addition to other traditions, the rehearsal dinner is known as the Sangeet.  The Sangeet is held the evening before the wedding and is full of amazing food, music and dancing.  Like the Jewish chuppah, an Indian ceremony is held under a structure called a mandap.  This is a four post canopy that is typically adorned with vibrant colors & intricante designs.  Read more about Indian wedding customs.

"Lighter" perspective on The Special Event

The Special Event (TSE) in Chicago did not fail to impress.  I was lucky enough to begin the week attending ISES meetings, retreats, and sessions before the convention kicked off.  What I found most inspiring was the passion ISES members have.  We had the pleasure of getting to know several chapters throughout the Midwest and beyond – some are struggling and others thriving.  This opened up a great dialog amongst chapters and ISES leaders creating a wonderful collaboration to inspire all of us.  I know for a fact the ISES Cleveland chapter came out with exciting programming ideas for next year.  You can read more about ISES Cleveland’s TSE experiences here. 

 

Lighting isn’t a large part of the exhibit floor or educational sessions at TSE (we go to LDI to get the latest on gear).  I use the show floor for my own research.  I love seeing what inspires decorators, florists, designers, and event planners.  When we work with these pros together, the end result is always impressive.  Therefore, it is important for me to be on the same wavelength.  Most often, just overhearing their comments about any sort of product lends perspective.   Although, I must admit, a roll of the eyes can be even more telling. 

Gaining this understanding is essential to ensure our clients get the very best lighting design for their event.  I have heard the following questions countless times over the years when beginning the design process for events: “Where you at The Special Event?”  “Did you see __________   (fill in the blank with a specific product or element from one of the networking gatherings or celebrations)?”  “It’s kind of like that, but here’s what I’m thinking…”  Clearly, if the answer is “no” to either of the first two questions, I would be holding up the process.  Having the ability to keep the creative ball rolling partially comes from what we learn at TSE and is critical for the design process.   Also, having the ability to pitch ideas outside our area of expertise makes us more valuable to the entire team we are working with. 

As with any convention, the networking is possibly the most valuable.  Meeting creative minds from all over the world is a great inspiration.  Building these relationships and solidifying existing relationships helps build a wonderful source of stimulating ideas for the future.  I am excited to translate all I soaked in at TSE into our upcoming events!     ~Maureen E. Patterson, Lead Designer Solus Lighting LTD

Why is color temperature important...

In this blog post, we will talk about & show examples of different color temperatures.  We will keep it pretty low-key & also relate why color temperature is important not only in the t.v. and theatrical lighting world, but also in the special event lighting world.

Before we begin to talk about color temperature, we should begin with a quick review of how is light measured.  The most basic unit of light measurement is the lumen.  There is a common misconception that light output is measured in watts, however this is not accurate.  Watts are the measurement of electrical energy that certain type of lamp will consume.  The actual light output is measured in lumens.  One lumen is equal to the amount of light from one candle at a distance of one foot.  For you theatre folk, here is where we could branch out into footcandle history...but I digress.  So ok, now we know what a lumen is.  Why?  Well, as we progress away from incandescent lighting fixtures the old way of using watts to describe output will be dated.  When we, as lighting professionals, are looking to purchase or rent lighting fixtures for specific jobs - we are looking at the lumens of the fixture.  We could care less how much power it will take to operate the fixture, we'll figure that out later - we want to know how "powerful" (in terms of the output) that lighting fixture will be at what distances.

Ok, by now you are thinking...well, what about color temperature?  Color temperature is not easily explained, partially because the first thing you have to understand is that "white" light does not exist.  Alright let's go way back, back to our Roy G Biv days.  Everyone knows this 'scale' of the spectrum.  Well, this also can pretty much explain color temperature.  Color temperature is measured in degrees of kelvin.  The lower the number of kelvin the warmer, or more red, the light will look.  The higher the number of kelvin the cooler, or more blue, the light will look.  So think of 2500k-3000k range of being a "typical" household lamp with the burnt red to yellowish tint.  Then up to around 3500k we are into bright, almost "white" yellow.  On up the scale to 4000k for a "bluish" light.  Then we get into daylight, which is the 5000k-7000k range.  We will save the next portion about CRI - which is how your eyeball actually sees light for the next level of blog post!

How does all of this physics translate in to the special event lighting world?  Well, hopefully it is obvious by now that just "throwing light around the room until it looks cool" is not how any job should be approached.  Lighting design is not only an art but it is a careful calculation of not only what we have just scratched the surface about here but also a slew of technical mumbo jumbo.  Don't worry, we take total care of the mumbo jumbo to the point where you don't even know the mumbo jumbo had to happen in the first place!

Below is a picture of us replacing some lamps in an auditorium.  I quickly snapped this photo with my phone of two of the chandeliers in the space.  Notice the difference in color temperature?  A good lighting designer will know which one is appropriate for the job...which is why we were called in!  Let us keep your event at the right temperature!     ~Beth Reyes, Lead Technician Solus Lighting LTD

Fresh 2013 Start

Bloggers out in blog world...we've missed you!  The end of 2012 was busy for us at Solus Lighting LTD.  Plenty of weddings, private events, corporate holiday celebrations, not to mention that we got some well deserved time off to spend with our families around the holidays. You can catch up with the photos on our website, our Facebook page, our Google+ page or any other of our social media sites.

We aren't ones for New Year's resolutions, however we are going to try something new as 2013 progresses.  Are you thinking, "more consistent & awesome blog posts"?  Well if you are, you win... win a, um, ya congratulations!!  Joking aside, we will be posting not only on our favorite subject of lighting but on some of our other interests too (expect some video game references/blog posts) as well as what is coming up next time.  To start off, this is GREAT news!

So for now, we leave you with one last holiday shot from 2012...and stay tuned for our next blog post.  We will be talking about the basics of color temperature.

Cyber Monday

Happy Thanksgiving

We wish everyone a safe & happy holiday!