Wow! Am I the only one that feels like 2023 was a blur?

So much happened that I guess I never had time to write a single update! So: 📢 Welcome to 2024, and the inaugural Luxsi Newsletter! 📢

I'm sure 2023 will always be a special year for me since it's the year Luxsi was born, and so was my adventure in entrepreneurship! 🎉 🎉

Even so - as I reflect on the past 12 months, I'm struck with gratitude for the rich variety of "revenue-generating activities" that have come my way. If it's true that variety is the spice of life, things sure are zesty over here! 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I'm using my first official update to give a brief run-down of all the fun things I got to call "my job" this past year. I've had a blast with all kinds of clients, "working" (if you can call it that!) on projects ranging from education to entertainment to lighting design and back. If you are one of them reading this, thank you so much for your partnership and for being part of a wonderful first year! 💗🙏💗

I'm already looking forward to an exciting '24, and hope that what you have in your sights gets you going, too! ➡️🚦➡️

My best and brightest wishes for a very happy new year!

🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆

Sara

Luxsi Wrap-up, 2023:

JANUARY

My year started with a bang, with a feature on Lytei's first episode of 2023 highlighting the prior year's top 5 episodes. It coincided with my official wrap-up working with Lytei, so the timing was perfect - and you'll see there would be plenty more collaboration with Sam and Griselda from the Lytei team later in the year as they settled into their new posts at Deltalight...!

January was also exciting because it was the first time I got to go into schools (in person! **🤩**) to talk STEM! I used my experiences being challenged as a contestant on Netflix's Baking Impossible to talk to culinary and robotics students about engineering and light, and gave a custom mold-making demo to explain some of the principles using my new favorite medium: chocolate!

FEBRUARY

February is my birthday month, and now it's Luxsi's, too! 🥳 I officially formed the company as an LLC and began consulting as a lighting designer for hire and strategist for product manufacturers.💡 Also, continuing the theme of leveraging my time on the TV show to reach audiences, I was invited to give a keynote speech for the Society of Women Engineers' annual conference in Hartford, CT. It was amazing to to be among so many badass, inspiring women in engineering!

Last but definitely not least, February marked my first event volunteering with Brighter Boston, an incredible nonprofit empowering Boston's youth with paid training and connections in the entertainment and live event industry. Friends in architectural lighting spent an evening playing with light with the high school students, transforming multiple locations around Fanueil Hall with vivid colors for one creativity-filled evening. Brighter Boston's mission is perfectly aligned with goals of diversification of our professional lighting community, and this event was the start of a collaboration that would last the rest of the year and beyond.

MARCH

March in the lighting universe means one thing: LEDucation in NYC! It was awesome to reconnect with so many friends, and to get a chance to see my Sourcery teammates in the flesh! What's Sourcery, you say? If you're in lighting and you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for? It's an incredible timesaving communication tool for designers, suppliers, and agents, too. I've been working with them on strategy and community education, and am a big believer that their product can really improve how lighting gets done. If you want me to take a little time to show you what it can do, just let me know. I love saving my friends time and energy!

LEDucation also brought another creative crossover culinary collaboration with Deltalight! Building off our memorable experience building fixtures out of chocolate for Art Basel in Miami (yes, you read that right - exhibit A and B below, in case you missed that craziness!), this time they invited Rodolfo and me to hand out custom-branded Deltalight treats at their booth and give pouring demonstrations live at their afterparty!

Between the silent disco on the show floor and the actual DJ spinning way into late-night, it was impossible *not* to have a fantastic time! We heard they're hosting an afterparty for NACLIQ this year and already we can't wait...! 🕺🏳️‍🌈

Speaking of Bakineering buddies, March also brought another fun podcast - this time with Andrew Smyth, a former contestant on the Great British Bake-off, and the creator of Baking Impossible!🧁⚙️🛠️ I joined Andrew on brilliant structural engineer Roma Agrawal's podcast, Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering's Create The Future, to talk about reality vs. reality TV, careers in engineering, and how the future of the profession might look. Episode linked in the photo below!

APRIL

My tradeshow adventures continued into April, where I finally got to experience one tradeshow in particular that I've been dying to attend since I first heard about it: Euroluce! This stunning (and a little overwhelming) biennial showcase of all things lighting is held in the heart of breathtaking Milan, Italy, and gave me (and some of my best traveling buddies!) an excuse to tour around the country after being satisfactorily sated with illumination inspiration. 🇮🇹👢🍝

April also marked the third installment of the "Lighting the Way" webinar series that my Lighting Advocacy Letter authors and I put together using the platform generously given to us by mindfulMaterials. Every six months we explore another area of the challenge of lighting more sustainably - this time, sharing case studies and lessons learned from designer and agent perspectives. ♻️ 🌎 ♻️

MAY

The force was with the lighting industry in May, with all kinds of fun activities keeping us buzzing! First up was another classroom visit with my Bakineering apron on - this time for a much younger audience!🧑‍🍳🍫A friend's 1st-grade son is a fan of the show, and when he asked me to come in and "do my demos" I couldn't resist. Turns out 1st graders are pretty awestruck when faced with the magic of light, not to mention BIG fans of DIY chocolatiering...! Needless to say, we had twice the fun and probably 5x the sprinkles. I've discovered that sharing the joys of discovering light with kids (of all ages) is something that really lights me up, so I'm carving out more time in 2024 to be in classrooms. If you've got a kid who'd like a visit from your resident Bakineer, give me a shout! 📞

May also took the lighting community back to NYC for Lightfair, where my position as Education Coordinator for The Business of Light had me moderating a panel of industry titans: Chip Israel of Lighting Design Alliance, Tom Warton of Vode, Carrie Hawley of HLB, Steven Rosen of Available Light, and David Ghatan of CM Kling. 💪

They generously shared their insights on running successful businesses in the complex and ever-changing world of lighting design.

And the last highlight that made May a very merry month was attending the Boston Illumination Awards Gala, where I stepped back in time to join my former teammates from CannonDesign in accepting IES Section Awards for two higher education projects: Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD, and D’Youville College, Health Professions Hub in Buffalo, NY. Both projects had construction schedules that extended through COVID, so it was gratifying to see them finally complete!

JUNE

The awards show theme continued into June with the Lumenwest Southern California IES Awards, but this time instead of receiving awards, I was giving them out! In 2022 I had the honor of emceeing their show and had a blast, so I was delighted to make a repeat performance - especially for such a special night. 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the Illumination Awards, and that would have been enough to celebrate on its own, but if you've seen the caliber of the design firms out there, then you know we had a very full night celebrating their abundance of talent!

June was also when I started doing more volunteering with WILD (Women In Lighting + Design); in particular, working with my friend Sarah Richter from Sarah Richter Design and a great committee to start up the first Mentorship Program! Concurrently some energy started up around re-activating our local Boston chapter, and with the help of Daryl Avery Swanson from NE Paradigm and Lara Robertson from Boston Light Source, we started reviving our local membership. More to come on WILD a little further down the timeline...!

JULY

Even though school is usually out for summer, education was the name of the game in July! First off, the Business of Light hosted its sixth event, with topics ranging from safely entering contracts to securing the right exit strategy - and lots in between. July also brought me onto Sourcery's Wizard Wednesdays, where I got to double down on two things I'm passionate about: designing more sustainably, and exploring a more efficient design + delivery process.

To round out a month of educational engagement, I had the pleasure of virtually joining the 115 middle school mavens attending TechTrek, a hands-on, fun-focused, week-long summer camp designed to make STEM fields exciting and accessible to girls in middle school — the age when girls’ participation in these fields statistically drops. I absolutely loved talking to them about my wacky career path and answering their questions about being a (queer) engineer, what kinds of things they can do to keep exploring their interests, and, of course, what it's like behind the scenes on TV. 🙃

AUGUST

In August, things finally slowed down a bit, and I was able to join the 5th cohort of CannonDesign's XBE Inclusive Partner Program. This 10-week collective connects consultant partners of all stripes to create more representative teams for CD's projects and strengthen relationships across the AEC industry. One of the first things I was proud to do upon forming Luxsi was to become a Certified LGBT Business Enterprise, so I was happy to participate in this program and meet this exceptionally diverse group of creative consultants.

August also began the receiving of many parcels and packages needed for what was to come the next month...

SEPTEMBER

On Labor Day weekend the first Night Lights in New Lebanon was held, and it was nothing short of epic! 🍾 My partner in crime, Jess Krometis, "persuaded" me, using her recent experience at Lights in Alingsås, that we could invite a handful of exceptional (and exceptionally adventurous, easygoing, talented, creative, and fun!) lighting designers, and with their help, transform a path through field and wood into a magical, mystical illumination experience - for one night only!

And...we did!

We even had two drone photographers to capture it.

It was so much fun to let our imaginations go wild.

Check out the video below!  

Thanks to the help of so, so many (donor screengrab below), the event was an enormous success, and we've already got the gears turning for planning next year's edition. But one extra-special organization that supported us that I *have* to mention is Equity in Lighting. This non-profit is near and dear to my heart with its mission of improving the quality of lighting experience and knowledge of lighting needs across communities of all kinds. We are thrilled to have their partnership as we begin to use our event to make connections with the local Darrow School and the Berkshire Theater Group in hopes of involving students in the design and build next year, and perhaps inspiring some to check out the wide career field available in lighting...!

What else... oh yeah! Also in September, specifically, the 21st night of September, this happened:

To make a long story short, when the Chicago Section of the IES asked me to host their 70's Gameshow-themed Illumination Awards, I knew I had to dig deep to find a character who could commit to the bit for a whole night of funky fun... luckily, my "cousin Chris" was available.

Let's just say, oh what a night!

I guess hosting IES awards is my "thing" right now...I'll be hosting the Washington DC Section's awards coming up in June, so expect an update soon after (not sure yet if it will be from me or from "Chris"... we'll have to wait and see...!)

OCTOBER

October was another crazy-busy month! It started with the Boston Lights Expo, and local lighting agent Reflex Lighting wanting to take advantage of having a bunch of manufacturers in town for the tradeshow. They asked Luxsi and our partner, SMS Collaborative, to help them provide an educational workshop focused on sustainability in lighting. Participation was fantastic, and hearing the dialogue between manufacturers and salespeople about their experiences was really exciting. We can't wait to dig into more of this kind of work - practical, impactful, good for business and for the planet - a quadruple win!

At the tradeshow the next day, I had the privilege of sharing tried and true negotiating tips + tricks in a workshop that a group of friends and I ran as one of the conference's accredited educational seminars. We spent the first half of the session firing off lessons learned, and then took the participants through a "speed negotiating" exercise based on the speed dating model. We had fun coordinating it, and the feedback we received tells us people enjoyed it, too!

Immediately following the tradeshow and expo, the newly formed bWILD (Boston's local WILD chapter) hosted an "Access and Allies" afterparty, inviting all the local advocacy groups in the lighting community to mix, mingle, and share their messages over drinks and bites. Representatives from the local IES and IALD chapters as well as friends from Light Justice, BUILD, and NACLIQ joined the bWILD crew to say a few words about each of their organizations' missions (an idea we borrowed from an awesome event held at Lightfair).

Luxsi was proud to be one of the inaugural event's sponsors!

Speaking of sponsorships, Luxsi was also excited to support our local IES's chapters annual Golf Outing fundraiser, also held in October. We sponsored the "Ladies Longest Drive" prize, and although my game didn't allow me to personally pick that up, I did nab the ladies closest to the pin! It was a great day "out of the office."

I managed to spend a little more time on the road in October, and got to pop into St. Paul, Minnesota to give the keynote address at the Out for Undergrad Engineering Conference. Boy, do I wish I had known about O4U when I was in college! O4U is essentially an exceptionally programmed, all-expenses-paid, 4-day immersive conference experience specifically designed for queer college kids, complete with multi-day mentoring sessions and a career fair, with top engineering firms offering internships and full-time jobs often on the spot. I participated in the sessions with the students throughout the long weekend and stretched my brain learning more about my own community. It was incredible to be surrounded by such a radically supportive, inclusive group of humans, and I look forward to finding ways to keep supporting this amazing group in the future.

Student interaction seemed to be at an all-time high in October! Later that month I was invited to help my new friends at the Darrow School with their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I also got to meet up again with my student friends from Brighter Boston at another light-up the night event. This time our canvas was Boston's City Hall, and once again, the ingenuity of the students as they experimented with lighting effects was nothing short of inspiring.

Oh! I forgot to mention that in October we hosted another "Lighting the Way" webinar, this time featuring a fascinating panel of manufacturers who provide industry-leading sustainable lighting options. Each of them had a fascinating perspective on the road to a more sustainable future, and you can hear what they have to say via the linked video below. We also used the webinar to celebrate our Lighting Advocacy Letter reaching 100+ signatories! If you're a lighting specifier and haven't signed yet, please consider adding your voice to our growing chorus.

NOVEMBER

In November I was thankful for the opportunity to travel abroad again, this time to the great white North of Alberta, Canada! IALD Enlighten Americas, hosted at the incomparable Fairmont Banff Springs, was the perfect getaway, and its gorgeous scenery and top-notch guest list did not disappoint. I was happy to help Business of Light conduct their pre-conference workshop featuring Zweig Group, where we did a half-day deep dive into the mysteries of project management.

The conference gave me yet another chance to connect with lighting friends from around the globe, and I also had the unbelievable luck to hear one of my heroes --- British light artist and living legend, Bruce Munro --- speak about his genius lighting work. Bruce was even kind enough to spare a minute to chat and sign an autograph....

...he is a true class act!

Closer to home, I also had the pleasure of visiting Martha's Vineyard in November. At a "Back to Basics" event hosted by local rep agency Boston Light Source and distributor Granite City Electric, I gave a residential lighting primer - complete with a full-scale, side-by-side downlight mock-up. It was wonderful to have so many designers, suppliers, and installers in the same room to give their perspectives on current industry best practices and where they think things are headed next. I hope it's the first of many discussions we can fuel by sharing more lighting education...and I also hope that perhaps a few fewer wafer lights will be installed in 2024...!!! 🙄🤞🤮

DECEMBER

And finally, we made it to December! Santa came early and brought the Night Lights in New Lebanon design crew an extra-special gift: he and Granite City Electric teamed up to gave us a chance to hang out together in a luxury suite at the Bruins v. Sabres game! This Buffalo girl had a great night (even before the final score gave the Sabres a W!) getting to know everyone a little better, and we're looking forward to continuing to develop key cross-industry partnerships down the road.

December also brought our third collaboration with Brighter Boston for the year, with help from local lighting legends Lam Partners, Bartholomew Lighting, and Available Light, and architects from MASS Design Group. The designers explaining their ideas and approaches as we toured Boston Common's newest icon: "The Embrace," as well as the newly re-lit statuary marching down Commonwealth Avenue. Helping to organize these events and foster the relationship between the architectural lighting community and this exciting facet of the entertainment lighting community has definitely been a highlight among highlights of 2023!

Also right up there in the list of "year's best moments" was reaching out on behalf of the Lighting Advocacy/Sustainability team to Randy Reid, editor of Designing Lighting Magazine, and asking him to consider adding a standing column focusing on sustainability in lighting.

His response was, "Can you get me 800 words by the end of the week?"

Of course, the answer was "Yes!" and you can read them all (plus a few more) on page 58 of DL's December issue. To be fair, Randy had already recognized the need for this coverage, and we just had lucky timing (see his editorial notes, also linked below), but I'm grateful and encouraged by his commitment regarding this dire issue of our time all the same. Thank you for taking action, Randy!!

And on that note of encouragement, the last update on the Luxsi
"ta-done!" list for 2023 is re: the Unless Project. Founded and organized by Simon Rogers, owner of A Little Better Co and an incredibly talented friend from my college days, I've been super-fortunate to serve as an advisory board member to help select the first four grantees in the Unless Project's accelerator-meets-grant brand booster program. The four inspiring grantees that we selected don't really have much if anything to do with lighting, but applying design thinking and engineering-style problem-solving to help advance their important, impactful work is one of the things I'm most looking forward to in 2024.

And that's it! A full rundown of all my RGA, now that I'm on my own as Luxsi. 2023 was an excellently satisfying year of growth and learning while earning, and I'm heading into this new year feeling very blessed. Thank you for reading, for supporting, and for inspiring me to whistle while I work! If you're up to something that would be fun to collaborate on, please let me know. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful, safe, healthy, and happy new year, full of projects that light you up!

xo

Sara