Page 103 - enLIGHTenment January 2016
P. 103
Retail spotlight
THE MAKING OF A
Masterpiece
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Masterpiece Lighting was
built from the ground up by veterans of that once formidable
Atlanta lighting institution called Georgia Lighting.
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDA LONGO
A
er 30 years in the lighting showroom business, to the U.S. market. (Gilham served as President of both compa-
Susie Adams still loves to sit at the showroom’s nies until 2001 and sold the company a few years later to Home
front reception desk, answering the phone and Depot, which was looking to expand into the electrical distribu-
helping the customers who walk in. “I just love see- tion business. At that time, Georgia Lighting was one of the largest
ing that light come on [inside them] as I start giving
specialty lighting retailers in the country and was run by General
them options for their project,” she says. Granted, the opportu- Manager Ray Gardner, who was retained by Home Depot.)
nity doesn’t happen o en for her at Masterpiece Lighting; only
when there needs to be coverage temporarily. “You will never Mentored by a Master
get an automated phone system here,” Adams states proudly A er graduating from University of Georgia with a degree in
about the business she co-founded a er Georgia Lighting was Furnishings & Interiors, Adams joined the Georgia Lighting sta .
closed by its then-parent company, Home Depot.
“From Harry, I learned about taking good care of customers. That
Adams was mentored under the late Harry Gilham, who found- was his biggest goal, to have us listen to what the customers were
ed Georgia Lighting in 1960. Eight years later Gilham created the asking for and to follow up with them,” she recalls. “Both Harry and
company World Imports, which was noteworthy at a time when Ray expected customers to leave Georgia Lighting with a smile.”
there weren’t many resources bringing European lighting xtures
While Gilham was writing his memoir Lighting the Way: The
January 2016 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 101
