Page 110 - Lighting Magazine January 2019

retaIl spotlight
To underscore
the look of the Industrial-style xtures and lamps in this section, Willoughby cra ed his own ceiling clouds made from pallets and painted them himself.
“When people walk in the door, I want the visual to make them stop, and then I want them to say ‘Wow.’”
lighting showroom asked Pentecost for advice, Wil- loughby’s name came up. “Bob told him, ‘If you want to have a showroom done right, Ken is the best in the business,” he notes.
“There is a lot involved in building a lighting show- room. You have to make sure the roo ng structure is strong enough to hold xtures and ceiling fans and examine the I-beams with the architects,” Wil- loughby states.
For that showroom, he decided on an open ceil- ing, a unique concept for 2006. “We painted the ceiling black [to make the xtures stand out] and o en stayed until midnight, hanging chain and wir- ing walls,” says Willoughby, who even designed the warehouse for maximum e ciency.
HAnds on All tHe wAy
One of the keys to Willoughby’s success in both starting up and transforming existing lighting show- rooms is his personal dedication to every aspect of the business. “There’s not a xture on display that I haven’t inspected,” he comments, adding, “I assemble all of the xtures because I want to see the quality for myself. I also look closely at how the wiring is done — especially when it comes to bath vanity xtures.” By doing so, Willoughby has been able to troubleshoot common installation errors. “I
train my salespeople the same way,” he says. It is im- portant that the sales sta understand the product completely “so it passes the test of the homeowner when they bring it home,” he explains.
When Willoughby has found design, construction, or wiring errors, he immediately calls the factory not only to report it, but o er a solution. “I think ven- dors trust me because I’m straight-up honest,” he remarks. “We have mutual respect for one another.”
A er helping out the owners of Stewart Lighting in Jacksonville, Fla., with their business, Willoughby got a call from Brent Smith, owner of Southern Lighting Gallery, which had since purchased Au- gusta Lighting and acquired Charleston Lighting in South Carolina in 2012.
An ARTS Award-winning showroom, the Charles- ton store had lost its luster in recent years and Willoughby was tasked to perform his now legend- ary transformation magic. While he is quick to point out that Charleston Lighting remains a work in progress – Willoughby never feels a project is ever “ nished” – his merchandising touch is evident.
“When people walk in the door, I want the vi- sual to make them stop, and then I want them to say ‘Wow,’” he explains. The layout is spacious and yet inviting. Product is displayed so it can be easily examined. “You can see everything on my clouds
96 enLIGHTenment MagazIne | January 2019
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