Page 126 - Lighting Magazine January 2019

Iron MavEN
lEft: The Light Lab will soon be updated to include the latest choices in smaller- diameter LED xtures.
right: An assortment of Contemporary lighting xtures for indoors is apparent the minute customers enter the store.
ranked its #60 customer in the country, and that’s counting [distributors] in New York, Texas, and Cali- fornia,” she a rms.
Needing more space to show product, Clouse bought a small building – a former NAPA Auto Parts store – on a well-tra cked road. Not everyone saw the potential of the property. The renovation was so extensive, not one piece of sheet rock was le standing. There were other construction surprises too. Due to earthquake activity since the existing building had been built, Clouse needed to add $200,000 of reinforcement to bring it to code. Then there were issues with the roof and ceiling loads due to hanging heavy lighting xtures. “Twice, I had to have things ripped out — and once was be- cause of a certain bolt on the oor,” she con rms.
PUtting tHe “sPeciAl” in sPeciAl order
One a ribute that has made Clouse’s business the powerhouse it is today is customization. “I can take anything drawn on a piece of paper and [have my cra smen] make it,” she notes. When it comes to high-end clientele, “you can’t ‘me-too’ it; it’s all custom.” There have been times, however, when budgets get tight. In those cases, the main piece is custom and Clouse will supplement with xtures from high-end manufacturers.
In addition to residential work, she designs
indoor and outdoor xtures for hotel and restau- rant projects across the country and internationally. When the Lifetime network TV show Army Wives lmed in Charleston, Clouse and her team worked with the set designers.
One thing Clouse does not worry about is com- petition. “You always have to be aware of what’s coming up behind you,” she explains. “Whoever it might be, I’ll just out-work them. The part I love is going to job sites and a ending meetings every night,” she says of her continual networking. A former Associate Vice President of the Charles- ton area National Association of Home Builders chapter, Clouse has earned respect in an era that wasn’t so generous in its appreciation for female entrepreneurs. “By being so involved, you get to know everyone — and they get to know you’re a worker, not a talker. I just roll up my sleeves and get to work,” she remarks.
emPloyee trAining
“Everyone starts out in the warehouse,” Clouse comments, referring to the 12,500-sq.- . building a short drive away. “Then you have to shadow [an employee] and at least earn your Lighting Associate certi cation from the American Lighting Associa- tion (ALA).
Clouse believes in providing education. “Our
124 enLIGHTenment MagazIne | January 2019
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