The award-winning designjunction appoints a new show Director, Mark Gordon, to lead the ninth edition of the show during the London Design Festival in September 2019 (19-22). Having worked in Exhibitions and Media for more than 21 years, Mark brings a wealth of industry experience to the role, previously working on Clerkenwell Design Week, 100% Design, Icon Magazine and more recently the hospitality event Sleep + Eat.

“Having admired designjunction for many years from afar, I am thrilled to be working on such a respected and critically-acclaimed event. As the Director, I am committed to nurturing the original spirit of the show, ensuring that it remains a design show for the industry, by the industry.” Mark commented.

Under this fresh direction, designjunction brings together a stellar line-up of Advisory Board members, who have been selected from a cross-section of the design industry to help support the show’s creative direction. Having always been a design show immersed in the industry, the Advisory Board will ensure that designjunction continues to listen to what the industry wants and needs from a design show. Supported by the show’s founder, Deborah Spencer, the board are committed to keeping the show at the cutting-edge of design.

“designjunction is a junction that connects the industry, bringing people and ideas together in a creative environment that makes design more accessible to the wider community. designjunction continues to be an important place to meet, do business and see great design” Said Deborah

Board members include a mix of celebrated professionals; Ben Chatfield (Director, BCMH) Dian Small (RIBA London President), Els Van Hoorebeeck (Head of Interiors, The Office Group), Henrietta Thompson (Editor at Large, Wallpaper*), Mary Wiggin (Founder, Co-existence), Michael Sodeau (Founder, Michael Sodeau Studio), Rose Etherington (Editor in Chief, Clippings.com) Staffan Tollgard (Founder, Staffan Tollgard) as well as long-standing exhibitors Ed Carpenter (Founder of Very Good & Proper) and Mark Jonas (Executive Director of LSA).

“I’m delighted with the calibre of the board members and look forward to working closely with all involved. With this level of collaboration, designjunction2019 is set to raise the bar once again.” Said Mark.

designjunction will return to London 19-22 September 2019 to connect the world’s most renowned design brands with the world’s leading architects, specifiers, designers and buyers.

www.thedesignjunction.co.uk

The Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP) is proud to announce that it has established a unique opportunity for a team of volunteer members to undertake a placement with Illuminated River Foundation.

The Illuminated River is a project to create a major public artwork to illuminate up to 15 of central London’s bridges. Once complete, it will be the longest public art commission in the world at 2.5 miles in length, along 4.5 nautical miles of the River Thames, from Albert Bridge to Tower Bridge. Illuminated River will be viewed more than 200 million times per year and the first phase of the project is due to launch in 2019.

By creating a single lighting scheme for central London’s bridges, Illuminated River aims to connect, celebrate and capture the spirit of the Thames and its communities. The art commission will be free and publicly accessible to all – Londoners and visitors alike – and will create many more opportunities for people to enjoy and explore the river, Thames Path, bridges and local amenities.

As well as celebrating London’s bridges and their architecture, Illuminated River will use state of the art LED technology which is more energy efficient than the existing lighting on the bridges – contributing to a more ecologically sustainable environment for the river.

Illuminated River will be a catalyst for wider conversations about improvements to public space and lighting. The project is working with bridge owners and local authorities to improve access to and around the bridges, exploring opportunities to make these areas more communal, inclusive and safe, as well as to improve lighting and add better public seating.

The ILP is creating a group of volunteers to experience first-hand the final development of this major art project, undertaken in accordance with ILP Professional Lighting Guides. They will form a small team of members who are in the early part of their careers.

Placement volunteers will find themselves providing practical support to the artist Leo Villareal on site during his late night-time digital sequencing work on and around the bridges. This will be a really interesting opportunity to see at first-hand how the artist programmes the sequencing of the light artwork on the bridges.

The volunteers will share their experience, creating content for the ILP to share with ILP members and the public.

Jess Gallacher, ILP Operations Manager, explains “The Institution of Lighting Professionals exists to connect people’s skills, and help them learn from each other, to provide lighting which improves people’s experience of places. The Illuminated River project is a wonderful example of the effect light can have on our society and we are thrilled to be able to give our members such an outstanding opportunity. If you are involved with a project that ILP members could benefit from in a similar way, please contact me – we would love to provide other opportunities in other areas too.”

The Institution of Lighting Professionals is open to everyone interested in lighting. To discover how to become a member, or to apply for an Illuminated River placement, people should contact jess@theilp.org.uk, introducing yourself and explaining why you would like to be involved.

For HSL Group Holdings, feedback has come quickly on its recently-acquired Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures from CHAUVET Professional. HSL made the decision to add 100 of the moving RGBW LED lights to its inventory at the LDI Show in October. By the start of the holiday season, the company, which is one of the leading suppliers of design, technology, crew and production services to the entertainment industry, already had the fixture out on three of its 2018-19 pantomimes, at the 2018 Liverpool Horse Show, and on the Arena Cross Tour.

“The immediate response has been very positive,” said Simon Stuart, Managing Director of HSL Group Holdings Ltd. “We’ve even had a certain renowned theatre LD comment that he didn’t want any other fixture except this in the future!”

This reaction comes as no surprise to Stuart and the HSL team that researched the new Maverick fixture. “We spent a great deal of time chatting with some of our strategic partners in the USA, and with various LDs,” he said. “Everyone was extremely positive about Chauvet and this fixture. We needed more large LED washes, and it became clear that the MK3 has all the bells and whistles. It’s extremely bright, is pixel mappable, has a great zoom, and its color mixing is excellent.”

Looking beyond the specific features of the Maverick MK3 Wash, Stuart is confident that Chauvet’s philosophy meshes nicely with the principles that have guided HSL Group Holdings to success.

“We like to offer our clients the best, most creative and flexible options,” he said. “From a commercial perspective, when we commit to acquiring a large number of units like this, we need to ensure that we get an efficient ROI. We also need to know that the quality of the product is exceptional, and that it has a reasonable longevity. I have personally spent several enjoyable evenings with Albert Chauvet and his team. They have the same values that are at the essence of HSL, so I feel really positive about developing relationships, both in the UK and USA.”

Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet, shares this enthusiasm. “HSL has built a successful business and established a sterling reputation by following the same core beliefs that have always guided Chauvet,” he said. “Having an industry leader like HSL show this level of confidence in the Maverick MK3 Wash means a great deal to me and our team members who have worked to develop this product. We’re looking forward to moving ahead with HSL in the future.”

Below: Simon Stuart, HSL.

Thousands of visitors enjoyed the illumination of a specially-commissioned light spectacular in Liverpool ONE’s Chavasse Park as the finale of a city centre-wide celebration on November 16 to officially begin Christmas in Liverpool.

Developed by local artist, Mark Robinson, whose previous works have been displayed at Glastonbury Festival, the Polaris: Dare to Dream light installation was designed to represent the people, music, art, trade, education and sport that give Liverpool such rich culture. The spectacle was created using 96-colour changing cubes, each weighing 65 kilograms and containing computer-controlled LED lights and will be illuminated 24 hours a day until 9 January.

The Polaris; Dare to Dream was joined by a number of special events and performances across Liverpool ONE for the launch, including:

• Liverpool ONE’s 30-metre tall Christmas tree returned on Paradise Street, complete with its alpine-inspired venue, Bar Hutte, located beneath it offering live music and festive cocktails
• A festive street party featuring a piano-playing Santa, walkabout festive character performances, and pop-up pantomime previews performed by the Unity Theatre, The Epstein, and ECHO Arena made its way through the city centre
• A 250-strong choir, PopVox, gathered on Sugar House steps near John Lewis to entertain visitors, alongside a debut festive themed photo both inside a taxi

For Christmas 2018, Liverpool ONE has formed a partnership with the NSPCC to support their Light for Every Childhood Christmas appeal. NSPCC Christmas tree decorations, pin badges and bracelets are on sale at the Liverpool ONE Information Centre in Wall Street and selected stores across the festive season. Bar Hutte is donating 10p from every soft drink sold during the festive period.

Commenting on the Christmas enlivenment programme, Alison Clegg, Director, Asset Management, Grosvenor Europe, said: “Liverpool ONE has a reputation for delivering great events and entertainment for our visitors. This Christmas epitomised that thanks to our largest-ever festive programme, driving footfall and creating experiences visitors can share.

“Such commitment to outstanding experiences and an exceptional retail and leisure line-up is what makes Liverpool ONE an internationally renowned and in-demand destination.”

Liverpool Culture Director, Claire McColgan, added: “The fact that Liverpool ONE has chosen to commission such a bold original work to mark their Christmas celebrations shows they embrace love of culture and creative ambition as keenly as anyone in the city. Liverpool ONE always delivers a brilliant atmosphere at Christmas and Polaris will help to take this to the next level.”

Polaris: Dare to Dream will be illuminated 24 hours a day until 9 January, as part of Liverpool ONE’s 10thanniversary celebrations.

Further details are available from: www.liverpool-one.com/christmas

Images by Gareth Jones.

The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA) has taken delivery of Ayrton Ghibli™ fixtures, Ayrton’s first LED spot luminaire with a factory-equipped framing system, supplied by ACT Lighting, Inc., Ayrton’s exclusive distributor in North America.

Ghibli delivers a light output of 23,000 lumens in a highly compact format. Its proprietary optical system produces an extremely uniform fat beam with no hot spot. Ghibli’s selection of gobos and colours was made in collaboration with lighting designers to meet the needs of the entertainment industry.

Professor Daniel J. Anteau, the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance whose specialty is lighting design, had been looking to introduce cutting-edge LED moving head fixtures to use in UAA’s Main Stage and Harper Studio Theatre. He saw Ghibli online, enquired about the new light’s capabilities and sought out Ghibli users.

“I wanted to know if it was as amazing as it appeared online,” says Anteau. “It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. Users told me how Ghibli compared to other fixtures I knew. That gave me a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Since his department does a mix of theatrical and dance performances it needed an LED moving head that could be “a bit of a hybrid,” Anteau notes, “something with vibrant colours, lots of great textures, movement and effects often associated with dance and musicals on one hand, and something with a great shutter system, control over the CTO and the ability to be more subtle and nuanced.”

Ghibli offers a number of features that attracted Anteau. “I love the idea of full framing shutters; they’re essential for theatrical use since neither of our stages is a proscenium venue and everything hits the stage at odd angles. Ghibli has a really fantastic zoom. Our two venues are relatively short throws, so the wide-angle zoom that can focus most of the way through it is very helpful. I also love the two different frost filters and the variety of colours – not just the poppy, gaudy ones but subtle, tinted colours too.”

Anteau intends to share the Ghibli fixtures between UAA’s two stages. Although students have just returned for the new school year the Ghibli units have already been used by Alaska’s newest professional theatre company, CAZART, on a production of Lungs by Duncan Macmillan, with lighting design by UAA student James Kendall.

“The department’s new season will run from October 2018 to May 2019, and I anticipate the Ghiblis will be utilized on every production we do,” says Anteau. ‘I expect heavy usage for Playhouse Creatures which opens October 26.”

“I see the Ghiblis as a bit of a recruiting tool for us, too,” says Anteau. He believes the Ghibli fixtures will prove to be “quite accessible for the students. With very little experience they can jump on a console and start creating amazing effects. “I’m thinking of putting one in the lobby during our productions and programming a little sequence to generate interest with the audience. I want the campus population to come see and play with the Ghiblis. I’m very excited for our students in Alaska to get their hands on this cutting-edge technology”.

More information on Ghibli™, including a video presentation, and Ayrton’s extensive portfolio of LED fixtures can be found at www.ayrton.eu

Dutch LED lighting specialists CALEX Holland will show in LIGHT the new lighting section at JFS in 2019.

CALEX is one the leading suppliers of LED lighting for contract and domestic use and will show through their UK distributors Multi-lite UK. It is an important signing for JFS.

Martin Carnell of Multi-lite UK said, “When considering events to showcase the new range of fully dimmable, decorative designer LED filament lamps from CALEX, I was really pleased to hear about the growth of the lighting section of the January Furniture Show.

Multi-lite have committed to a large stand at the event to make sure we have all of the new CALEX lines on show. As the main distributor for CALEX lamps, Multi-lite UK will be showcasing all of the new product lines including the stunning XXL series in antique and titanium finish. Over the last couple of years, CALEX have firmly focused on decorative lamps in a wide variety of options.”

LIGHT at JFS will feature over 25 UK and International lighting companies with everything from simple table lamps to futuristic LED lighting installations.

A full list of the companies in LIGHT is available on the JFS website at www.januaryfurnitureshow.com

Signify partnered with architecture and design firm the Rockwell Group to recreate that quintessentially American icon that we’ve all seen in movies: The Diner. But this decidedly up-market pop-up diner was located in a historic vault under the Milano Centrale railway station.

David Rockwell, architect and Rockwell Group founder, designed the space to immerse visitors in a coast-to-coast journey through the United States, with four distinct environments. Visitors could experience the typical roadside diner offering coffee and pies; milkshakes served in an East Coast-style luncheonette while a middle section paid tribute to Midwest diners. The rear formed a tropical aesthetic space, typical of laid-back West Coast lounges.

Signify contributed lighting fixtures and lighting systems, and its Certified Value Added Partner Arkilux in Italy assisted with installation and programming. They chose Philips Color Kinetics PureStyle IntelliHue Powercore fixtures capable of mixing a palette of RGBA LED color channels at the source, which achieved subtle color variations to bring out the sophistication and distinctiveness of the space.

David Rockwell then worked with lighting designer Paul Gregory, from Focus Lighting, to assess every color and cue to ensure that the space’s overall look, feel and emotion were just right. Finally, using Philips Color Kinetics Color iPlayer 3 controller, the lighting was pre-programmed to change at different times of the day creating a unique feel in each area.

Mixing tradition with a contemporary twist, the pop-up restaurant acknowledged diners of the past while serving guests a taste of the future.

Eaton’s Zero 88 lighting control brand is dramatically ramping up its free training opportunities in 2019 – open for all those utilising lighting consoles running ZerOS architecture – as part of a wider comprehensive product support programme.

This is as a direct result of a dramatic increase in the number of active ZerOS users in the UK, which has doubled in the last 12 months alone.

The trend reflects the success of the FLX series of powerful, flexible and affordable lighting consoles – the FLX and FLX S24 and S48 – which have enjoyed massive popularity especially for small-to-medium applications running rigs with some moving lights and a quantity of LED fixtures together with conventionals.

Zero 88 has always been known for its commitment for training.

In 2018, well over 500 individuals benefitted from this which including regular dedicated sessions at Eaton’s bases in Cwmbran, Wales, and Watford, north of London, plus Dealer Day workshops as well as specialist on-site arrangements organized in conjunction with events like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and selected industry trade shows.

A Zero 88 team was on the ground during the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe, and delivered over 25 training workshops to nearly 120 lighting programmers and operators working in multiple venues with Zero 88 consoles in action throughout the world famous three-and-a-half-week arts extravaganza.

“The model has been such an amazing success that we have decided to make it even more accessible for users at all levels in 2019” enthused Tyler Holpin, who is key UK accounts & international sales manager and co-ordinates the UK training programme with product manager Jon Hole and product support specialists Nathanael Orr and Edward Smith.

Jon adds that, in addition to major rental companies like Adlib, SLX, Hawthorn and many more who have recently invested in FLX products, there’s been an increase in requests for training from freelance designers, programmers and operators as well as touring technicians, all eager to get the best out of these powerful, flexible and user-friendly products.

The training sessions follow a similar structure, but each one is individually tailored to cover the specific needs and products being used by those on the course.

Taking a no-nonsense approach, the training is informed yet informal and friendly with the goal of ensuring that each attendee can leave more prepared for their next show or event.

“We have put a lot of effort into pitching this right – not just in terms of conveying information but ensuring that it’s a welcoming atmosphere conducive to learning”, commented Tyler.

A one-day session will typically run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a couple of breaks and lunch provided. There is lots of time for participants to chat and exchange experiences as well as get hands-on with the equipment and gain a real understanding of its potential.

The sessions will include working with a visualizer system and a console; learning about patching, useful features like RigSync, RDM and fixture personalities and controlling colour-changing and moving lights. The goal is for console users to gain confidence in programming and operation in both theatrical and live event scenarios, learning how ZerOS can assist them in working smartly and using time efficiently.

Sessions staged at the factory in Cwmbran will also include a tour of the manufacturing facilities where Zero’s consoles are proudly ‘Made in Wales’.

A specially condensed version of the on-site sessions is available for intensive training of lighting operators and techs about to run a show with one of the consoles.

All attendees receive a certificate of completion at the end of the training.

A diverse cross section of sectors has been represented in the last 12 months – from professionals from busy rental and AV businesses to school and educational establishment IT departments, local theatre volunteers of all ages and experience levels and students.

“You name it, we’ve trained them” declares Tyler, underlining the universally accessible nature of the training.

For the Eaton Zero 88 team it is also a great opportunity to gather user and product feedback from users on the front-line of the entertainment, all of which is invaluable for future product development.

Anyone interested can click here: www.zero88.com/training

Adlib has moved to a brand-new Liverpool headquarters in Knowsley, ideally located just off Junction 4 of the M57.

This offers 83,600 square feet of fabulous space including a large pre-production area, a training suite, a comprehensive showroom, dedicated service facilities and a huge contemporary open plan office.

Anyone visiting Adlib at their Fleming Road, Speke, site over the last couple of years … will have noticed that it has been absolutely bulging at the seams for some time!

After a long search, Andy Dockerty and the Team are pleased to announce the move, which will take Adlib into a new era with more advanced levels of operation, service and efficiency.

John Hughes, Adlib’s Director, commented:

“Following an extensive 4-year search, we are delighted to announce the relocation to our new home. We’re sad to be leaving the old site in Speke in some ways, as it’s a place where we’ve nurtured and grown the foundations of the business.

The new premises, however, allow us to expand and develop in other – and new – areas. This move is a true reflection of the passion, foresight and hard work that everyone has put in over these recent years, and we’re pleased to be able to offer an absolutely first-class facility not only to our staff, but also for our customers and suppliers.

We look forward to giving everyone a traditional very warm Adlib welcome!”

For more details, please check https://adlib.co.uk/move