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Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design pull up chairs on the Illuminate@NeoCon floor for four back-to-back manufacturer check-ins. Sage Russell, VP of Specification Sales at LumenWerx, explains why a fully custom experience room, built in just thirty days, outdrew every standard booth on the floor. Nate Jackson of Fixt Electric traces an unlikely path from Soviet-era salvage runs across Russia to launching Cym x Fixt, a new architectural line made with ceramicist Cym Warkov.

Sean Gaydos, president of USAI Lighting, gets candid about the real math behind an eighty-show marketing calendar, drayage, unions, and rep support included. And Jana Owens, director of sales at Luminii and part of the team behind Morlights' recent LeSelect restaurant project in Chicago, makes the case for an underrated Midwest design community. "Bring something special, make it worth your while," one guest says. What did the lighting industry's first dedicated trade show floor actually deliver, and what still needs fixing before next year?

Part one of two — episode 39 picks up the conversation with more manufacturers from the show floor.

In This Episode:

(00:00) Framing the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series

• (02:09) Sage Russell of LumenWerx on Illuminate's first-year impact
• (07:42) Booth placement and next-year growth for exhibitors
• (08:59) Nate Jackson of Cym x Fixt launches a new architectural line
• (12:14) Sean Gaydos of USAI Lighting on trade show economics
• (17:34) Designers backing the manufacturers who back the industry
• (20:56) Jana Owens of Luminii on selling light beyond the spec sheet
• (24:16) New product launches and the Midwest design community
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About the show:

Lighting Matters is hosted by Lisa Reed and Avi Mor. In each episode, we’ll dig deep into the meticulous process of creating lighting design for architecture, showcasing industry leaders who balance artistic creativity with technical precision, and listen as they share their successes and challenges in architectural lighting design.

Resources:

LumenWerx — https://www.lumenwerx.com

Fixt Electric Co. — https://www.fixtelectric.com

USAI Lighting — https://www.usailighting.com

Luminii — https://www.luminii.com

NeoCon 2026 Featured Panel Talk: https://youtu.be/8OKOe1oX90Q?si=rGxIhUvENzU9Es1J
Educational Vignettes at NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminate-at-neocon-2026-built-for-designers/

Illuminate @ NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminate-at-neocon-2026-built-for-designers/
IALD — iald.org
NeoCon neocon.com

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