[youtube: Ojz9Cw_JV_c]

Is Illuminate at NeoCon actually a design show wearing a lighting show's name?

Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design close out their Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series with four more manufacturer conversations, recorded live on the show floor without a script. Hunter Tremaine, VP of Business Development at QTL, breaks down why the family-owned power and LED manufacturer's first-time booth landed alongside partners like Fry Reglet, and why color quality is the detail that separates a QTL fixture from a big-box tape light. Gregory Kay, CEO of Lightology and PureEdge, explains how mirrors and color-temperature demos turned window shoppers into engaged designers who wanted to understand the science, not just admire the trapeze.

Brian Keilt, VP of Sales at Lighting Services Inc, a longtime sponsor of Lighting Matters, details the last-minute scramble that saved the show's ArtLifting installation, which showcases work by artists with disabilities. And Brian Maite of ALW makes the case for treating Illuminate as a design show and not a lighting show, right down to the paint colors on the booth walls. Is a lighting brand even the right label anymore? Part two of two, wrapping the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief series.

In This Episode:

• (00:00) Framing part two of the Illuminate@NeoCon debrief
• (02:07) Hunter Tremaine of QTL on crossing into architecture and design
• (05:13) Why color quality is the "magic sauce" of good LED
• (08:35) Gregory Kay of Lightology and PureEdge on educating with color temperature
• (12:45) Brian Keilt of Lighting Services Inc on the color and material vignette
• (16:44) The ArtLifting installation and its last-minute rescue
• (19:29) Brian Maite of ALW on reaching an audience they don't normally see
• (23:32) Rebranding as an architectural brand, not a lighting brand
• Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.
• Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes!

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:

QTL — qtl.lighting.com

Lightology — lightology.com

PureEdge Lighting — pureedgelighting.com

Lighting Services Inc — lightingservicesinc.com

ALW (Architectural Lighting Works) — alw-inc.com

LMPG Inc. (parent company of ALW) — lmpg.com

ArtLifting: https://www.artlifting.com/
NeoCon 2026 Featured Panel Talk: https://youtu.be/8OKOe1oX90Q?si=rGxIhUvENzU9Es1J
Educational Vignettes at NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminat...

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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
• Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.
• Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes!

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

Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn:

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60 manufacturers, 5 months — did Illuminate at NeoCon actually pay off?

Half the year is gone — where did it go? Hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design (RBLD) trade updates on a packed six months: the Holocaust Museum LA opening, the relit Campanile at the University of Kansas, and ongoing work on the Gordie Howe International Bridge and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. But most of the conversation returns to Illuminate at NeoCon, where 60 manufacturers showed up in just five months.

Avi and Lisa dig into what worked — LSI's interactive color-temperature display, ETC's photo booth vignette — and what didn't sit right, including a pointed question Avi raises: are manufacturers being asked to do too much? They also touch on the newly announced NLB-IES partnership, the re-illumination of Notre-Dame, and a recurring IALD theme: designers as "shepherds" of a client's story rather than its authors. It closes with the IALD president's public call to elevate the profession, and Avi's blunt response: "I'd like to get beyond the words and see the action."

In This Episode:

• (00:00) Mid-year check-ins and recent project milestones
• (09:56) The case for lighting designers and debriefing Illuminate at NeoCon
• (12:53) Manufacturer highlights: LSI's color installation and ETC's photo booth
• (17:32) Planning NeoCon 2027 and rethinking manufacturer sponsorship asks
• (21:16) NLB-IES partnership and current project spotlights
• (24:09) Notre-Dame's re-illumination and the emotional power of cathedral lighting
• (26:28) Light as storytelling and putting words to a visual craft
• (27:05) The IALD's call to elevate the profession
• (28:25) Sign-off: pop culture picks and lighting in film
• Would you be interested in sponsoring our podcast? Reach out to us.
• Share your thoughts, comments, like and subscribe to hear all of our informative upcoming episodes!

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:
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/

Art Lifting Website: https://www.artlifting.com/
Illuminate @ NeoCon 2026: https://edisonreport.com/2026/06/08/llluminate-at-neocon-2026-built-for-designers/
IALD — iald.org
NeoCon neocon.com
Lighting Matters Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighting-matters-podcast/
Lighting Matters Podcast YouTube Channel: https://w...