New LED Optics Rolled Out for Deco Lighting's Area Lights

GET,LLC was certain that once we were able to introduce the Western Pacific market to Deco Lighting's innovative Area Lighting that something cool was going to come out of our Commerce, California-based partner to make these products even better.  

Deco Lighting President Ben Pouladian and the team at Deco late last month introduced new optics for their lines of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) street lighting and flood lights.  The Deco Team wrote recently that optics are a fundamental component of LED lighting systems, and the optical performance of an LED system determines the system’s quality and performance.

"Deco Lighting’s advanced optical designs make their luminaires the perfect solution for any lighting application. Indexed to the circuit board to ensure consistent optical alignment, their new optics deliver repeatable photometric performance, and their precision-molded acrylic lenses provide optimal luminaire spacing and improved uniformity. 

Deco Lighting’s focus on producing clean-energy products is demonstrated through their optical systems, which are Dark Sky compliant, and control light above 90 degrees, eliminating wasteful up light. These optics will now be applied to several of Deco’s outdoor luminaires including the D824-LED and D826-LED, two premiere roadway lighting fixtures, as well as the D816-LED and D823-LED, two aesthetically appealing flood lights that utilize a soft-cornered aerodynamic design to provide excellent light distribution."

If in Guam, ask the people of Santa Rita and their Mayor Dale Alvarez about the D823-LED lights currently lighting their Municipal Basketball Court.  A sleek looking flood with light distribution not see anywhere else in the Marianas. A great asset to the community there.

Deco Lighting customers will have a choice of three optimized distributions: Type II, Type III/Type IV, and Type V. The addition of these optical systems to several of their outdoor products greatly expands Deco Lighting’s offerings and, with their high-performing Nichia LEDs and 10-Year Warranty with Labor, makes Deco Lighting the go-to place for all outdoor applications requiring specified lighting optics.

To learn more about the lighting products that GET, LLC provides, including the LED lines of our partners, Independence LED Lighting and Deco Lighting Inc., please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or call us at 671-483-0789 to discuss solutions for your important lighting needs-All Made in America!!!

Do You Practice Cost-Avoidance with Your Inventory of Furniture?

GET, LLC received a great piece of advice from our partners at Savoy Contract Furniture that we wanted to share with you-practice cost avoidance by minimizing furniture repairs and replacements. From experience, Savoy Furniture has found that their respective customers experience a significant reduction in these costs with their durable, high quality residence hall and lounge furniture.  From campuses to corporate offices, this practice of cost-avoidance through the implementation of revenue producing ideas attracts and retaining students and or repeat customer business. They ask that we all differentiate our office or housing facility with all new designs, and unique personalization options. Savoy Furniture takes it one step further by recommending that we provide our end users with the versatility to reinvent their respective spaces with stacking chests, loftable beds, and mobile furniture.

Why is this important?

Spending on quality furniture can pay off in years to come. according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, the publication asserted in 2012  that buying top-grade pieces can be a good investment: good furniture, along with other home design elements, can last a lifetime and increase in value.

Also, purchase a high-quality product which is easier to maintain than lower-quality furniture. 

You’ll find high-quality furniture, at a variety of price levels, from a well established company with a good reputation. 

“Learn the history of the company from which you want to buy,” said Assistant Director of North Carolina State University’s Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center (FMMC) Steve Walker.

Furniture manufacturer Shelby Williams released a report recently that stated that there are four things to take into account when investing in high-quality furniture:

1. Choose the Right Product for the Application-different applications require different products, so the way you operate your business should determine the furniture selection.
2. Ensure Furniture Is Tested to Standards-The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) has a series of widely recognized tests for seating. 
3. Request a Furniture Sample
4. Consider Your Brand’s Environmental & Social Reputation-Environmentally responsible solutions such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood, bio-based foam and formadahyde-free finishes are very typical today. These are all great features; however, buying good quality furniture that performs well for many years might be the ‘greenest’ action of all, as it means less furniture goes to the landfill.

For more on how GET, LLC through our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture and teaming partner American Hotel Register can assist you with your specific furniture needs- please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss the best solution for your facility.  All the solutions are Made in America!

What Is The True Cost of Ownership-a Furniture Tip

Our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture shared with us recently a couple of things to think about when looking at the cost of ownership of the furniture in your office, dorm or retail outlet. 

Maintaining furniture can be exactly like having a leaky pipe.  There is no question that you can patch the leaks, but the problem will continue to grow.  They ask us to consider the following when calculating the true cost of your furniture:

• How many maintenance hours are spent on furniture repair calls?
• Number of furniture items replaced during the calendar year?
• How long is your furniture lasing-seven, 10 or 15 years?

Keeping with the comparison, time and again the purchase of low price furniture leads to a leaky pipe.  Calculating the total expenses over a seven year period is usually enough to see how much profit is lost to maintenance.  Look for value added and quality furniture and you should be OK.

For more on how GET,LLC through our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture and teaming partner American Hotel Register can assist you with your specific FF&E needs- please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss the best solution for your facility.  All the solutions are Made in America!

Form and Line-What is it?

A great piece of advice from Furniture World Magazine regarding Form and Line.  I must start by stating that they are the oldest trade publication in this industry in the United States. 20,000 furniture retailers look to them for the most up to date information on their business.  The New Rochelle, New York-based company has been doing this since 1870 and their information is timeless.

Case in point. When creating a retail space or a space for your respective customer, they say to use form and line to your advantage,

"...Form fills space and defines it. A trained eye learns to notice not only the form, but also to appreciate the void which adjoins and is defined by it. This relationship is much like the interplay between shadow and light. Forms have bulk and shape.

Rectangular forms can give a room a sense of sturdiness and certainty, but overuse can be repetitive and monotonous. Most rooms, furniture and wall decor are basically rectangles; having straight sides and right angled corners.

Angular forms are less common than rectilinear. They, therefore, attract and keep attention.

Diagonals can be used to imply motion and also increase the apparent size of an object.

Curved forms impart feelings of security, continuous change and continuity. Circles, arcs and cones have a focal point to which attention is drawn, lending emphasis to a design scheme. Sectionals, upholstered back, arm and cushion treatments, lamp shades, dining and occasional tables, vases, plates, fabric and rug designs often employ curved forms and motifs. They can be used as the basis or theme of a room design or to offset and balance angular and rectilinear forms.

Line can be used to alter the mood and proportion of a living space. Form and line are closely related. A rectangle can be tall and high or long and low, approximating vertical or horizontal lines. A low, long rectangular sofa may generate a feeling of stability and certainty resulting from its form - and also of informality and length due to its lines.

Horizontal Lines can be used to make spaces seem more relaxed and informal, and accentuate the horizontal aspect or length of walls or furnishings.

Vertical Lines, like the geometry of a Gothic cathedral, can add dignity and formality to a room. They also make objects seem taller in relation to their width.

Curved Lines evoke the same kinds of responses as curved forms. Depending on their spatial orientation, they can also incorporate properties of horizontal or vertical lines.

Diagonal Lines can create a feeling of imbalance and dynamic movement. Like curved lines, their impact changes with their horizontal or vertical aspect."

Thanks Furniture World for the advice-the 20,000 readers they have world wide probably don't say it enough.

GET, LLC is a partner with Pennsylvania-based Savoy Furniture. We thank them for what they do provide the form and line of their products that give their customers the quality and stability that continues to make them a top choice for their respective case good needs.

For more on how Savoy Furniture and GET, LLC can assist you with your furniture needs, please check out our website and drop us a line or give us a call.

How To Qualify a "Lighting Designer"-A Primer from the IALD

I had the privilege recently of meeting Marketing and Communications Coordinator Jessica Burke of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD).  During the 2013 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Expo, I spent three days staring at her booth, which was adjacent to the one I was manning throughout the AIA National Convention.  I was drawn to the words near their banner that read, "Another Person's Dark Space is Our Blank Canvas".  When I was finally able to meet her, I found Jessica to be very helpful and passionate about advancing the work of Lighting Designers in America and around the world.  With a handful of projects here that have left me wondering just how to approach these individual dilemmas with a viable solution, Jessica's input has us looking in the region for assistance for this most important part of the construction design process.  Affecting the space of new construction projects and retrofits of existing structures, lighting is an integral part of both the architectural and interior design-which is often overlooked in our part of the world because of cost and lack of experience with this important discipline.

A deep dive into the IALD yielded these tidbits of information:

"...Anyone with a business card can call himself a lighting designer. Electrical systems designers, electrical contractors, electrical distributors, sales reps and lighting retailers all use the title.

There are ways, however, to identify the full-time, independent professional lighting consultant. If the design of a project is important, the persons in control of lighting design and specification should be participating in one or more lighting programs and associations such as IALD Professional and Associate Members...the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP)..CLC or Certified Lighting Consultants.

...Architects, facility managers, designers, electrical engineers, builders and owners are among the many who are embracing professional lighting designers to augment their projects. They are finding that the value of an independent lighting design professional is an integral element of outstanding client service."

Though we are five time zones away from the home base of the IALD, GET, LLC is encouraged that their members are the consummate professionals who regularly attend and give educational seminars locally, nationally and internationally. Many also teach or lecture at local universities including some of their newest members with links to the Pacific Rim.  The IALD uses these tools to keep their designs fresh and stay current with product technologies, lighting designers are obliged to expand their knowledge base in the multitude of lighting-related disciplines and techniques all around the world.

These are just a number of the reasons, we are advocating for the incorporation of smart lighting design into projects here in the Western Pacific.  We will be looking to the IALD for assistance on our projects moving forward to offer our customers a quality lighting design that saves money, the environment and energy.  This savings will come to building owners and end users through sustainable design and code compliance by balancing efficiency and innovation.  Thanks IALD for giving us the inspiration to provide the knowledge, creativity and commitment that our customers have come to rely on and expect from us.  

For more on lighting solutions for your respective facility, check out our website or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss how we can turn your "vision into reality".