3 Key Lessons After 6 Months Working in a Lighting Store

Before September 2020, my knowledge of lighting was relatively limited. I had occasionally worked with the lighting department in the theater I worked in, so I could maybe wire a three prong plug. With a strong emphasis on maybe. I knew some stage lighting theory, but I was more the audio guy.  September arrived and I was hired by Creative Cables! They decided to take a chance on someone whose knowledge of lighting was relatively limited, so I immediately started the learning process.  It started with recovering some of the basics that at some point in my life I could say that I knew. Black wire gets wired in to the brass housing, E26 bulbs are traditionally what is used in most homes, and to make sure that I clean up any pieces of wire jacket that have been stripped. That last one I am still in the process of learning.  

I have learned a lot, and I wanted to share key takeaways that I have learned over the past for months. Some of them have to do with the technical stuff, but most have to do with figuring out what the best option might be for you and your needs!

Takeaway #1.  If you are new to lighting, it can be intimidating! There is the fear of shocking yourself or even starting a fire. While that may be true, it is always a consolation to know that there really are just three wires and those three wires have their own designated spot. There are tons of tutorials (some of them on the Creative Cables youtube page ;)  ) and as long as you are careful it is not as intimidating as it seems! Start off with a few tutorials and in no time you will be able to fix almost any wiring issue you see!

Takeaway #2.  There are tons of HUGE stores that have a lighting tab with a bunch of premade bundles.  While I often prefer the predesigned option, sometimes it isn’t always exactly what you want. In smaller stores it does not hurt to use that bundle to reach out to see if there are similar things, but with slight changes. See if they can make the cable longer! 

Often for just a slight price change they are more than happy to accommodate you. If there is maybe a different color option you see, reach out and see if it can be made in a different color! The worst that could happen is that it is not possible. If that is the case, they might have an even better option for you! You will never know unless you ask. They want you to have exactly what you want, so you can fall in love with it right when you see it.

Takeaway #3.  There are thousands of lighting products out there. Honestly maybe in the millions. I can tell you right now that there will be products that are not compatible together. There are often data sheets that tell you what an item is compatible with, but they can get pretty complicated!  I still struggle sometimes to interpret the information. All of this to say is, if you have a question about compatibility, send a quick message asking about it! If you have your heart set on a bulb and cannot decide which socket works with it, it does not hurt to reach out.

If you are trying to build your own plug in pendant and want to make sure everything works, send a quick message! That way you do not have to worry about delays in the timeline because there was a compatibility issue. Here at Creative Cables we try to reach out before shipping the item to inform anyone, but without knowing the exact project sometimes we can miss some things!

There are many other things I have learned over the course of these past six months. But I think these are the most important to know before going to the cart checkout. Lighting is so personal and so take the time to figure out exactly what kind of lighting you want in your home! Reach out to us if you have any questions and we would love to help out!