If you’ve bought a light fitting in Canberra, Queanbeyan or the South Coast in the past 40 years, there’s a good chance you’ve visited Project Lighting.
The Canberra-founded, family-run business has sold lights and light fittings since 1972. From its small beginnings in Altree Court in Phillip, it has grown to six locations across the ACT and NSW, with over 50 staff.
Maryanne Gore, who was awarded Business Woman of the Year – Highly Commended at the recent Canberra Women in Business Awards, is the second generation in her family to work at Project Lighting.
She joined the family business in the late 1980s as an office administrator and became chief executive in 2000. Her father, Mick Hogg, still owns the business – and Maryanne describes him as a great source of advice and assistance.
Maryanne says Project Lighting’s longevity can be partly attributed to catering for both retail and wholesale customers. Its friendly and professional lighting experts can recommend practical solutions for creating functional and attractive living spaces, as well as supply and advise electrical contractors.
And while lights and light fittings are widely available for sale online, Maryanne says it’s always better to pop into a Project Lighting store.
“We find that people like to come in and get an idea of size, shape and colour. Online retailers do include specifications like diameter, but you never really know how a light fitting is going to look until you see it in the flesh.”
Don’t feel embarrassed about bringing fabric swatches, household items or even pieces of furniture along with you on your visit. Maryanne says it’s a great way to make sure you’re making the right colour choice.
“The eye has a very bad memory for colour. You can look at something blue at home, but then you come and look at the same shade of blue in the shop and your eye can trick you.
“However, the eye is much better at comparative colour viewing, so if you put two blues next to each other you can immediately see the difference. Plenty of people come into the store with fabric swatches to help them in their selection.”
Maryanne says that the big trend at the moment is energy-efficient LED lighting – but perhaps not in the way you might expect. After a trip to international lighting conference Lightfair International in New York earlier this year, Project Lighting employees say that there are some impressive innovations coming to market soon.
“We sent three people off to New York for Lightfair to learn about market trends and innovations. They were particularly impressed with dimmable LED lights that don’t just dim the light level, but can also change the colour temperature of the light from cool to warm,” she says.
Project Lighting has stores in Belconnen, Phillip, Queanbeyan, Tuggeranong, Batemans Bay and Ulladulla. Call 02 6282 2588 or visit the Project Lighting website to find out more about its great value lighting products.
(Photo: Kylee Sharples Wilomark Imagery)
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