An Open Letter to My Designers, My Friends

To All of My Designer Friends,

My new office mates are needy, but cute.

This has to have been the strangest week I've had since 2007. It seems every 10 years or so we had to be tested with something we've never seen before to test our resilience. I can't pretend to know what's coming or how long this dreadful situation will continue or what the ultimate fall out will be. What I do know, because I've seen it firsthand twice in my life is that we will come back. Whether it was the terror of 9/11 or the economic devastation of the subprime lending crisis, we find our way back.

It's been a full work week and if my experience has been anything like yours I think it's safe to say we're all adjusting to the new normal. Simple things like arranging childcare, stocking the pantry and doing our daily work have been upended. We're in uncharted territory and feeling it all out as we go. As I type this I’ve been helping Nola spell “U-N-C-L-E T-I-M.” It’s been…something.

My role as a sales rep is a strange one in these times. So much of what makes me busy is what makes you busy. I pounce on incoming emails, hunger for phones calls and find myself missing the rhythm of the work week. The visits to offices, the calls on the go, even lugging the samples.

But mostly I miss you guys, visiting your studios and talking projects is what I love, not getting to do that day to day is saddening to me. In my efforts for some normalcy, I've been trying to create content that is useful and somewhat replicates my visits to your office. I fully realize now might not be the moment you want to hear about the latest in lighting products, but I also imagine you might have some time to kill. Below is a collection I've already done from my newly-modified shed turned lighting lab. If there are topics you'd like to see discussed, I'd be happy to pull things together for you.

Please be well, be safe and remember we'll get through this!