I had a lot to learn in order to get the project to being a sustainable business. But considering where I was in 2016 with a palm sander and a mitre saw in a sweltering basement of a rental in Hood River, Oregon I had a real direction happening. Art lamps were selling and the Makerspace in Kamloops allowed me to rent a scary looking corner of the federal building that used to be the jail and the armoury in 1896-1910. I had a small production line in the old armoury and I loved the aspect of working with Art that really spoke to me. Customers were giving me good feedback and the product was getting better every week. I was doing good work and research for what I new was the next step: finding a passionate niche, finding a way for the Lumid to solve common problems within that niche, and outsourcing the production of the product so that I could bring my lamp design to a wider audience.
In May 2020 I was hiking one sunny morning and racking my brain for the next breakthrough, as I had done so many times in the previous 4 years. I started thinking about coloring with my Mom as a kid and about how many coloring books I had seen in my friends homes in recent years. I started looking at #adultcoloringbooks and #coloringpages on instagram. The sizeof the community and the amazing work that was on display blew me away! I began making some connections in the illustration art world and talking to influencers in the space about the state of Adult Coloring Books. I got my first Johanna Basford coloring books and started experimenting with every type of pen and coloring pencils I could get my hands on.
Over the following 10 months I kept making Lumid Lamps for my artists and working on the next big pivot; The Coloring Lamp. What I found was so encouraging. I discovered that people who color are very warm, enjoy chatting, and are always open to sharing and caring. I’ve been fortunate to have help from some big influencers in the space who have tested and adored the Coloring Lamp. It's been nearly a year since I tested the first Coloring Lamp and It has been a lot of granular & high-level product develop since it was first conceived. This last year has been about going into new levels of management and execution and it has been the most rewarding year of work I've ever had.
As I write this our Kickstarter video is about to go live and we have some HUGE announcements regarding artist & influencer collaborations. I'm stunned, to be honest. I’m so grateful that the project has taken on a new momentum after a partnership with my enthusiastic and talented CFO, Christian. And after some key assistance from my friend and influencer @colourbrightbex.
Thanks for taking an interest in this story of the entrepreneurial hope and product design. I hope there’s much more to come. If you’d like to see a visual chronology of my lampy-inventions please check out my instagram page: Click here