In the past few months, Deco Lighting has welcomed Karen Long and Alana Mancao to the Deco Lighting Family. More specifically, they are joining Deco’s growing marketing team! Karen joins the team as a Junior Graphic Designer. She brings with her a wealth of expertise and experience in graphic design, print production, and UI design. Alana joins the marketing team as a Social Media and Marketing Coordinator. She brings her skills of copywriting, social media management, and analytics to the table. Both are relatively new to the lighting industry. However, their willingness to learn and passion to put out the best work will ultimately lead to their success within Deco.

New additions to Deco Lighting’s marketing team present an overall shift in marketing strategy for the LA-based Lighting manufacturer. Under the leadership of Fabian Lucero, Head of Marketing, the department is seeking to implement new marketing tactics. Some plans include improving social media presence, building and fostering an educational lighting community, streamlining web processes, and more. Deco is excited to host the fresh perspectives of this growing team. The company will surely benefit from the strengths that each member brings to the table.

There is no better way to introduce new members of the team than asking them to introduce themselves. Today we have interviewed Karen and Alana to get to know a little more about them. We are excited to hear about and the plans they have in store for Deco’s marketing ventures.

Welcome to the team!

Tell us about your background!

Karen: I’m a graduate from CSU Long Beach with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. I’ve been drawing all my life, hence the illustration degree. I’ve been interested in graphic design since I was 11 years old–the day I got Photoshop, actually. I always wanted to create album artwork for all the bands that I loved growing up. I’d also be drawing book and comic covers too. It was easy to realize that I loved being a consumer of all the art in the world. However, I also knew I wanted to create it to share with people as well! All it took was to finesse my art and design skills through high school and college, then a few extra graphic design classes after.

Alana: I graduated from CSU Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and a minor in Gerontology (the study of aging). You’re probably wondering– why is a girl with a social work degree pursuing a marketing career? To put it simply; I discovered my passion for social media, marketing, and the digital space a little too late while in school. I was exposed to work in digital media and entertainment through my DJ side-gig. This inspired me to branch out of the healthcare sector. After graduation, I gained freelance experience in social media management. For the past six months, I was a Social Media Coordinator for an LA-based full-service creative agency.

What makes you passionate about your specific position?

Karen: I think I always just liked to design and draw. All my friends and family would encourage me a lot and I would like to make things that made me happy. This, in turn, would make them excited for when I got to create things. I love being able to get reactions from other people about my work because it incites emotions in them. I like knowing that I helped articulate the image or ideas in their heads to physical things, albeit some are pixels on a screen. It also helps to get messages across easier, creating guides and compiling information to be aesthetically pleasing as well as informative.

Alana: As a millennial, I grew up in the era of social media— maintaining both personal and professional connections through this avenue of communication. I respect the power of social media for how it bridges together people from different parts of the world. I admire how it helps maintains my connection with family and friends, brings awareness to social issues and keeps me up to date with popular culture. The lengths of what social media can accomplish run the gamut! I am excited to build a community that brings Deco’s mission and values to the front of the lighting industry.

Why did you choose to join Deco Lighting?

Karen: It felt more like Deco choosing me! They’re giving me the chance to grow and expand technical know-how, ranging from getting catalogs to print or designing a whole website. Joining the team was a no-brainer because of the amazing people I get to work with!

Alana: I chose to join Deco Lighting because of the amazing company culture and their willingness to help their employees grow in any way possible. This opportunity at Deco is helping me grow exponentially in an environment that is constructive and helpful.

What are your expectations and goals for 2019?

Karen: I definitely want to roll out as much marketing collateral for Deco as I possibly can. My focus is to make sure the whole Deco brand is cohesive all across the board while maintaining a clean and elegant look in everything that we put out there.

As for personal goals, I always say that I will draw more and that I will read more. I also want to say yes to more things!

Alana: My main focus is to solidify Deco’s social media presence by growing our following, increasing engagement, and optimizing our profiles. I hope that an increase in social media reach can result in a stronger community and new clients.

My personal goals include finding a new hobby and building stronger relationships with the people around me. Maybe—just maybe—I’ll hit the gym at least 3 times a week.

In the LED lighting industry, what do you see as one of the most exciting developments in the near future?

Karen: There is a lot of talk about what technology can be incorporated into our fixtures and considering how connected I am to my phone and laptop, that idea sparks so much interest in me. Bluetooth Mesh is only the start and getting into more technology could only mean good things! It really is more than just lighting.

Alana: The concept of human-centric lighting fascinates me. The idea that lighting affects human well-being and health is truly something I had never considered. In hindsight it makes complete sense. It’s an exciting time to see that workplace environments are beginning to consider our biological clock in relation to productivity. Appropriate lighting that not only speaks to our sight but our bodies as well will change millions of lives.

What are some hobbies you hold outside of Deco and the lighting industry?

Karen: The beauty of having what started as my hobby turned into my career is nice, so I still find myself designing and drawing outside of work. I also immerse myself in pop-culture. You can definitely find me at opening weekend at any Marvel movie that’s being released. Or holed up in my bed binge-watching anime or some show on Netflix/Hulu. When I can’t bare to look at a screen any longer, a good book and a local coffee shop is my favorite place to escape to. And there’s always time for an Overwatch match.

Alana: Music is one of my biggest passions so my hobbies vary from learning new instruments and songs to DJing at a local bar or club with my friends, to going to live concerts of my favorite artists. I am always down for a board game night or Nintendo Switch game party. Since my extraversion can only last so long you can usually catch me binge-watching the latest show, movie, anime, or Korean drama holed up in my room or cozied up on a couch.

About DECO Lighting®

DECO Lighting is a leading provider of innovative lighting fixtures and systems for the commercial, municipal, and utility markets. Based in Commerce, California, DECO Lighting aims to Digitize Your Light by offering the latest in green technology, energy-saving lighting, and efficient controls. Continually winning industry awards and patents for their unique US-made products and designs, DECO Lighting utilizes the latest and most advanced lighting technologies to improve lighting quality, increase efficiency, and sustain the environment. Partnered with leading LED manufacturer Nichia, DECO Lighting offers the only ten-year warranty with labor in the lighting industry. A market-leading manufacturer of green lighting technology, DECO Lighting serves the growing need for sustainable lighting and control solutions. DECO is committed to delivering superior value to its customers and clients on a consistent basis. For more information, please visit www.getdeco.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

DECO Lighting will continue to innovate by constantly improving its R&D processes, fixture designs, and now marketing tactics. This innovation is what continues to drive the company forward, enabling it to grow and quickly adapt to the changing landscape of the LED lighting industry. DECO Lighting is prepared to expand quicker than ever in 2019 with several new marketing plans in the works.

After the recall of Cree Lighting’s LED retrofit T8 tubes back in June, I noted the importance of using superior hardwired retrofit solutions rather than tube retrofit options. Recently, Osram Sylvania recalled 55,000 T8 LED replacement tubes due to their potential to overheat and melt, posing a burn hazard for users.

Osram Sylvania recalled nearly 55,000 LED T8 tube lamps manufactured in South Korea over reported burn hazards on August 25, 2015.

This recall again highlights the superiority and increased safety of using hardwired LED boards as opposed to LED retrofit tubes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission strongly recommends that consumers stop using T8 LED tubes and replace them. Only a hardwired solution can safely retrofit a fluorescent fixture to LED. At Deco Lighting we focus on education and sourcing the best, verified components in our supply chain to eliminate this risk.

To aid customers interested in upgrading to the safer hardwired retrofit solution after these recalls, we are providing discounts on our Deco Linea retrofit kits to end-users who have purchased any of the recalled “quick-fix” LED T8 tubes made to fit into existing fluorescent sockets. Using these LED tube retrofit kits presents a safety risk because most of the original fixtures used T12 lamps and magnetic ballasts (an analog system), but were retrofitted to T8 using upgraded electronic ballasts. If the retrofitter did not upgrade or replace the existing T8 tombstones, then a small amount of leakage current is emitted. T8 lamps can tolerate this leakage. Yet, with solid-state LED lamps, this current affects the LEDs and the power supply, causing the sockets to overheat and melt. Deco Lighting does not use tube technology for this very reason.

These recent LED recalls also highlight the importance of utilizing US-made LED solutions. The Cree T8 LED tubes recalled on June 4th were manufactured in China, and the Osram Sylvania T8 LED tubes recalled on August 25th were manufactured in South Korea. Many of these non-U.S. made LED products posses manufacturing defects due to poor-quality components and lack of testing to ensure that end-products meet the proper safety standard that customers deserve. For instance, LEDinside recently published a story revealing that inferior LED luminaries were being labeled and sold as international brands in China. Unfortunately, many customers shop based solely on price and go to marketplaces like Alibaba.com to buy the cheapest DLC-listed LED T8 they can find; and rarely are these products up to necessary LED standards. At Deco, we focus on educating the public about sub-standard versus quality LED solutions, and sourcing the best, verified components in the supply chain to eliminate consumer risk. We also make all of our LED boards at our manufacturing facility in Commerce, California, so you can be sure you are purchasing top-quality, American-made luminaires that will last a lifetime.

Google Trends depicts a growing interest among consumers in T8 LED tube retrofit solutions, and it’s important for end-users to be aware of the difference in quality and safety between a tube retrofit and a hardwired upgrade. Deco Lighting continues to create safe and efficient LED retrofit solutions, populating our American-made boards with state-of the-art LEDs by Nichia, makers of the finest-quality LEDs in the market. Our partnership with Nichia has enabled us to produce an incredible LED light engine that produces very little heat, lasts up to 219,000 hours, and is covered by the same 10-year warranty included with all Deco LED products. We offer several LED retrofit kits that simultaneously improve the quality of light and reduce power consumption by up to 75 percent when compared to fluorescent tubes. For instance our Linea Troffer and Parabolic LED Retrofit Kit upgrades standard 1X4, 2X2, and 2X4 fluorescent troffers in as little as five minutes. To learn more about Deco retrofit kits and solutions click here.

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