Lighting Equipment Used:
20 Color Kinetics ICoves
18 MR-16 Fixtures
Custom Case Lighting

Metal & Stone Fine Jewelry, specializing in custom jewelry and jewelry repair, was opening in Eastland Mall in Charlotte, NC. City planners had proposed a redevelopment of the mall with hopes of repeating the success of South Park Mall, the center piece of Charlotte's premiere shopping district. Dale Lynn, owner of Metal & Stone, had cornered the market on jewelry repair work in nearby Plaza-Midwood and thought Eastland Mall would be a prime opportunity to expand his business. The problem was that Eastland Mall already contained nearly a dozen jewelry stores. The challenge was to set Metal & Stone apart from the other stores in the mall.

The artistic design came from Jared Nicholson, owner of Scratch-Works. Jared has developed a unique style using fundamentals of painting and three dimensional sculpting. He envisioned the room's transformation into a mining cave, where the high ceilings would be riddled with stalactites to create an underground jewel mine. My lighting design would further this illusion, maintaining the subterranean ambience while ensuring effective lighting for the display cases and work areas. Jared loved the LED work I used with his art in Sky Lounge, so he felt confident that I would be able to support and enhance his vision.

Jared constructed a cove approximately 11 feet off the ground, protruding 4 feet, and covering three of the four walls. Above the cove, he created a circular dome, painting a small opening to a star lit sky. Below the cove, the wall subtly morphs from rock formations to a smooth wall. The cove around the ceiling was a perfect setup for 20 IColor Coves by Color Kinetics. Spaced at 4 feet from center to center, the lumina output of the IColor Coves perfectly balanced the room. By altering colors, I could program various effects. To create the illusion of a stream flowing overhead, I fluctuated a small amount of green at random intervals into a blue backdrop, occasionally flickering equal parts of red and green into the blue to splash white onto the ceiling. To create the look of moss growing on the walls, I used different intervals of red and green in each light, having the intensities individually fluctuate to give the moss the appearance of life. To create a firelight effect, I flickered green from 0% to 20% of the red's intensity making sure that none of the IColor coves used the same pattern. Every visit provides customers with a new visual and textural experience. This living art generates a natural buzz or conversation about the store which is an effective form of advertising.

In an artistic retail design, sometimes the lighting designer has to redirect the emphasis from the art back to the purpose of the art which is to attract customers and sell product. Jewelry cases must be the brightest items in the room. This puts the emphasis back on the merchandise and prevents customers from seeing their reflection. Having bright cases also highlights the most important item in the store: jewelry. However, the cases provided their own set of complications. Built much like a gun cabinet, the boxy shape offered no room for lights to be tucked away. Due to space restrictions, I was unable to use fluorescents which are both energy efficient and cool. Instead, I ordered custom lighting with an "L" shaped shield to block the 10 watt halogens from view. I placed lighting strips under each glass shelf, eliminating ghastly shadows on the precious stones. Above the jewelry cases, 2 rows of 9 MR-16 narrow-spot fixtures hung over the lip of a large cove. Each fixture was staggered to create a cavernous feel. For the work areas, several lamps were used for every station.

Metal & Stone Fine Jewelry Store is the perfect example of a simple yet functional lighting design. Customers drag their friends to see the cave ceiling. Their eyes then fall to the shimmering jewelry all around them. The simplest design in my portfolio, yet I feel it is my most successful.