Our Founding Director, Sally Storey, was delighted to speak at The RIBA Journal’s event – What is it about light?

RIBA Journal partnered with Occhio to create an evening of knowledge sharing, inspiring talks and networking and Sally was honoured to share the stage with Keith Bradshaw – Senior Partner and CEO of Speirs Major and Occhio’s showroom manager, Tristan Forrest.

Sally was asked by RIBA Journal to focus on her experiences in the lighting industry – as one of the early forerunners of the lighting design movement in the mid-1980s.

Sally has also recently written a book she wrote for RIBA called ‘Inspired by Light’ which is an invaluable tool to architects and interior designers to understand how to light the home. It helps simplify LED technology and provide tools and solutions for every room, whether contemporary or traditional, so it was only fitting that Sally joined the panel to discuss ‘What is it about light?’.

Sally’s passion for light began while studying architecture at university and her fascination with light has continued to grow – along with her experience in creating uniquely beautiful projects where light is used as a language of expression, rather than simply a utility.

Sally discussed how – in the advent of the ‘halogen revolution’ – she worked on John Cullen Lighting’s first low-glare polestar product developed, filling a gap in the market for residential lighting that moved away form glary halogen downlights or traditional large dark light fixtures. These became the first miniature lights available on the market, inspiring many of the competitor products available today.

Sally’s work with John Cullen Lighting was becoming more consultative, with people asking for advice on how they should light their homes, rather than simply buying products to do the job.  But it was Sally’s first commission as a lighting designer: Her first full lighting concept project for Chase Manhattan bank in 1986, that would spark the beginnings of Lighting Design International.

Of course, Sally now leads our team of talented and pioneering lighting designers that work across luxury projects across the globe. Our team speaks the language of light to answer the briefs of clients in a whole range of sectors and specialisms. Hailing from architectural and product design backgrounds, the team has an intense understanding of the role lighting should play – both as a decorative accompaniment and as an architectural enhancement. It’s that understanding that stands LDI – with Sally at the helm – as one of the UK’s leading lighting consultancies, and why RIBA Journal was so keen to include Sally in their panel to focus on lighting.

We’d like to thank RIBA for hosting such an enlightening and inspiring event, which gave us cause to reflect on our heritage – and to the lady who sparked it all. Sally Storey.