Today we’d like to introduce you to David Steinitz.
David, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In the late 1970s I took a trip to Europe and came back with a bunch of catalogs of furniture and lighting I wanted for myself. I was currently working in lighting for the local movie studios and running the lighting division of a studio rental company. looking at all the catalogs I brought back, one of them, a Dutch lighting company of many years and design awards stood out so much that I decided to open a little lighting showroom on the edge of Beverly Hills where we stayed for 4 years. We started out open 3 days a week so I could go out and consult on the use of my lighting line. I realized that there were very few people doing upscale residential lighting design so I took on more lighting and control lines and over the 38 or so years our lighting lines are over 300 vendors and include fans, home automation, landscape lighting and just about anything that requires a bulb. I also still do some studio work as I still have friends in that industry. We were on La Cienega for 24 years and 10 more years on Fairfax and Melrose and now have settled on Venice Bl. near the Helms Bakery. we work on projects that go from a few hundred-sq. ft. to my last house in Florida at just under 30,000 sq. ft. I have done everything from rail cars for collectors to custom motor homes, aircraft, high rise residential and commercial and all types of retail and restaurants. I have done landscape lighting for all types of projects and light monuments for cities. At this point, one of the only items I have never had the challenge lighting is a bridge, something I would love to do. 38 years of being paid to enjoy my favorite hobby, lighting.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Getting people to realize there is such a profession as lighting consultants and getting people like designers, architects and end users to use us before rather than after all the work is done, we get called in to make a bad design work which is not always possible. I have a saying, there is never enough money to do it right but always enough to do it over.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the F.I.R.E. L.T.D. story. Tell us more about the business.
My consultants including myself specify equipment that we personally have taken apart and put back together as we do not believe any vendors claim as to what the equipment can do until we try it ourselves. This sets us apart from our competition because we go out to our finished projects and adjust the lighting to meet our original design intent. Lighting is an art and expecting the electricians or contractors to get the lighting correct for the client’s needs is pointless as they had no idea why we did what we did when we conceived of the design. This includes setting the lighting levels for the automation systems. We are all trained in the different automation platforms so we understand at the start how the system should be designed rather than letting the electrician or worse yet the audio/video people whom have no idea how to design lighting lay out a control system that both meets the needs of the client and has the ability to be altered to meet any future needs the client may want to implement.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Think hard about getting married when you have a strong passion for loving what your calling in life is.
Pricing:
- As lighting consultants we currently charge $200.00 per hour
Contact Info:
- Address: F.I.R.E./L.T.D.
8707 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90034 - Website: www.fireltd.com
- Phone: 310 558 9110
- Email: [email protected]
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