CaseStudy Design, has become locally popular for their unique light fixtures that are made out of … wait for it … books! If you’re as surprised as I was when I first learned about CaseStudy Design and its owner/founder/designer Chall Gray, who are engaged in the practice of upcycling old things like books into lovely light fixtures, then read on for an interesting interview with a book-lover turned lamp designer.

1. Hello, Chall, and thanks for talking with me. First, can you tell me a little about your background and upbringing?

I’m a native of western North Carolina, and grew up on a farm out in the country. Design was something that gradually became more and more central to my life and predilections the older I’ve gotten.

2. So you’ve grown up surrounded by upcyclable things. That makes me wonder: Why books? Why not make lamps out of tissue boxes, skulls, or aluminum cans?

4. What are your goals with Case Study Design? What does the future look like?

I currently work full-time as VP at Thirsty Monk, where we have a series of beer and cocktail bars and a brewery, so I’m only able to devote so much time to CaseStudy, but it’s a central passion of my life, and luckily production doesn’t depend on my schedule because our Production Manager crafts the lights in our shop in West Asheville. As of this week our lights will be on display in Downtown Books & News, a great used bookstore in downtown Asheville, and we’re also working on a design collaboration with a local audio company on a set of home speakers, actually, which is a fun side-project. I’d love to grow the business to having a larger retail presence over the next couple of years, but really, we’re having a blast just designing and building lights.

6. Who are some of your favorite designers, lighting or otherwise?

My influences are pretty varied, but a few touchstones are the architect Tom Kundig, whose work I go back to time and time again, the shoe designer John Fluevog, and watchmaker George Daniels. The great modernists of the 20th Century, Frank Lloyd Wright, Saarinen, Eames, etc. And in terms of lighting, Ingo Maurer and Ilse Crawford immediately spring to mind.

Conclusion: Chall Gray and his CaseStudy Design Firm are doing impressive things with upcycled materials and here!

Home repairs and electrical work can seem difficult to understand, which can make reading the billing for this work after it is completed even harder. If you are working with an electrician you can trust, the entire process will be transparent and you can feel free to ask questions along the way. Starting with an estimate, and open lines of communication, the bill for an electrician’s work should not be hard to decipher when the work is done.

Your Original Estimate

When you first speak with an electrician, explain what work you would like done and show the space that requires the work. This will give the electrician the opportunity to ask you questions about the current systems, the age of your property, or your precise expectations before work is done. Complications that may arise later can be planned for with this first visit and estimate. Old wiring, tight spaces, and incompatibilities can all be discovered before work even starts.

Parts and Labor

You can discuss parts and labor in the first estimate. If your electrician cannot give you an estimate on the time it might take to complete the job, or will not show you a price list for parts, you might not want to do business with that electrician.

Honest electricians will show you the price for parts, in person or on their website, so you can be sure of the costs before you begin. The estimate on how long it will take to complete the job is a the electrician’s best guess, but you can troubleshoot with him or her to see what might make the work take longer than planned. A quality electrician will be able to name issues that may arise, and estimate what those complications require in advance of taking the job.

Are you living in a home that was built before 1950? If so, you may have a potential fire hazard on your hands that you cannot see. Wiring in older homes is often an antiquated system know as insulated cloth wiring. While it may be perfectly safe in some houses, it can lead to problems down the road. If you are not sure if you have cloth wiring, you will want to call an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners can rely on The Electric Connection to provide prompt service.

An electrical safety inspection will determine whether your home has cloth wiring and whether or not it should be replaced. If you are noticing problems with the power in your home, like lights flickering, outlets not working and etc…it may be an indication the protective cloth around the wires is fraying. Overtime, the cloth becomes brittle and decays. This ends up leaving bare wires that can certainly become a major risk.

Your electrician in Los Angeles will be able to advise you the best course of action to take. If you are planning to do any remodeling or upgrading light fixtures, it is highly recommended you replace the old wiring in your home. During the inspection, the electrician can also check for the old knob-and-tube wiring. This is more common in homes built before 1935. This type of wiring involved the use of ceramic tubes and knobs. It is not safe and is not allowed in new construction anymore.

If you suspect your older home may have either one of these types of wiring, it is certainly better to be safe than sorry. Home fires started by faulty wiring are a preventable tragedy. The professionals at The Electric Connection are ready to help you make this big decision. Give us a call today to schedule your inspection.

When you’ve got a camera, and you’ve got action, but you’re missing the lights, you’re at an extreme disadvantage as a videographer. Or a photographer, for that matter. Don’t worry. I’ve been there. In fact, until yesterday, I was just like you. Not anymore. Now I have lights! Check out this video to see how I made a DIY lighting kit on a budget.

As you can see, it doesn’t take much to improve the lighting so you can shoot great-looking video. If, like me, you’re on a mission to make professional videos in an apartment or at home, this simple project will give your media game a boost. Yep, with a DIY video lighting set up, you can take your photography or videography to the next level, even if you’re just seeking the best lighting for iphone photography.

Hey professional videographers out there! What else should I add to my DIY photo lighting set up?