November’s A chat with Ashton Harrison, founder, president/CEO, Shades of Light

CS: What are some key points to your success?
AH: Exclusive products and product development. Knowledge of the business; I have 30 years experience in home furnishings. Ability to quickly react to market conditions and trends. And extraordinary customer service.

CS: What’s your product development process like?
AH: I sometimes talk to customers in our retail store because our offices are hooked onto that, so I can actually go in and work with customers. Sometimes we look at trends we see, either in shelter magazines or in markets. We’ll see, for instance, that people in our target market have beach homes, so we’ll make sure we have enough beach-themed lighting, ceiling lights, bath lights, etc. Here’s a hot fabric on the market. Do we have any lighting that matches it? We’ll start with a trend, then develop products that fill the void we see in the market.