PHOTOS COURTESY OF OTTLITE TECHNOLOGIES
Bright ideas
OttLite lamps bring the sunshine inside
Call it a light bulb moment. Not long after becoming CEO of OttLite Technologies six years ago, CEO John K. Sheppard realized artists and artisans weren’t the only people who could benefit from his company’s products.
Since its founding in 1979, crafters, quilters and architects had been relying on OttLite table and floor lamps to brighten their workspaces. Designed to mimic natural sunlight, the lamps let them see more clearly and match colours more accurately.
“If you look at something under a typical LED light, and then you walk outside and look at it, it looks completely different,” Sheppard tells the Connection. “That’s why our lights within the craft channel were very well received.”
Thinking bigger
They’re still well received there, but the company has expanded its focus to include office workers and students. That’s because full-spectrum bulbs are easier on the eyes than typical LED bulbs, which emit too much blue light. “We were able to show that they created eyestrain—and that if we could balance that out, we could actually prove that we can reduce eyestrain by 51%,” Sheppard says.
OttLite’s ClearSun LED technology mimics sunlight better than standard LED bulbs. Many of the company’s lamps also feature its exclusive SpectraClean technology, which kills bacteria on keyboards, mobile phones and pretty much anything else the lamps illuminate.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF OTTLITE TECHNOLOGIES
Form follows function
The company works to make sure its lamps shine in more ways than one. “We spend a lot of time on creating lights that are going to be really cool on the outside too,” says Sheppard.
A good example is the Extendible Base Wireless Charging LED Desk Lamp. The lamp’s post features a digital display that has an alarm and shows the time, date and ambient temperature, while the base has a flip-up stand to hold a smartphone. The lamp also includes both a USB port and a Qi wireless charging pad for newer devices. You can choose from three brightness settings and three colour-temperature modes.
A Cinderella story
OttLite’s technologies are very much of the 21st century, but its roots go back nearly 100 years to when founder John Nash Ott began dabbling in time-lapse photography; two decades later he quit his day job as a banker to hone his technique.
Ott’s biggest project came when the Walt Disney Company asked him to lm the growth of a pumpkin so animators could draw the transformation of a pumpkin into Cinderella’s carriage. There was just one problem: In the indoor photo studio he was using, the pumpkins kept dying. He tinkered with different lights and finally discovered that the proper range of light wavelengths—close to the range found outdoors—would make a pumpkin grow indoors.
Realizing that his research could have broader application, Ott founded OttLite Technologies in 1979. By the time he died, in 2000, the company was entrenched in the crafting and sewing market.
From the past to the future
Ott’s spirit of innovation lives on at the company he founded. In fact, Sheppard is already thinking a year or more ahead about other ways the company’s products can improve the lives of crafters, students and everyone in between. The company has a bright future in more ways than one.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF OTTLITE TECHNOLOGIES
The right light
Sleep Science’s separately sold Q-Series adjustable bases allow members to customize their horizontal comfort, thanks to the built-in features.
If you’ve ever split light with a prism, you know that so-called white light actually contains a spectrum of wavelengths from violet to red. The way those wavelengths are represented in a light bulb affects how realistic colours will appear. The Colour Rendering Index is a handy gauge for colour accuracy. On this 100-point scale, a rating of 80 or more is usually considered good, while a rating of 90 or more is considered excellent. OttLite’s ClearSun LED bulbs score 97.—MR
COMPANY INFO
Company OttLite Technologies Inc.CEO John K. Sheppard
Employees Fewer than 50
Headquarters Tampa, Florida
Website ottlite.com
Items carried at Costco A variety of floor, desk and table lamps are available in the warehouses and at Costco.ca. Search “Ottlite” at Costco.ca.
Quote about Costco “We are really energized by our relationship with the Costco employees and management we deal with, because they continue to challenge us to innovate and provide unique technologies.”—John K. Sheppard, CEO, OttLite Technologies Inc