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Lighting is the subtle shift. That spark of brilliance. The element that transforms a space from ordinary to extraordinary.
The Reveal is where lighting professionals, residential experts, and designers come together to explore the art and business of outdoor design. From the intricacies of running a design company to the transformative power of lighting itself, this channel gives you the insight, inspiration, and tools to bring every project to life.
Michelle Schwindler (00:11):
All right, so we're back in the studio.
Andy Schwindler (00:14):
We're back. We're Andy and Michelle Schwindler with Sandy Beach Lighting and Design, and this is The Reveal.
Michelle Schwindler (00:21):
So what have we been working on the last couple of weeks? So what's been top of mind for our clients? What have you been doing, Andy?
Andy Schwindler (00:28):
This last few weeks have been interesting. As the weather shifts, we're wrapping up some landscape lighting jobs. Ones where we're trying to get done before these nights start happening sooner than later. It starts getting dark around 5, 5 30, 6, so we're wrapping up a good portion of those before the weather changes. As it does change, we transition into more of a holiday mindset, a couple big holiday jobs coming up. I think we'll talk about some of that today as well.
Michelle Schwindler (01:04):
Yeah, so I'm getting a lot of calls from people wanting to explore, having holiday lighting design for their home. I've been talking to a lot of businesses who want to explore really doing it big this year, so really exciting to see everyone really stepping it up big this year. This is what we envisioned for our town, so I love seeing that.
Andy Schwindler (01:26):
What are some of the things that you're most excited about? I know that this time of year we get to kind of stretch our creative muscles, especially on the commercial side where people want to stand out from everybody else that's on the block. This is their opportunity to do it. Let's talk about some of the fun things that you've been conjuring up. This is your time. You love Christmas.
Michelle Schwindler (01:48):
I do love Christmas. Honestly, I start talking about and planning Christmas. You wouldn't believe it in January and February. So that's really when people are starting to make those key decisions as far as, because essentially the holiday lighting budget is the marketing budget, so that is your end of year, final quarter, your December marketing budget. Those decisions are really being made in February. So that's when I was reaching out. That's when we were putting plans together, putting designs together, so to see the product coming into the shop and now we're talking about execution. We're actually putting it into the calendar. It's exciting, it's nerve wracking. It's all the things all in one, but that just tells you how much we care too. We want this to be amazing.
Andy Schwindler (02:39):
Yeah. You said something that really kind of clicked with me even just in this moment was how lighting is the marketing budget? Do you think most people look at it that way and how do we come across the idea that lighting is marketing?
Michelle Schwindler (02:55):
Well, I think that we understand that as a brand, light is one of the most impactful ways that you can not only catch attention, but make your brand stand out. You see all these new brands coming to town, they've caught what's everything have in common. They have big bold lighting, and so we've really got an opportunity to help businesses that didn't necessarily have that when they built their brick and mortar to be able to really help with their branding and the marketing through light. What are your thoughts?
Andy Schwindler (03:31):
I love that brand is something that is identifiable without anything else being present. When you show up, you're at a certain place. The iconic ones do it really well. So when we get called in to kind of enhance those, it's special to us. We take that seriously and I'm excited to share some of these big ones that we've got coming up, especially today as we explore one of the most iconic brands that we have here locally. We're going to get a chance to talk about that project. I'll let you kind of announce it.
Michelle Schwindler (04:07):
Well, and I want to go back real quick to talk about the holiday lighting as the winner marketing budget or that December marketing budget. And I was actually talking to Julia, our 9-year-old this morning about this because we were talking about a project, I'm not going to say anything just yet, but I just brought on this morning and we were talking about whether or not she would push to have us take her to a certain location based on whether or not they had great holiday decor. And I do actually know that. I mean, if you think about it, your kids are begging to go to the carwash. Why? Because of the lights and the colors and the experience. And I know that Julia in the wintertime is pushing for us to go to the place with the great lights and the great holiday lights. So it is that extra reason for families to visit your establishment and to experience that experience that you've built for them. And it's not just for your customers either. It's for your employees too. That's where they're showing up during those winter months where it can be kind of, I'll say depressive, depressing, but people go through those moody blues in the wintertime. So to build that work environment for employees too, that's a huge reason as well.
Andy Schwindler (05:26):
That's such powerful insight, and I think that's really what we try to communicate and that's the best way I've heard it put. What can you do to elevate the experience to draw people into your space? Not only because it's going to increase business, but it's going to just increase the happiness of the people in the community. I know that when people drive by those establishments, there's a smile on their face and that's special in its own right.
Michelle Schwindler (05:53):
And working with the business owners that we get to work with, especially in that food retail portion, I've talked to them and I know I've heard their words. This is their way of giving back to the community, to their employees, just to everyone. So really look at it like that. When you see an establishment going all out, they're doing it for the community. That's really their way of saying thank you.
Andy Schwindler (06:17):
That's fun. And that really goes for holiday lighting in general. That's really, I'm surprised sometimes, right? I'm surprised the amount of temporary lights that people want to put up in the wintertime
Michelle Schwindler (06:31):
And how many homeowners do you hear say they're doing it for the neighborhood as well, for it's not just for their family, it's for everyone to
(06:38):
Enjoy. And the memories they get to capture those memories they get to live on forever at their home and their space. Again, it is just a lot of fun to be a part of, and I'm hoping more people see it that way, and I like our little part that we play in it.
(06:55):
Yeah. So to answer your question, yes, I do love Christmas.
Andy Schwindler (07:00):
Let's go.
Michelle Schwindler (07:01):
But yeah, going back to one of our larger projects that we've taken on this year, really excited about this one, the Purdue Memorial Union. Purdue obviously is kind of the epicenter, the place where we want to work. I mean, they're doing all things right, talk about brand, they get it. They're doing amazing things there. So for them to trust us to come in to make their holiday special, I don't take that lightly,
Andy Schwindler (07:28):
The iconic brand and talk about how just the space is already amazing. So there's that factor of how can we already make a space that's pretty grand? How can we accentuate what it's already doing really well? And I think we'll talk about just what our thoughts were going into that and how we approached it. I think the most fun thing about this project is that it's something we wanted to do before we knew we wanted to do it right. We knew that Purdue had a lot of opportunity, especially on the lighting side, and I'm really proud of you for seeing that opportunity and making the connections necessary to make that happen because we didn't just decide this year we wanted to work with Purdue University, but tell us a little bit about the story of you reaching out and just how you made that connection with them and how we were able to just hit it off almost from the beginning.
Michelle Schwindler (08:28):
Yeah. Well, to take it all the way back, I'm not sure if you remember, we actually had a Thanksgiving brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, which is eight 11 right there at the union. It's absolutely amazing. But we went there and we saw the holiday decor going up and we saw that they were making an effort to do it on a professional level. So we noticed that and took that into consideration. But we also had ideas. Obviously we had our own ideas just as how we operate. So after we had a chance to kind of see the finished lights, we knew that there were just some opportunities there that we could really step in and help with. Just our experience with large scale projects like this. We knew it was a good fit for us. So I kind of waited until the holiday season was over.
(09:24):
I reached out at the end of January and just said, Hey, I see you. I see what you're doing, and I love to come and talk about how we can elevate what you're already doing there. And it seemed like it was good timing because they immediately responded back like, yes, we'd love to hear about how you're able to elevate what we're doing. And so it started with that first meeting and really that was our discovery meeting. We wanted to hear from all of the decision makers what excited them or what excites them when it comes to holiday lighting. We all have that idea growing up, whether it's that Hallmark Christmas town or that big moving musical display that you saw that one time. But we kind of gathered everyone's thoughts and ideas, took that back to the office and just started putting pen to paper. And we ended up coming up with a pretty cool design, I must say that I think really just nailed it on the first try.
Andy Schwindler (10:27):
Well, a lot of iterations of what it could be, right? Because we've got a few things to consider. We've got obviously the scale of the project, the budget of the project, the amount of impact we want to create with a project like that. And we kind of had to come up with the overall concept and figure out how we were going to spread that to a complete scene. How are we going to create a scene that had cohesiveness, right symmetry balance? And I think we found that the buildings provided a lot of that with their arches, with their brick kind of columns that they have. So they kind of spoke to us and we just took what was their existing and we're going to accentuate it using brand colors, right? Scale of the right sized light sources. So everything's not monochrome. Everything has its own kind of depth and flare to it.
(11:25):
I'm excited to kind of see it come to fruition, but when we came back, it seemed as though we were just all dialed in. We were all locked into this being the concept. So that was a lot of fun. And the idea that they let us push the envelope both from a creative standpoint, but from what we're trying to accomplish standpoint, they set the standard really early. We want this to be the most memorable time when a parent visits, when students visit this time of year. It's got to be that Instagramable, it's got to be that Christmas card photo, and that's what we set out to do, and it was their dedication to that being the case that I think really helped us get to this place. So again, I think you could tell I'm super excited about it.
Michelle Schwindler (12:15):
So it's just going to be really exciting and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Damon, Carrie and Hannah. Just again, seeing their excitement as we approach this and their faith they've had in us has been awesome.
Andy Schwindler (12:28):
Absolutely. Their faith in us is really what helped us get to this place where we are confident because we know exactly what they're trying to accomplish. They didn't hold anything back. This is what we need to do. This needs to be the outcome, and this is the timeline. And when you have definitive parameters like that, it's almost fun. Like it's gamified. We're up to that challenge. So we're going to document the whole thing. We're going to get the footage of the installation. We're going to get the uncovering of the lights that we display to everyone or reveal to everyone, and we should have a short little documentary put together of this whole thing. So I'm excited to share that with everyone as well.
Michelle Schwindler (13:11):
It's going to be cool.
Andy Schwindler (13:12):
It should be a lot of fun. So enough about just how excited we are about this. We actually had the chance to sit down with the events team. Hannah, Carrie and Damon sat down with us, talked about their experience working with Sandy Beach Lighting and Design. We're excited to have them share exactly what they're excited about, what this means to them. This is their project. We're just the facilitators, the magic makers, but really this is their show and I'm excited to have them on.
Michelle Schwindler (13:43):
Yeah, I think that they're all excited and anxious. I mean, as much as we want to say that these projects are a reflection of us, it's actually a reflection of them and the dream that they built and the vision that they saw. So we're just really excited to facilitate that for them and make them look so good.
Andy Schwindler (14:01):
Let's go.
Michelle Schwindler (14:02):
Hey there, Andy and Michelle Schwindler with Sandy Beach Lighting and Design Company, and we are here onsite at the iconic Purdue Memorial Union to talk about one of our favorite things, holiday lights.
Andy Schwindler (14:14):
And this isn't just about the lights, it's about creating a new tradition at Purdue, layering upon the tradition. You already have something super special to the community already.
Michelle Schwindler (14:24):
So we are here with the Purdue Memorial Union events team and facilities team, and I just want to introduce you all. Can you tell us your names and what you do here?
Damon Bell (14:33):
Great. I can start for you. My name's Damon Bell. I'm the senior director of auxiliary services here at Purdue. Really what that means with my role, I have a few facilities I'm responsible for in partnerships and tenants. One of the largest being the PMU building and Purdue Memorial Union building that we're sitting in today. And other facilities include the Stewart Center next door, which really an extension of this and the partnership with our friends at the Union Club Hotel, which is really an extension again of the PMU building and really excited to be here today.
Hannah Krajewski (15:01):
I'm Hannah Krajewski. I'm an event manager for Purdue conferences and event design. I mainly do programming here in the union planning student events. That means planning trivia and live events downstairs on our ground floor where we have all of our food outlets. That also means planning our big campus wide events. When the PMU last year celebrated their 100 year anniversary, we planned a whole week of events for them. And of course that needs taking on a lot of the kind of extemporaneous projects that happen here too. And that entails, of course, planning our awesome holiday likes as well.
Keri Haney (15:38):
I'm Keri Haney. I am the director of sales and marketing for the Union Club Hotel. A lot of what I do is creating memorable experiences for the community, the faculty, students and visitors to the campus, anywhere from their experience in the hotel rooms to the events that are happening here at the university. So exciting for the partnership.
Michelle Schwindler (15:59):
Let's talk a little bit about how this partnership came to fruition when we first started our business, Purdue, all projects on Purdue campus, those are just goals for us as far as projects go. So this was at the top of the list for us as far as just a project that we would like to work on.
Andy Schwindler (16:15):
Absolutely. When we first started this, we knew Purdue was going to be a big part of what we were going to do here locally. Not only did just such a fun place doing the fun things in the community, we wanted to be a part of this. We were able to be a part of the hundredth celebration, which was a ton of fun, but we thought that there was going to be something more. And so when we reached out about Christmas, that's really where I started to get excited. Michelle took the opportunity to reach out. Why don't you tell them a little bit about how that went down?
Michelle Schwindler (16:44):
I think we saw that you had a really special tradition here, especially with the Christmas tree that you bring in every year that's always got a really great story behind it and just a really great tradition that students and residents and faculty members really cherish. And so we saw that effort and we thought, wow, we can really elevate this experience and take it beyond what they're doing now. That's what excited us.
Andy Schwindler (17:08):
You reached out.
Michelle Schwindler (17:09):
Yeah, I made that initial reach out and I literally just expressed that I see you and I see the epic that you're making and I would love to talk about how we can elevate that. The response back was almost immediate that yeah, we would also love to talk about how we can elevate that here. So it was a really natural kind of connection there. And from there we set up that first initial design meeting.
Andy Schwindler (17:35):
I feel like the first design meeting really set the tone. I felt like we hit it off right away. We took the time to kind of hear what you wanted to accomplish. There were big ideas and we just had to figure out how we could make that work. But you guys went all in and I'm super pumped to talk about it. Can you tell us a little bit about how your vision came together and explain how that process started and just how we got to where we are?
Hannah Krajewski (18:01):
So really this tradition of doing the lights on the actual building, this will only be the fifth year that we've done it. We started doing this in 2020 when obviously from COVID-19 we weren't able to do a traditional tree lighting ceremony. Obviously we couldn't have that big of a group of people inside. If anybody has ever been to the tree lighting ceremony, we and people packed the gills in here. So we had to forego that. The Purdue Student Union board decided to do some decorations outside on Academy Park on the clapping circle. And really since then, we've just completely elevated each year of what we can do with the lights outside. And we've also done them inside as well around the Christmas tree that we get every year that we've been doing for 90 plus years. So every year we always have to keep building upon what we can do and what we can bring to the community, the Lafayette West Lafayette community, the students, the faculty, the staff, everybody just loves this tradition.
(18:57):
So I've been doing this since 2022. That was the first year that the PMU operations team took it over from psa. We kind of said, you guys can keep doing the great job that you're doing with the holiday tree itself. We as the building staff, I think it would be better for us to take over the holiday lights. Let's take that financial burden off you. Let's take that operational burden off you and let's just continue to work together in tandem This year. When you guys approached us, truthfully, it was so early in the year, it was like January, February, and I was like, we're already talking about holiday lights, but you guys came to us and you had such a clear vision of what you wanted to do. I was like, this is so exciting. And we had what we kind of thought together with the hotel too, of course, because we are all one building together.
(19:41):
It was just such a great idea and in the end, I'm extremely happy that you came to us so early because it did take a long time to create that vision and get our teams working together. Everything that we've come up with and created, I'm just so excited of what it's going to look like this year. Just going to be leaps and bounds beyond what we've ever done and I'm so excited for everybody to see it. And I would say too, with those first couple of meetings, what was most fun was no idea it was too big or scariest. We were like, are we all out there? And you were taking it and like, let's go. Yes.
Andy Schwindler (20:13):
Well, I know from our perspective we like to push the envelope a little bit and I think we told you that we want to be as creative as possible. We'll figure out how to do the things when that time comes. So you're kind of new to the team. Tell us a little bit about your perspective on being a part of something so special.
Damon Bell (20:30):
Yeah, I think it just makes sense to level up and take it to the next level. Many of the things mentioned here, you have a student union board that is really what founded this building and is the heart of what the PMU is as our student body. It was built in 1924 and 1929 is when the Union Club Hotel came online. In recent years, we've had a wonderful renovation of the Union Club hotel. It's leveled up our game in the hotel space. I think when you have a hotel of that caliber connected to a building like this, people expect something cool and expect a gathering place. You book your holiday party either in this building or at the hotel when you visit for dinner in one of our great restaurants in middle of December, it's going to give this sense of arrival whether your guest at the hotel or a student that may not get to go home for that holiday break. You just bring it all together and take it again to that next level. I'm excited for it.
Andy Schwindler (21:23):
I'm glad you said it like that because I almost well up just hearing those things because I know how emotional lighting is. I know how much it's going to elevate, not just the building, they change people's lives.
Michelle Schwindler (21:36):
The way we work is when we put a design together, especially for holiday, a lot of it is based on our client's vision. And then from there we can talk about how we can implement that vision. But I'd love to hear about where some of your vision came from because what we're going to be doing on the building, a lot of it was your vision, your ideas.
Hannah Krajewski (21:54):
Some of the things we were talking through was like bringing a magical arrival experience. I think Vicky had mentioned she visited a place
Andy Schwindler (22:03):
Is a place in Kansas City.
Hannah Krajewski (22:05):
Yes, there's a hotel there that does a lot of really beautiful lighting. Sorry, it's not coming to me right now. I don't know David if it here. I think here I could
Damon Bell (22:13):
Add a few things from the gorgeous renderings we have in place right now and it's about highlighting the assets of our buildings or even the landscaping that we have that is beautiful on its own. So if you start on the corner of Grant Street and Mitch Daniels Boulevard, we have the gateway arch where most of the traffic, either by car or by foot starts, that'll be the beginning of the experience, if you will. We have shrubbery out front with the Purdue name that will be lit in a way where it is fun, I guess, for lack of a better word. I love the courtyard concept we're doing behind the hotel with a signature tree that will be wrapped and my understanding is you're going to wrap those branches out to the tips. It's a different kind of look than you see on a traditional Christmas tree or holiday tree that's lit up. I think it's a lot of fun and very Instagramable. Our guests love that at the hotel. I'm sure our students are going to love that as well and should be a lot of fun. So I think it's just taking the assets that we have and make sure you highlight it in the right way.
Keri Haney (23:12):
I
Damon Bell (23:12):
Believe the light walls that will go on the side of the building will really lay over the top of significant columns that we have in place. And I like that a lot because the PMU is known for the windows with a signature shape and so we're leading that in tact where you can still see that beautiful window that then wrap pretty significant sized columns that should really pop when it's over. So it should be a lot of fun.
Andy Schwindler (23:39):
Yeah, you articulated that really well. That's exactly the approach that we took. How do we make a place so classy, so elegant, something that already has all the great attributes and how do we just accentuate and highlight those even more? I think we were able to do that. So I'm excited you feel the same way.
Michelle Schwindler (23:58):
It's all been a really fun process for me, just the collaboration. So I'm really looking forward to seeing it all come to life.
Andy Schwindler (24:04):
Alright, so we were able to talk about some key design elements, but the goal is what are the key takeaways We hope that our guests, the people that visit Purdue Memorial Union feel, what is it that you'd like them to take away from the experience in addition to the traditional lighting of the tree?
Hannah Krajewski (24:23):
I think I'm looking for that a moment that you can get very seldom, but it really sticks to you during the holiday seasons when you can just be in that moment and have that memory of visiting somewhere with such great tradition and you see it lit up and you're like, oh, this is so beautiful. How magical. I think a be goal would be maybe making this experience be the first to put us on the map to must go see holiday lighting at Purdue.
Damon Bell (24:52):
Let's go.
Michelle Schwindler (24:54):
That's a goal of ours too, that we make Purdue the most decorated and beautiful campus during the holiday season. And I honestly think that's,
Andy Schwindler (25:03):
I don't want to secretly say that I'm rooting for some Big Ten competition between campuses on the lighting side. Let's start on best lit campus for Christmas in the Big Ten. I know for sure we're going to be able to say that this year.
Damon Bell (25:15):
I think when you get to the month toward the end of this, the feedback that we receive, whether it's from the student body, guests at the hotel, faculty, seeing an exciting influx of positive feedback. Things like social media posts where somebody was here for their holiday party, look at what they did this year to enhance our experience for that holiday party. Or it could be just a couple that's staying in the hotel with the same type of opportunity or feedback that's there. So I think feedback is critical. We receive feedback, we use it, and we want to constantly figure out a way to improve that feedback. So that'll be a telling moment
Andy Schwindler (25:51):
And the best feedback would be for them to tell their friends and to come stay again. And I think that we can create a kind of place that calls for that. Thank you again for letting us be such a big part of this experience. We are super excited to get this project up and going and then hopefully come back and talk about it once it's all said and done. And we've talked about the feedback and how we can make it bigger and better for even next year.
Hannah Krajewski (26:18):
So exciting. Thank you. You're welcome.
Michelle Schwindler (26:21):
Alright, so big thanks to the Purdue Memorial Union. We can't thank you enough for including us on this project. I know you have a lot going on the holiday season here, so why don't you tell us a little bit about those special events?
Damon Bell (26:33):
Yeah, it's specific to the holiday season. I know you're going to be very busy for us to help us establish and put in place everything that we want to showcase come December. My understanding is you'll be very busy in early November for us.
Andy Schwindler (26:47):
We'll be here a good portion of the middle part of November to be able to finish up by Thanksgiving.
Damon Bell (26:53):
So we'll have our work cut out as a partnership as students are very much on campus working toward the end of the semester. Once that is established, we do our annual tree lighting ceremony here in the great hall of the PMU. That happens on December 3rd. So we host an event, typically multiple things that happen throughout that day and the building will be quite full. So I know you'll be ready for us before that. But our official day or treat coming into the building and being set and ready for public view is December 3rd,
Michelle Schwindler (27:24):
And the building will be lit that day.
Damon Bell (27:29):
And then after December 3rd,
Hannah Krajewski (27:31):
We'll have Breakfast with Santa on December 6th. December 11th is the Winter's Maker Market, so that'll be some holiday gift shopping from local businesses coming in. There's a few other features on the 24 days of features that Union Club Hotel does with reef making, and I don't have specific dates, but you can find that on our website.
Michelle Schwindler (27:52):
So that being said, some really great events going on here. If you're local, make sure to stop by, even if you're not, make some special plans, have dinner here, stay at the hotel. It's going to be completely worth it to check it out.
Andy Schwindler (28:05):
And we've got plenty more stories just like this that we'd love to share with you. So stay tuned for the next episode. We'll do a follow-up episode as well. We, with the lights installed, we'll talk about all the feedback, all the fun things that happened during the lighting ceremony. But thanks for joining us today.
Michelle Schwindler (28:21):
Thank you so much for joining us today. And again, I can't thank you enough for allowing us to be a part of this special tradition. Like I said, this has been goals for us as a lighting business to do a project here, so I'm still pinching myself. Thank you so much.
Andy Schwindler (28:37):
Thank you. We're truly grateful not only for the opportunity, but the trust that it takes to hire a small business like us and to put so much faith in the fact that we're going to make not only you look good, but the university, it means an awful lot to us. So thanks again for your time today and look forward to talking to again real soon.
Michelle Schwindler (28:55):
Thank you.
Andy Schwindler (28:57):
Well, how fun was that?
Michelle Schwindler (28:58):
That was such a good interview. You can almost feel the excitement that they all have and just what this means to them. It's really high stakes here. They really take the Purdue brand seriously. Not only that, but that eight 11 restaurant and that hotel they have at the Purdue Memorial Union, it's world class. If you haven't been there, it's the place to be and they're really going to be doing something special for their guests this year for Christmas, and so happy to be a part of it.
Andy Schwindler (29:30):
Well, that brings me to thank our events team, Damon, Keri, and Hannah for joining us on the episode of Reveal.
Michelle Schwindler (29:39):
Yeah, they really helped really put a bow in why we do what we do and why we have real value for places like that. And especially for public settings and public spaces, they really helped tie that story together. I thought it was just a really good opportunity to talk about how lighting plays into marketing. It plays into feeling, it plays into the emotion, and it plays into setting a real magical scene one that we're all going to appreciate big time when it comes to the holidays.
Andy Schwindler (30:14):
I agree. Again, thanks to Purdue, thanks to the events team, and thanks for everyone for joining us. This has been The Reveal.