Just another Sunday. Woke up at around 11AM and promptly… started to work. After an hour or so of work finally decided to shower, and started to plan another day in Hawaii, that I’m lucky enough to now call daily life… Checked the customer service front for any fires / extraordinary tickets, worked with a few suppliers confirming shipping details, working a package or two through customs, and started arranging the development of another new product.

Talking with a new friend in Maui, I decided LED Dive Lights are definitely a viable product for the market right now. Whilst the current market is mildly saturated, we can make the product quite viable by:

1) Finding the perfect niche LED dive light

2) Slightly customize it for local divers specifications / overall customer satisfaction

3) Adding just the right amount of Search Engine Optimization & Page Copy

Working on a few models as we speak. Problem with these things is finding the right amount of lumens, vs. the product’s footprint and cost. Very close to having a few samples sent out, and hand them out to the locals I know who are stoked about a brighter dive light that’s LED powered, but more importantly will be smaller and lighter in weight. This is a crucial element for any night dive.

Went out to clear my head at the beach, after 45 minutes, with a UV Index of 12, I was cooked thoroughly. Came back inside and continued to reply to a few customer service tickets, numerous supplier relations via MSN messenger, then I received a call from Charity at Westside Vibes, where I had dropped off some LED samples last week.

Last week, I had decided to drop off a roll of Waterproof LED Strips after visiting Westside, and saw a huge opportunity for a great re-opening, which they had coming up. Proper lighting in their new cases! I dropped off one of our AC Adapters, Junction Boxes, and LED Strips (100% plug and play install) and let them know I’d come back in a week to see if they liked them, no cost to try, no pressure or hassles.  I figured I’d return in a week and pick up the LEDs, and end up putting them on my balcony, which already had enough lighting.

Background: Westside Vibes – Lahaina, Maui – “a shop for your head” – One of the nicest headshops I’ve been in. Much more than any average  bodega of pipes. Westside Vibes has an extensive line of: clothing, incense, posters, decals, accessories, and most of all, very nice owners. Westside recently switched locations, but is still off Hinau Street, just take a left at the Pizza Hut (your GPS will take you right) – Much nicer, bigger location, with a great selection of items. A lot of good mana at this place.

Charity called asking how she should cut the LEDs, and if the portion that was cut could be re-installed. After explaining the soldering, she seemed rather confused, so I said I was happy to stop by. I went equipped with 6 of our brand new Ultra Flexible Waterproof Tri-Chip LED Strips, one of my own innovations. These had just come in from our factory, and were sent to me for product copy writing & proper photos to be taken. Regardless, I was more than happy to photograph and sing to the bloody raptors about my own invention.

I also brought one of our Million Color Flooders, a LED Wall Washer which gives off a hell of a show. Upon arriving, Charity showed me the case that needed to be lit, and I promptly went to work calculating where they would be properly mounted.

What this means to me:

1) 100% mounted invisible to the customer in store : These are LED Lights, not Christmas lights. They should output enough light to the product / item it’s illuminating, while staying out of sight. Nothing says tacky, cheap install, then a dim light source, that is painfully visible.

2) Maintaining a proper light cast. Geometry comes into play. This sucks. But even if you must draw it out on paper, keep in mind whether the LEDs are wide-angle, or narrow-angle, and take note of such. Most of our LEDs are wide-angle and have a 120 degree wide-angle spread. For this purpose, a 45 degree angle is the best mounting point I’ve found.

3) Secured correctly: For most of my own auto installs, zip ties, sterile EMT tape, and a prayer are enough. This doesn’t cut it for other installs, let alone a Retail LED Lighting setting. After finding a small lip that was 75% of the width of the strips, I decided this would work perfectly. Since these strips contain a smooth, flexible silicone, they form fit to the other 25% of the lip, which acutally helped angle the LEDs at a perfect angle. The 3M VHB (Very High Bond) tape on the back was enough to hold the LED strips on, and then some.

Upon powering, the case instantly gave off a bright cast of natural light and brilliantly glowed, as well as the faces of the owners of Westside Vibes also did, instantaneously.

I recommended in addition, to possibly using a strip or two of our new Waterproof Tri-Chip LED Strips for some accent lighting on the glass pieces displayed. After a quick demo of the strips I had on me, it was decided Green would give the nicest glow, without throwing off the actual color of the piece (blue and red were a close second) – Two strips were installed, where a sticker would be placed regardless, making it a perfect position for a bit of accent lighting. I quickly hooked up two strips to the Junction Box, and a minute later we had two green strips reverse mounted on the glass, adding a lustrous cast to the glass below.

The owners were more than happy, and I was more than happy that Oznium’s products were now in the one of the hottest shops on the islands. Before leaving, I let them know about our Million Color Flooder, an intense wall-washer unit. With black light posters all around the store that react to different wavelengths, I suggested them for the storefront / night display. They had 3 red globes, but were using a warm white backlight. To stand out, I suggested the wall washer on a full fade mode. The results were amazing:

The owners were as stoked as I was to see the results finally at night, so I took a quick videos and some pictures. Their new storefront will definitely gain more exposure now, as well as alert people of their new location.

Tonight for dinner, to continue the tradition, I had some fresh, organic, minimally processed ‘Chef’s Choice Rib-Eye’ – After slightly searing each side and marinating (thanks Chef Ramsay), we had another barbecue. I’ve gotten very good at cooking, and very close to making the jump to steaming / frying chicken & vegetables directly on the BBQ with aluminum foil. Picked up some Tsing-Tao, and Miranda came over to hang out for a bit. Hawaii is good, real good.

Interesting Side Note: Tried one of the nicest / most interesting drinks today, offered to me by Charity, one of the owners of Westside Vibes. It’s called ‘Relax Drank’ / ‘Purple Drank’ if you’re local. It’s extremely hard to find, extremely expensive, and very every penny. Not only did it taste amazing, but had the effect of a freaking Xanax in a can. I had a Red-Bull to amp me up for the install at Westside, and boy did these drinks fight it out. Relax / Purple Drank won in the end. It’s the opposite of an energy drink, it’s a relaxation drink. Here’s the weird part: It works. - Retails for $6.00 @ Westside Vibes, and considering the cost (around $4.16 to Hawaii) it’s quite realistic. Tastes amazing, and really brings you to an interesting calmness, often leaving you wondering “what was really the active ingredient in that bottle?”

Be safe all.

LED Strips for LED Lighting needs.

Tags: display led lighting, display lighting, lahaina, LED lighting, LEDs, lightDifferent, lightDifferent.com, oznium, retail led lighting, westside vibes