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Showroom Enters New Era Under Lighting Veteran
Michael Van Derlofske is now the proud owner of Modern Lighting & Decor in Temple City, California.
After more than 30 years serving the residential and architectural community in the Los Angeles area, Mike and Debbie Kowalski – the respected owners of Modern Lighting & Decor in Temple City, California – decided it was time to retire. Stepping up to the plate as the newly minted owner is 25-year lighting industry veteran Michael Van Derlofske, who took over the business several months ago in the fall.
After beginning his career as a lighting rep in 2000, Van Derlofske spent 20 years as Quoizel’s director of ecommerce before later joining Elk Home as vice president of sales, and then heading his own firm.
His well-rounded lighting experience has given Van Derlofske valuable insight on the innerworkings of operating a successful showroom — and yet there were a few surprises.
“Remodeling a showroom is a lot harder than I had imagined,” he noted, adding, “The amount of energy you put into merchandising each display takes a lot of time.” Van Derlofske’s plan for 2026 is to do a complete renovation roughly by the end of the year.
This ecommerce and digital guru isn’t buying into the common fear that AI and online shopping will put brick-and-mortars out of business. “AI can do a lot of things, but it can’t replace other aspects that people need showrooms for – such as lamp and fixture repairs.” And just as Modern Lighting & Decor has operated a renowned lighting repair business for decades, the showroom staff – many of whom have been with the showroom for 20 years – is equally revered by the community’s interior design studios and construction professionals as well as by homeowners for their expertise.
Lighting knowledge – knowing which products and product types work in certain scenarios and which do not, based on first-hand experience – is another area that AI cannot “learn” as well as a human with years of hands-on experience.
“I think the lighting showroom business is still a very good business,” Van Derlofske stated, noting that customers are now placing a higher value on customer service and are willing to pay for the niche skillset that lighting techniques require. “I think lighting showrooms are going to have a renaissance,” he said. Case in point, “Modern Lighting is an 80-year-old showroom and is a good, solid business,” he affirms
Where technology does benefit is in updating the back office operations. While many independently owned retail stores may have resisted implementing computer systems over the years, Modern Lighting dug in harder than most. “It was pretty much paper-based,” Van Derlofske observed, adding that a working fax machine was still in use when he acquired the business. In order to help the long-time employees get comfortable with technology, he plans to “layer in the tech” to make the learning process go smoothly. Respecting the lighting skills of the staff above all else, Van Derlofske does not want to cause them any frustration when operating new systems or completely disrupt how things are done.
Passionate about the lighting industry, he is in the showroom every day, getting into the weeds of every aspect in operations and listening to feedback from staff as well as customers. Located not far from the Eaton Fire that destroyed 1,400 structures and devastated the surrounding community last year, Modern Lighting has been a destination for those in the process of rebuilding.
Having had respect and familiarity with the business that the Kowalskis built, Van Derlofske wants to continue their legacy while also leveling up the showroom’s position in the market. Building awareness of the advantages of good lighting design on all sorts of projects – and of Modern Lighting & Decor as a resource – Van Derlofske has been reaching out to a younger demographic, participating in job fairs at local design schools and offering incentives (i.e. packages) for joining the showroom’s team.
Van Derlofske believes there is great opportunity for lighting showrooms to thrive in 2026 and beyond by leaning into those factors – such as service, expertise, and visual presentation – that make shopping at a local lighting source worthwhile for customers.
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