{"id":2638,"date":"2026-01-25T21:17:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T21:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lightingnewsnow.com\/?p=2638"},"modified":"2026-01-25T21:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T21:17:42","slug":"showroom-enters-new-era-under-lighting-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightingnewsnow.com\/?p=2638","title":{"rendered":"Showroom Enters New Era Under Lighting Veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michael Van Derlofske is now the proud owner of Modern Lighting & Decor in Temple City, California.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than 30 years serving the residential and architectural community in the Los Angeles area, Mike and Debbie Kowalski \u2013 the respected owners of Modern Lighting & Decor<\/a> in Temple City, California \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After beginning his career as a lighting rep in 2000, Van Derlofske spent 20 years as Quoizel\u2019s director of ecommerce before later joining Elk Home as vice president of sales, and then heading his own firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Michael Van Derlofske at this month\u2019s Lightovation in the Alteck Lighting showroom.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His well-rounded lighting experience has given Van Derlofske valuable insight on the innerworkings of operating a successful showroom \u2014 and yet there were a few surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemodeling a showroom is a lot harder than I had imagined,\u201d he noted, adding, \u201cThe amount of energy you put into merchandising each display takes a lot of time.\u201d Van Derlofske\u2019s plan for 2026 is to do a complete renovation roughly by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ecommerce and digital guru isn\u2019t buying into the common fear that AI and online shopping will put brick-and-mortars out of business. \u201cAI can do a lot of things, but it can\u2019t replace other aspects that people need showrooms for \u2013 such as lamp and fixture repairs.\u201d And just as Modern Lighting & Decor has operated a renowned lighting repair business for decades, the showroom staff \u2013 many of whom have been with the showroom for 20 years \u2013 is equally revered by the community\u2019s interior design studios and construction professionals as well as by homeowners for their expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting knowledge \u2013 knowing which products and product types work in certain scenarios and which do not, based on first-hand experience \u2013 is another area that AI cannot \u201clearn\u201d as well as a human with years of hands-on experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the lighting showroom business is still a very good business,\u201d 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. \u201cI think lighting showrooms are going to have a renaissance,\u201d he said. Case in point, \u201cModern Lighting is an 80-year-old showroom and is a good, solid business,\u201d he affirms<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where technology does<\/em> 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. \u201cIt was pretty much paper-based,\u201d 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 \u201clayer in the tech\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s position in the market. Building awareness of the advantages of good lighting design on all sorts of projects \u2013 and of Modern Lighting & Decor as a resource \u2013 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\u2019s team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Derlofske believes there is great opportunity for lighting showrooms to thrive in 2026 and beyond by leaning into those factors \u2013 such as service, expertise, and visual presentation \u2013 that make shopping at a local lighting source worthwhile for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top Showrooms Share Best Practices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u2013 the respected owners of Modern Lighting & Decor in Temple City, California \u2013 decided it was time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":383,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,391,10],"tags":[732,373,808,809],"class_list":["post-2638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-featured","category-people","tag-california","tag-lighting-showroom","tag-michael-van-derlofske","tag-modern-lighting-decor"],"yoast_head":"\nShowroom Enters New Era Under Lighting Veteran - Lighting News Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Modern Lighting & Decor in California enters new era through a change of ownership featuring a lighting industry veteran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lightingnewsnow.com\/?p=2638\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Showroom Enters New Era Under Lighting Veteran - 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