With more than 40 years in business and a permanent spot in the ARTS Awards Hall of Fame, Elements Lighting & Décor knows a thing or two about how to keep pace with a constantly changing industry.
“It’s very easy to become stagnant,” said President Brian Kleinberg. “You always have to reinvent yourself and navigate change in a business environment.”
Elements’ 20,000 square-foot lighting showroom in Carle Place, N.Y., has been serving its Long Island customers since 1979 and has evolved from a strictly lighting business to one that sells home décor; pursues commercial, hospitality and custom projects; and has lent its lighting expertise to the Met Gala and several TV shows.
In 1958, Abe Kleinberg and his wife, Joan, founded lighting supplier Crystorama and what was then called Lighting Center by Cameo. The Lighting Center changed names and locations on Long Island a few times before settling into its current location. Joan took over the lighting showroom side of the business as its main buyer.
In the late 1980s, their son Brian joined the retail side of the business (his brother, Brad Kleinberg, and sister, Nancy Lonoff, run Crystorama). Brian’s daughter, Hailey Kleinberg, now works alongside him as a creative director. She also oversees media and client relations. Joan, who is now in her mid-80s, comes to work a few days a week, and readily jumps on the selling floor if things get busy.
“I’ve always admired her as a woman in business,” said Brian. “Though my father was instrumental on the back end, she was instrumental in sales and growth.”
After joining the business, Brian began building the product assortment with an eye to visual merchandising rather than the “if you can fit it, jam it in” approach. The showroom added accent furniture, mirrors, art and decorative accessories to its lineup; its product split is now 65% lighting and 35% non-lighting.
“I came from the school of learning every facet of the business, from new products coming into the building and the choices behind them, to the display, to the sales process,” said Kleinberg. He joined the family business at a time when not every employee was meeting expectations, he said. “I had to, over time, re-evaluate and restructure the company with people who were passionate about what they did.”
The business now has about 20 employees, many of whom have been with the company for at least 15 years. They are trained in lighting proportions, size and layout. That knowledge is critical because its customers are very conversant about lighting. Long Island is a challenging marketplace that requires a certain level of service and expertise and the ability to convey the value of the products they sell, the Kleinbergs said.
Customers look for as much information about lighting pieces as possible before coming into the store, according to Hailey Kleinberg. “They’re almost researchers,” she said. The first customer who came in armed with information from a Google visual search was 75 years old, she said. “Now you have someone who comes in prepared. They’ve already seen it, done their homework and are ready to purchase, but they still need information. And everyone wants to negotiate the best deal.”
With information about lighting brands and pricing everywhere, and vendors who now sell direct to consumers, the Kleinbergs said they have gotten more selective about their vendor base. “Manufacturers have to take a hard look at what their end game is,” Brian Kleinberg said about manufacturers who sell directly to consumers. “We want to showcase the people who are true to us, who have our back.” They try to carry brands that do not sell online. Arabella, Lib & Co. and Thesis are among their newest vendors.
Elements also offers a to-the-trade business for interior designers (it accounts for about 30% of total business) and does custom work for clients, even starting from a napkin sketch. “People like to come here and work one-on-one. It’s a personalized experience, understanding their vision to create what they want to see,” Kleinberg said. “It’s fun to show them what they didn’t even know was possible.”
In recent years, it has branched out into hospitality and commercial work for businesses like gyms and wine cellars, allowing the company to flex its creativity a little. Back in 2013, it appeared on an episode for TLC’s show, Long Island Medium, starring Theresa Caputo (Caputo was shopping for chandeliers). In 2014, the company was asked to supply crystal lighting for the annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. They replicated an Oscar de la Renta chandelier for the event.
Elements received the ART Award for lighting showrooms in the East region in January, after their prior win put them into the Art Hall of Fame. “That was a neat thing for us,” said Brian Kleinberg.
When asked what she would attribute that ART win to, Hailey Kleinberg joked, “A lot of sleepless nights.” She quickly added, “The people that work here. There’s really no one thing that can win that. It’s a collective effort.”
“Absolutely a collective effort,” Brian Kleinberg agreed.
