Fretz: It’s not enough for new lighting products to be attractive and salable, they must also stand on their own and not steal sales from a company’s current offerings. If I had a choice to introduce 24 new products, I would opt for six groups of four products in each family rather than, say, three larger families with eight pieces. I believe it’s better to have more styles than it is to run deep in a particular grouping. You can always add additional pieces in the second generation six months later if a particular family takes off.

With the Autumn Twilight chandelier, I wanted a branch format to take advantage of the “natural” trend that’s been so successful for the past few years. But I also wanted an upscale elegant look that would be equally at home in a semi-formal dining environment or a slightly more casual setting. The addition of crystal allowed me to do this.

The Marco chandelier’s geometric design comfortably bridges a style gap between the loft /industrial look and tailored contemporary home furnishings. My experience is that transitional fixtures are most successful due to their design flexibility, which permits them to coordinate with a variety of home furnishings styles.

Tassels have been used successfully for generations as a decorative detail in architecture, clothing, furniture and accessories. I designed a traditional chandelier and then added crystal drapes and black crystal bead tassels as decorative accents. I then added color-matching shades to dress up this chandelier even further. I believe the addition of shades makes any chandelier appear more formal and more important.