Her
Inspirations
Independent Lighting Consultant
Lori Thompson Finke
By Holly Gregor / photos by Melissa donald
ho gets inspiration from migraine headaches? Lori Thompson Finke. As a W sufferer of painful headaches, Lori suspected
the trigger to be bad lighting, like flickering fluorescent lighting found in schools and doctors’ offices. This experience was the first in many that made her aware of how light affects her. This in turn influenced her to study lighting. She attended Davidson College in Davidson, N. Carolina, where she studied theater. “There was no lighting design department so I ended up in theater.” Here Davidson learned that the lighting is an integral part of the show. “Without it, we would not know where to focus during the show. It sets the mood and creates the scenery.” Not really seeing a life for herself in theater, Lori moved to New York City to get a master’s degree in architectural lighting at Parsons School of Design. While at Parsons (she was there during the 9-11 terror attack on the U.S.), Lori noticed the ratio of American students to foreign was 8 to 30. “Architectural lighting is a new thing in the United States. It’s something that most people take for granted, however it can change everything. It is not recognized as a need. Europeans pay more attention to lighting than we do.” Now an independent lighting consultant, Lori works with architects and the private sector. Being an independent consultant sets her apart from other lighting experts. She does not work for a lighting company nor does she install lighting. Her job is to come up with the best lighting plan, showing no bias toward one manufacturer. Lori is the daughter of Jayne Thompson of Jayne Thompson Antiques. This means that Lori grew up with fine English and Continental antique furniture and accessories. Watching her mother, an interior designer, sell antiques, and arrange the furniture in the rooms for her clients was a daily event. Lighting was a part of that process, too. After getting her masters degree, Lori stayed in New York and worked for FMSP, a prestigious lighting company, exposing her to big installations. “We did amazing things. For instance, our firm worked on projects ranging from the Georgia Aquarium to the U.S. Embassy 28
FEBRuary
2012
in Seoul, to the Tower of Lights, a tribute to the fallen towers. The Tower of Lights showed the power of light as a symbol and was extremely graceful.” But the time came for Lori to redesign her life. She had been in New York for three years when she decided it was time to come home. Marriage, children, and her career were on her mind. So she chose to return to Danville, marry, have two children...so far, and start her independent lighting company while working for her mother. “I would have been in front of a computer screen 8 a.m. till 10 p.m. if I had stayed in New York,” says Lori. But, now she gets to create the lighting plans herself, using all the experience and exposure she gained in New York, and have time for her family. Some of the things she has learned along the way is her love for focusing on the lighting in a space. “I like a combination of recessed lighting Today’s Woman