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The Southern Lights Electric Co. has designed lighting for some of the city's most frequented eateries, from Barista Parlor to Rolf and Daughters, Fat Bottom Brewery to Edley's Barbecue East. Adam Gatchel, a Nashville resident by way of Chicago, is the designer behind the company, which came about during a few slow months for the traveling musician.
'I was a full-time drummer for several years. There was a period of time where I didn't have anything going on and I needed a creative outlet to exert my energy. So I started creating table lamps,” he says.
The transition to electrics from music wasn't all that odd for Gatchel, who spent years remodeling apartments in college and gained much of his know-how from his crafty father. A house full of unused lamps spawned a snow-ball effect; piece by piece, he sold lamps to friends, which segued into designing fixtures for fine-dining restaurants.
'Once you learn the basics of electrics, they're all the same,” Gatchel admits. 'The creative process starts in the design.”
Gatchel's lighting solutions usually begin with the blank canvas of an empty space. He then uses Pinterest to create an inspiration board of the desired aesthetic. 'As much as I hate to use Pinterest, it really does help me understand the look that the client wants. From there, I take into account several sources of inspiration for the details,” he says.
For instance, when Gatchel was commissioned to create the lighting solution behind local establishment Barista Parlor he looked to its roots for inspiration. 'Barista used to be a mechanics shop, so I took the same light fixtures that mechanics use with the wire cages protecting the bulb [and] hung them over high-top tables” says Gatchel, adding that there are personal touches, too. 'Andy [Mumma, owner of Barista Parlor] is a fan of motorcycles, so I used Harley black paint on the covers of the fixtures with the Edison bulbs surrounding the bar. I also used red and white houndstooth cords to hang the fixtures, which reminded me of racing flags,” he explains.
The Lamp Maker: Part 1 by Cameron Powell
For the former boiler room at Werthan Mills (now one of the city's regularly packed new restaurants, Rolf & Daughters), Gatchel wanted to create a rustic eating environment. He and chef Philip Krajeck wanted to implement a modern, white, Italian marble bar in the center of the room so Gatchel knew he had a challenge in aiding this striking contrast to the otherwise industrial space. 'For the transition to the bar I created more conservative lighting with straight lines and crystal shades that stood out against the rustic,” he says. 'For fine dining, you need a certain type and amount of light to see all the colors of a dish, while not taking away from the atmosphere. I always like to take the menu into account for the fixtures I place over eating areas,” he says. At Rolf and Daughters, long communal tables at the center of the room are lit by halogen bulbs that make the white of the plates pop while also emphasizing the colors of the food.
Gatchel uses all raw materials in his designshe's reluctant to use the word repurposed. 'I think it tends to look cheesy. I use materials that were once part of a light fixture to create something new. I will rarely incorporate a random item into the piece. If you want me to make a lamp out of a teapot, I'm not your guy,” he says with a laugh. However, if it makes sense to the overall design, he can subtly find ways to be thematic.
Take his current project, a new bar on the east side called The Treehouse, slated to open later this summer. 'We are going for a boy scout look. The bar is an old house the owner grew up in, complete with a tree house in the back yard. I'm using old camping flash lights in the design, but that's about as far as I will go in ‘repurposing' fixtures,” he says.
Next up for Southern Lights Electric will be Gatchel's grandest and most artistic fixture yet: a three-tiered wood-and-concrete chandelier for a new Japanese restaurant on the east side. 'Most consider it to be a nice detail,” he says. 'In the back of my mind, I always hope that people will think of a piece as art.”
Southern Lights Electric Co. products can be found at Etsy.com; for more information go to southernlightselectric.com.