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Great Reviews for OttLite Plant Growth Lighting!

I just came across this blog at VegandFlower.com. They have over 6000 videos, articles, tips and tricks for indoor growing. What an incredible find for indoor plant growers!

They just posted an article about OttLite Plant Growth Lighting. Here are some of the excerpts:

"I bought this for my girlfriend as a christmas gift along with a bonsai tree and she loved them! You can’t go wrong with an Ottlite…Light. Her new tree seems to be growing toward the bastion of light the product provides."
- NC Hill

"This light is great! I have a small boxwood on my file cabinet that is doing really well thanks to this light. A really wise purchase!"
- Ruth V.

"I love my OTT-light. It was the only thing that finally got my african violets to bloom inside."
- Plant Lady

Speaking of african violets, to the right is a beautiful african violet grown by some of the plant enthusiasts here at OttLite. This baby has never seen the daylight ... it was grown 100% with OttLite lighting! Isn't she a beauty!

Our Newest Desk Lamp - The Charging Valet

What has 2 USB ports, compartments for your stuff, charges your devices AND helps you see better?

That would be the newest OttLite lamp – the OttLite Charging Valet Desk Lamp! Our product team got all kinds of creative with this one. Not only is it sleek and streamlined, it is so functional. Use the compartments, smart wire channels and USB ports to charge two devices at one time. That still leaves you two compartments to store your keys, wallet, pens … whatever you don’t want getting lost on your desk.
Of course, the best part is that it’s an OttLite, so you’ll be able to see everything clearly and comfortably. To get yours, go to Office Depot or visit them online.

We have lots more new product surprises in store for you in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

As always you can check out the largest selection of OttLite Lamps/Bulbs at www.OttLite.com. We also have some really great deals on 'Scratch & Dent' lamps as well our new 'OttLite Outlet'.

See Your Food in a Whole New Light

Bring OttLite Into the Kitchen

My sister is a chef at heart, always trying a new recipe and making desserts comparable to the finest of restaurants. When she discovered that I worked at OttLite, she raved about how great the lighting is for her puzzles and sewing projects. Surprisingly, even though her creativity extends beyond paper and glue, she hasn’t used OttLite in the kitchen. Instead she has been using regular LED stick up lights under the cabinets that can be purchased from most home improvement stores. The drawback she mentioned with these lights is the blue light they cast, making it impossible for her to tell whether or not her batter is the correct yellow. As important as matching thread to cloth, a batter’s color can dramatically change the look of a feast from tantalizing to unappetizing.

I suggested several of our OttLite bulbs as replacements for her regular kitchen lights. In addition, our OttLite task lamps (loved by our crafters) can assist in providing her with the detailed, focused lighting needed to achieve the correct color in her baking batter.

To inspire you to use OttLite lighting in your kitchen, I’m including one of my sister’s beloved recipes. Her family favorite Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies.


Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies - Recipe

o 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
o 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
o 7 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temp)
o 1/4 cup granulated sugar
o 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
o 1 large egg
o 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
o 3 tablespoons sour cream
o 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
o 3/4 cup milk-chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high speed until PALE and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with sour cream, and beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Cover and freeze for 10 minutes.

2. Using a #60 Disher or a tablespoon, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until centers are set and cookies are pale golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

For those of us who are blessed with the ability to create masterpieces in the kitchen, whether by pan or cookie sheet, OttLite lighting only makes the job easier and more enjoyable.

Claudine Hellmuth Totally Rocks!

Check out our latest OttLite Rock Star!  Claudine Hellmuth took her fine arts background and whimsical, retro design sensibility to create a successful and inspiring career. Click here to find out more.

You may be wondering - what is an OttLite Rock Star?   Our rockstars come from all different walks of life; they love different things; but every day they’re relentlessly pursuing their passions, and we’re so proud to help them do that.  This is our way of celebrating them.

Do you know someone who is a Rock Star?  Click here to tell us all about them!

Darlene Cahill at JoAnns!

We are so excited to see Darlene Cahill's Melrose Thread line debut at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts.  Way to go, Darlene!  Darlene is a sewing expert and home decor guru.  We took a tour of her studio - which has tons of sewing machines, elegant finished projects and lots of OttLite lamps to make sewing easier.   Take a look at the video.  Plus, check out Darlene's other cool videos on You Tube.

Meet Up & Share What You Love

Have a Hobby You Want to Share?


For those of you who have a passion whether it be photography, craft, cinema… it is not always easy to meet people with the same interests as you. It’s good to have friends with different backgrounds. However it’s also nice to meet people with whom you can actually share about your passion. This is what Meetup.com is for. It’s a really cool website that I recently discovered. You can find groups of interests in your area such as Crafters, Movie Fans, Monopoly Players or Scrapbook Lovers. Usually you don’t have to pay to be a member which is good in this economy!

Some of these groups can meet from very often (weekly), to more rarely (monthly). For my part, I am already part of 30 groups on Meetup, because the more groups you are in, the more opportunities you have to go out & share the things you love with similar people. Here is an example of a scrapbook group in the San Francisco area.

Feel free to browse the website to find more groups that match your interests. Here at OttLite we were thinking about creating a few OttLite Crafting & Scrapbooking Groups this summer....would this be something that you would be interested & possibly join?

At OttLite we also have a group that feels like a little family: Our community that you can find here.

By subscribing, you will be entitled to many benefits including a free E-mail newsletter subscription that includes hobby and craft projects, tips and tricks, as well as exclusive sales & promotions.

My trip to JoAnns: A French Student's perspective

My Trip to JoAnns

Hi everyone! It's Anne-Laure again...remember me, right? I am the French student doing an internship at OttLite this year where you may have read one of my blog posts in the past. So upon working my internship at OttLite I decided what better way to get to know more about the company than to go to our biggest retail partner : The Crafter's Favorite Jo-Ann's.

When I entered Jo-Anns, I was really impressed by the diversity of products displayed for everyone to enjoy their hobbies. There is something for everyone’s taste: sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, quilting and much much more…My mother knits but I never had an artistic flair, and am very bad at crafting. However, I said to myself : "So what ? Let’s give it a try". So here I am, lost in the immensity of Jo-Anns, and mesmerized by all the products...I decide to check out the scrapbook array.

I chose scrapbooking as it seemed like a good place for a beginner to start in the crafting world. After a few minutes I am lost in the labyrinth that is Jo-Anns, surrounded by so much decorating stuff that Father Christmas would be by far beaten. You see a Sponge Bob sheet, you run towards it but you’re stopped in your race by the brilliance of a satin ribbon, … and you imagine all the possibilities, stunned by the number of possible matches.

Then I went to see our lamps. Woohoo... we really have a huge array at Jo-Anns! Our OttLite Lamps were everywhere! They even had little interactive screens where we can see videos demonstrating our products. It was all very, very cool! After having cleaned out the store, I returned home to buckle down my new career in scrapbooking.

This was really important for me because I am far from my friends and family for a year, so I want to have nice stuff with photos of them on to hang up on the wall. I’ve never done scrapbooking before, however it is very easy and I was quickly addicted. Here are some of the things I created under my OttLite of course:

Please feel free to share your comments, tips and suggestions with me!

Silk painting and OttLite

Developing our Facebook Page is really rewarding because it gives our customers a place to share what their work & us why they love OttLite! That's how we got in touch with Angel Ray. She specializes in Silk painting, a crafting domain few of us have heard about.

Angel explained to us how she came to silk painting and how OttLite really helped her business to blossom :)

"I was a Fine Art major in school, emphasis on painting. After school, I pursued graphic design, which is still my day job. Slowly I became starved of creative self-expression and needed an outlet. I found a silk painting class being taught by Dr. Rosemary Cohen. As soon as my brush hit the silk, I was hooked – found my creative outlet! Even more than an outlet, I found my passion and dream. Silk Painting is it!"

"After dabbling in silk painting for a few years, I finally went for it and did my first show in May 2009. Shortly afterwards, I opened the doors to my Etsy online shop, and joined the amazing CCCOE team as well. I quickly learned as an online seller, you could have the most beautiful product in the world, but if you don’t have amazing pictures, it won’t sell! I asked my talented photographer friend for tips and she told me how it was really all about the lighting. Lighting. Real daylight was the best, she said. Easier said than done, I said."

"I can only paint on the weekends, in the sunshine (my studio is a rooftop deck). So those valuable hours of afternoon are my only time to paint. I whined to my CCCOE teamsters about not having enough daylight hours to paint and do my photo-shoots, and then one of them mentioned, 'Have you tried the OttLite?' and sent me the link. That’s when everything changed for me. I immediately started experimenting and re-shooting my scarves."

"They looked great!! Not glaring, but nearly as bright as real sunlight, and the photos did pick up the subtle shine and texture of my different silks. I had about 10 scarves that had been finished for weeks, but I had kept missing my 'sunlight time window' so I couldn’t list them in my shop yet. I was BEYOND overjoyed as it changed everything for me."

"The OttLite is possibly the smartest investment I’ve made in my silk painting business so far, and I plan on buying several more for my studio. Not only can I do my photo shoots at night, and list my finished pieces faster, but now when the sun goes down after a day of painting, I don’t have to stop. I just bring my OttLite outside and I can see the real paint colors, and keep painting until it just gets too cold. It’s just incredible, and has helped me to grow my business, and get me just a little bit closer to my dreams coming true."

Below are a few links where you can find some Muse Silk Paintings:

SHOP

Facebook Fan

Blog

Flickr
Etsy

OttLite in the UK!

We're having a great time at the Stitches Show in Birmingham, England. I'm here with our UK Managing Director, David Hames who took me out for fish and chips last night :-)

The OttLite booth is shining bright with our newest products and lots of happy people experiencing OttLite for the first time. The crowd favorite is definitely the Pod Lamp. The new LED products are a hit, too!

The best part is hearing all of the fabulous accents from around the British Isles. I've also made some new friends - Kerry of Lady Bug Crafts Ink. She is from Vancouver and now lives in Scotland. Her designs are so fun and whimsical. My favorite is Ruby Fairy. Here's a picture of Kerry and me in her booth. Another fun designer I found was SpangleJangle.com - cross stitch patterns that are quick, easy & super cute.

It's a little colder here than Florida - we even had snow yesterday! - but the people are warm and friendly.

Cheers!

Growing Plants Indoors with OttLite!

Do you feel like a budding gardener? Have you always felt like you have had the green thumb, but never had the opportunity to pursue your talent? Then it’s time to try indoor gardening!

The OttLite lamp is for crafters, readers and students alike. However, there are many other uses for this great product, most notably indoor gardening. Amazingly, the OttLite brand began because of the founders desire for indoor gardening.

The Walt Disney Corporation contacted our founder, Dr. John Nash Ott to film the growth of a pumpkin for a very important and memorable scene in the film Cinderella. After several attempts Dr. Ott discovered that if the light was set to a particular wave length, the light quality would be as close to daylight as possible. With this light setup, Dr. Ott's pumpkin made it into to full maturity, Disney got their inspiration for the coach in Cinderella and the legend of OttLite was born! Click the video below to watch Dr. Ott's contribution to the film.


I myself live in an apartment, which makes it difficult to have a garden without using my OttLite. How else can you grow plants indoors?

Initially I was confused as to where the lamps should be placed for the best results possible. I scoured the internet for information, but to no avail. That is partially why I have decided to write this article, to help those of you who are as lost as I was on the subject of indoor gardening.

What about the heat?

OttLite's Plant Bulb is fluorescent based and operates at much lower temperatures than a standard compact flourescent or incandescent bulb. Therefore it is not harmful for the plants to be close to the lamp, as it radiates much less heat. This makes it optimal for a small room or office where heat could have negative effects on the plants or the environment in general.

What about the light and its optimal positioning?

The first step in determining your lighting set up is to know how much light your plant needs. This is most easily found from the tag included with the plant from the nursery. Next, it's time to determine what environment the plant normally grows in, including the duration of light, soil type, nutrients and moisture needs.

Here are some guidelines for when you decide to purchase your OttLite Plant Light setup:

-The OttLite 20w screw in, swirl type bulb (20EDG2R) in a standard shade should be placed 1” to 3” away to achieve noontime sunlight intensity.
-At this distance the spread of the light is about 6”, which is ok for small plants. If the plant will be lit for 10 or more hours then the light can be placed further away at 12”.
-The OttLite 40w 48” linear tube (OTL4012P) in a basic white reflector fixture can be placed between 1 and 6 inches from from a bed of plants (since the light spread is so large) that need partial to full sun.
-A timer should be employed to aid in adjusting the total amount of light being delivered.
-The OttLite 13w Plant lamp (OTL13BPB) should be placed as close as 1” for full sun plants.

Otto D’Lite is a Delight!

If you haven’t noticed, Otto D’Lite- The beloved animated OttLite lamp is back in the latest installment of the animated series. This time around it’s Valentines Day and love is in the air!

Now I won’t give the ending away, all I will say is Otto’s lady friend has her mind set on a VERY romantic location for this most important of holidays! Can you guess where she has her HEART set on going? No? Well, you’re just going to have to watch this entertaining short animation to find out then, aren’t you? Enjoy!

Knit Purl Gurl Review

Attention all craft lovers! Check out this blog for tips and tricks on all things creative: http://www.knitpurlgurl.com/


Two years ago Karrie started this website for craft lovers.
She blogs about her projects, the difficulties she encounters and reviews the best products for the crafters.

We here at OttLite asked her to tell us what she thought of the OttLite lamp because no one is more fitting to rate one of our products than those who use it everyday.

Check out what she says about OttLite in the video below:



“ The next thing I wanted to talk to you about are the really wonderful people over at OttLite. They sent me a light. When I approached them to do a review, I said : that would be great for knitters.”
“Every sewer I Have ever met has an OttLite. Otts are 50% off, and usually by email you can get a 50% coupon. They’re great.”

“OMG! I honestly will not use any other lighting now. It is fabulous. I didn’t understand how fabulous it was until I used it. …”
“Start enjoying the light in which you create.”

Karrie also hosts many differents links toward sweepstakes for her fellow crafters!
She also takes part in a radio and a webshow about crafting. It is really interesting so if you want to get tips from experienced crafters, THIS IS THE PLACE!

You can become a fan of her show HERE
And follow her tweets HERE

“ You don’t mess up with an Ottlite. Get an Ottlite I am convinced that every woman should have one ”

Check Us Out On TV!!!!!!

We showed off some of our products on Tampa Bay's Studio 10 yesterday and since it's Valentine's Day we brought some handmade Valentine's Day cards, too. Check them out -- I made them the night before, with my OttLite, of course!

On display were some of our amazing products such as our NEW Pink Telescoping Lamp, which is GREAT for Valentine's Day! As well as the Battery Task Lamp and our Bookstand Lite. Click here to watch the video and see me and Don in action!

The coolest piece was our new display that shows how OttLite compares to compact fluorescents (CFLs) and incandescent lamps. Even if you have an OttLite lamp, you'll be amazed at the difference when you put them side by side!

We're going to be on TV again next week. What do you think we should tell people about OttLite lighting? E-mail us with your suggestions!

The Home Lighting Ideas

Check this out!
After the wonderful tool introduced a few articles below, aka the Energy Savings Calculator, I am pleased to announce….

Our very own reproduction of a dollhouse!
I am exaggerating but it made me think of that when I first saw it.

So, what is IT?
The Home Lighting Ideas - Interactive Diagram aka:

You can find it HERE


So, what is the use of this diagram ?

Well, here at OttLite we noticed that it could be difficult for some of you to know exactly where each lamp was supposed to go. Clearly no one wants to find a Craft Lamp on the night stand. With our new Interactive Diagram, you can go from this:

 
to THIS!
Now, isn't that better ?
So you just have to click on the room(s) where you want to put the lamp and the Interactive Diagram helps you choose the lamp that will fit the best and provide you with an optimal living environment.


Now that's easy !

Don’t ever let ANYTHING stop you

Aaron Rose, a film director I admire once wrote:
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary”.

When speaking of OttLite's January Rock Star Terri Kacie, that sentence would go a little more like this:
“In the right light, at the right time, everyone is extraordinary”.

Some people go beyong the ordinary, deleting the word impossible of their vocabulary and taking a huge bite out of life.

This is the case for OttLite's Rock Star of the month, Terri Kacie.


When Terri discovered a disease would confine her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, she chose not to give up and to resume her life long aspirations of a healthy lifestyle.

Basketball? Not a problem. Hiking? She loves it!
Tennis? Terri is Nationally ranked.
Most able-bodied people (myself included) don't come close to the amount of physical activity Terri participates in.

As if it weren't enough to prove the world that she is one of a kind, Terri decided to literally reach new heights by becoming the first wheelchair-bound woman to rappel in the world.






You can check out her story here:http://www.ottlite.com/rockstar.aspx




So, the next time you’re complaining and saying something is too difficult, think of Terri: If she can do it, You can too!

If you would like to be OttLite's next Rock Star and show us how you "seize the day", follow the link above and send your story to our President ! Our future Rock Star may be you!

New Savings Calculator Shows Big Savings!

Take a look around your house. How many bulbs do you have plugged into lamps, overhead lights, fans, vanities and more?

The national average is a whopping 37.5 bulbs!

Now, guess how much money PER YEAR you can save by switching these lights from incandescent bulbs to OttLite lighting? Based on the national average, the answer is … $356.53 per year. That’s quite a chunk of change! Plus, OttLite screw in bulbs (aka Edison based bulbs) are rated to last up to 8,000 hours.

Want to see how much you can save? Just click here and put in the number of bulbs in your home with the wattages and the average number of hours you have them on a day. The results might surprise you! By switching my bulbs out, the calculator totaled my savings at over $330 a year. Share your savings amount with us by posting a comment below.

4 Tips for Finding Harmony with Your Space

Happy New Year! All this talk of organization and improving your space inspired me to go project crazy over the long holiday weekend. Here are 4 fun and fast projects that are making my life easier and my space more enjoyable!

1) TV Cabinet Transformation – After years of squinting to see a widescreen movie on our old TV, we bought a flat screen (what a difference!!). The big question is: What to do with the TV cabinet/armoire? I took a tip from Redbook, and transformed it into a bar. By simply adding a new piece of stained plywood to the back, a mirror and some stemware holders, we now have a sophisticated bar for entertaining.

2) Vanity Bulb Beautification! – This organization update will save me over $100 in energy costs. PLUS – I can now see everything in its true color! I replaced my old bulbs with OttLite Vanity Bulbs. This quick fix has brightened up my space and is great for putting on make up and matching clothes (think black vs. blue socks!).

3) Hall Closet Cubbies – My kids' school has it right – everything has a home, and every little person has a cubbie! I got this tip from the Today Show. I used a hanging closet sweater organizer and gave everyone their own slot. Now my purse finally has a home. The lower shelves are perfect for little kids to reach and put away their jackets.

4) Gallery Wall on the Level – I love my family photo gallery wall … but what I don’t love is how they get askew and look messy. This weekend, I bought some 3M double stick foam tape, applied a little to the bottom of each picture, broke out the level and shored everything up. What a difference!