14 - Light Voices #1 – Nicola Gillespie

00:00:03: Johanna Stückler: Welcome to Licht hören, a podcast about light, lighting and the people behind it. Here we explore this fascinating field from education and daily practice to how we imagine and shape its future.

00:00:18: Johanna Stückler: And I'm excited today because I speak to Nicola. She's based in London and she did not plan to become a lighting designer until she started working at Isla James interiors. Nicola. Who are you and what do you work in your own words?

00:00:39: Nicola Gillespie: Hey, hi, I'm Nicola Gillespie As I said, I'm from London. I recently moved, so it's exciting. My job description is a lighting site now, so I do all the bits lighting really.

00:00:53: Johanna Stückler: So as far as I know you didn't plan to become a lighting designer. Did you actually study it or did you study something else?

00:01:01: Nicola Gillespie: So I studied interior design. When I wanted to move to London, I wanted to get into that sort of set to own. Then I got this job and I just fell in love with it.

00:01:12: Johanna Stückler: May I ask you, where did you study? Which university was that?

00:01:17: Nicola Gillespie: University of Plenum, which is very south of England.

00:01:22: Johanna Stückler: How did lighting first appear in your life? Was it by accident or by choice?

00:01:27: Nicola Gillespie: I've said I fell into it because when I was applying for jobs you kind of tend to go and Indeed or like all these job companies and you just sort of type in junior designer or interior designer like and you just you sort of go through a list and then you suddenly come over the ones that are similar or maybe if you have certain qualities in them like cab work it might then lead you to be like engineering stuff and it's you can't just build on it and I think when I was applying I saw like designer and I know they really look like lighting is like, okay I'm coming out to uni to become a lighting designer but then yeah here I am.

00:02:05: Johanna Stückler: When you started working, ⁓ was there something like, okay, this is really actually interesting?

00:02:12: Nicola Gillespie: Yeah, I think when I had my interview with my manager, ⁓ he was just saying all these cool and interesting things that I never thought was lighting. I thought lighting was putting a pendant in a room and calling it that. It was the layers and I think that was what was interesting to hear, is that it's so much more behind the scenes.

00:02:36: Johanna Stückler: Which brings me to a really interesting question. When you tell people about your job, is it also that part which surprises them or is it something else?

00:02:47: Nicola Gillespie: I have quite a few friends that work in the medical side of jobs and writers. When I tell them it's something that they've never really heard of, they go, oh, that's so cool. And it's like, well, I never knew it was a thing. And then you're right. And I think the way I would say it's surprising is because you don't know what it is and then they tell you what it is and then you're like, oh my gosh, that's cool. It's different, so...

00:03:18: Johanna Stückler: I want to go into your working day. What does a normal working day for you look like? Not the perfect one, just an ordinary one.

00:03:25: Nicola Gillespie: So most days I'll come in and I'll have a list of projects to work on, whether it's doing a concept, whether it's doing the actual cat work, whether it's discussing site issues or just sort of in general, you just sort of work on projects and then some weeks it's you come in and there might not be many projects on due to other weeks because they're different stages.

00:03:52: Johanna Stückler: If I think about cut and concept, you have a plan and you put in yellow or blue dots where the lighting goes.

00:03:59: Nicola Gillespie: Yeah, so we'll get a plan from the client and then I'll go on the iPad. I'll mark up where I think maybe a pendant might go, wherever they might have some wall lights, whether they would have some linear and some joinery and sort of get feel for the room and then consider maybe if there's any ceiling details like coffers or shadow gaps and then, and then we would take that to the client and we would discuss what we think would work in that space. But we also consider that it aligns with the interiors so you want to make sure that there's a piece of artwork or a wallpaper that's really nice you really want to highlight that using good lighting.

00:04:39: Johanna Stückler: Is this something you're really really proud of when you do your work?

00:04:43: Nicola Gillespie: proud of it just in the general how much you get to change someone's space because growing up I think a lot of houses there's probably not a lot of lighting to them. It's exciting when you can affect how someone walks in a room with just the light and it's incredible thing.

00:05:04: Johanna Stückler: part of your job is maybe harder or more challenging than you expected. ⁓

00:05:10: Nicola Gillespie: I would probably say it's understanding the sights. You may want to put something in that you might be restricted to beams or ceiling lights, pictures. And I think it's one of those ones you've got to try work with because you can't always change it. So you might have to adapt and you might have to use a spotlight instead of a down light. You might not be able to do a shadow gap because do something completely different. it's nice to have those options. But it is... When you have an idea, sometimes I think it's... You want to do that idea, but you do have to then be like, okay, does it work? How are we gonna do it? And then that's when it becomes, right, I've to think.

00:05:53: Johanna Stückler: What might be a part of your job which doesn't go on Instagram, which is something nobody's talking about?

00:06:00: Nicola Gillespie: I think the clients, when people go on Instagram and look at a lighting designer, I think the real thing that they will never see is all the background stuff that happens. Like, they don't know how many conversations we've had with the contractors or electricians to make things work. And I think lighting design is a lot more behind the scenes than people realize. And that's what makes it really interesting.

00:06:25: Johanna Stückler: I think that is really part of why it's kind of a secret job, why people are still surprised about it, because there's so much behind the scenes and we only see the pendant in the ceiling. If you could be talking to your 18-year-old self, what would you suggest that person honestly?

00:06:42: Nicola Gillespie: I would say don't be afraid to do something different because I feel like everyone grows up doing the same dreams as a princess or an astronaut and I think I once watched this clip from an actor and he was saying do a job that you want to go to every morning do a job that you will be happy to spend 10 hours, 8 hours doing it and I think for me that's what's hit me with this job is I come to work every morning and I love it.

00:07:18: Johanna Stückler: For someone who doesn't know anything about lighting, why is it worth to get a closer look?

00:07:24: Nicola Gillespie: And in a world where, you know, there's times where it can be stressful and anxious and it has its ups and downs, I think lighting is a way to actually just connect with yourself a bit more and feel. It just will instantly make you feel better if you walk into, you know, you feel like you want to relax. You can turn your lighting in your bathroom to make it like a spa feel and you can set these moods and atmosphere. Yeah, it's it's magic, you know what?

00:07:54: Johanna Stückler: Great, thank you. Thank you for your time and the insights you shared.

00:07:59: Nicola Gillespie: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

00:08:01: Johanna Stückler: Are you thinking about lighting as a career? You can study it, practice and theory in Germany, UK, whole Europe, US or globally. Pick a tech route or a design route, bachelor, master, post-grad. Leave us a comment and we are also happy to share some programs in the show notes.

00:08:28: Johanna Stückler: You have been listening to Licht Höhren, a joint project of the lighting societies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Thank you for listening. You'll find ways to connect with us through the comments or in the show notes.