Chris Hartswick has said that he first grasped the importance of light while studying undergraduate architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He stated, “I began to appreciate the vast ways that light can interact with architecture and transform how one sees and experiences spaces. Soon after, lighting went from an interest to an obsession.” That obsession would later lead to a master’s degree from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at RPI.
After stints in lighting design and then product development, Hartswick took the leap as an entrepreneur, co-founding the Ideoli Group. The mission of the business is to virtually merge the product development and lighting design practices.
Hartswick matriculated coincident with the transition to LED sources in lighting and his concepts and vision aren’t explicitly influenced by legacy form and function, although the company’s products evoke a legacy experience when needed in a project. The move toward entrepreneurship by Hartswick and a partner has been a success with the company having achieved wins especially in hospitality, retail, and office settings. The enterprise now has a global presence both in terms of customers and supply chain.
