Bay of Plenty’s original lighting store was opened in 1956 in Mt. Maunganui, attached to the factory that made light fixtures which the store sold. At the time, the fixtures were also exported throughout the South Pacific.
In 1984, the shop relocated and was renamed Vogue Lighting. Lois Hellings was appointed to manage the showroom. In 1992, Lois bought the business and almost immediately her 13-year-old son, Peter, started working at the shop when he wasn’t at school.
In the ‘80s, Lois recalls new homeowners would bring in a list of lights needed for each room and Lois helped find the fixtures from what was then a small selection. However, the company was soon importing from Europe and halogen lights were on the horizon, with the downlight becoming the modern light for a modern home.
Today, Lois continues to draw residential and commercial lighting plans and helps her clients select their lighting from domestically made New Zealand pendants to extensive collections imported from North America, Europe and Australia, including designers from Visual Comfort’s Lauren Home to Hinkley’s Lisa McDennon,
Peter is the principal today, also specifying lighting for residential and commercial projects, with a special focus on LED lighting extrusions.
A Lot has Changed since Vogue First Opened
Born in Australia, Lois moved her young family to what was then the outskirts of Tauranga in the ‘80s. Trained in health care, Lois brought math skills and a sense of style from overseas travels to a burgeoning lighting industry in New Zealand.
During the past four decades, almost everything has changed in the light industry, from the advent of LED technology to a broad range of looks … from Mid-Century to modern to Hamptons designs. You can order anything from chandeliers many metres wide and tall to a small, bright LED-powered fixture. Lois can recall when most NZ homeowners had few choices, and most Bay of Plenty homes looked much alike when it came to ceiling buttons and exterior bulkheads. Today the range is vast, and that’s where Lois and Peter bring their experience and skills into play, helping designers, architects, homeowners and builders find the right look and type of lighting for any space.
In any home or commercial design, the lighting must be functional. A well-thought-out lighting plan is as important as the fittings used. Vogue Lighting offer our clients this exact service, from assisting in sizing a chandelier for your dining room to calculating lumen output to be sure there’s the right amount of light in the right places.
In 2001, after working in London and Sydney, Peter returned to New Zealand and joined Lois fulltime at Vogue. By this time, LED technology had revolutionised the industry, with an increasing emphasis on energy efficiency.
Peter says he often starts his consultation by asking people what they don’t like. He believes people often know more about what they don’t like than what they do. Then, it’s down to planning where and what type of lighting to install, whether the project is new home or a modest renovation. While the style of a home will influence the selection, once a plan is in place, making the final selections are usually easy.
Part of the reason that is true is Vogues diverse ranges of lighting, from Italy’s latest contemporary designs to the classic lines of hand-blown German glass to superbly designed and manufactured New Zealand-made products and the best from Asia. Vogue’s North American ranges are from the largest and most acclaimed luxury lighting companies, including Visual Comfort, Hinkley, Lark Lighting, Hubbardton Forge, Allegri and Kalco.
Best yet, Vogue draws from a large NZ stock of designer lighting for quick delivery when time matters.
While based in the Bay of Plenty, Vogue Lighting has been involved in projects from all over New Zealand and as far afield as the Pacific Islands and Australia.
07.575.4784