Why It Matters: The Philosophy Behind Sterling Lighting

By Patrick Harders, LC

Every outdoor lighting professional has had one of those jobs. You design the perfect system, install it just right, and then when it's time for the nighttime reveal... it falls flat. It’s not bright enough. The beam spread is off. It just doesn’t deliver what you promised the customer, and suddenly, you're on the hook.

Been there. More than once.

The Birth of Sterling Lighting  

Damien and I started Sterling Lighting in 2011 with one mission: to elevate the outdoor lighting industry. That meant rethinking how products were designed, not for a distributor’s catalog or a homeowner’s shopping cart, but for professionals like us who were out in the field every day.

Because there’s a difference between starting a business and building something that matters. We set out to do the latter.

The Bigger Picture  

We weren’t looking to disrupt the market just to say we did. We were trying to answer a simple but overlooked question:

What if outdoor lighting professionals were the customer from day one?

Not retail distributors.  Not specifiers.  Not homeowners.  You.  The one out there pulling wire in 90-degree heat. The one who answers the customer’s call after hours.  The one building a business and putting your name on every project.

We knew that if we focused on solving your problems, everything else would fall into place.

• That’s why our luminaires are serviceable.

• That’s why they’re adjustable.

• That’s why we don’t sell to homeowners or big-box stores.

• And that’s why every product we launch is field-tested, not just lab-tested.

Because this isn’t about selling product. It’s about supporting a craft, and the people who’ve committed their lives to mastering it. That's you, the professional.