'Tis the season for....home shows! We start relatively early by attending the Maine Home and Garden Show in Portland in February, and we always find it a great way to kick off the home improvement season.

This weekend we spent our time at the Maine Home Show in Lewiston - our home town - and had the chance to visit with lots of people from right here in our backyard. Mitch and Ron report that the best thing about this show is reconnecting with the other exhibitors - people like Floor Systems, Hammond Lumber, International Door, and all the great local banks, especially Androscoggin Savings.

Thanks to our great team, our booth always has some design changes, and this weekend we showcased some of our great new lamps. We are working with some new vendors, and we received lots of compliments on bringing in the styles you see in all the home-fashion magazines.

Also new to our booth is our exciting wireless power window shades by Lutron. Lutron has been a great lighting provider in our showroom for years, so we were thrilled to take on this new line of window dressings. The honeycomb-style shades are available in several fabrics and lots of fashionable colors - but the really unique feature is the ability to raise or lower them from the comfort of your favorite chair (or couch, or bed, or dining room chair...). The entire system is wireless, so no unsightly cords to get tangled, and it's virtually silent in operation. Many of our existing customers who came by our booth this weekend have asked us to come by their homes to discuss incorporating Lutron window shades.

Our next show is next weekend - we will be at Pine Knoll Landscape all day on Saturday, May 4. We will offer free advice on landscape lighting to anyone who stops by. Hope we see you there!