The two day event was attended by a stream of lighting designers, programmers, operators and rental companies, all of whom took a great interest in the products.
Just Lites is run by three brothers, Paul, Ian and Alan Smith. It is one of Ireland's most successful and best known lighting rental houses. They have invested in over 200 Robe fixtures in recent years, used regularly for all their shows, events and festivals, and have also supplied them to a variety of installations.
Robe UK's sales director Ian W Brown and technical manager Nathan Wan went to Dublin to put the new products through their paces and show off their functionality to all those attending.
"We use Robe products all the time," says Paul Smith. "It's important that our clients, designers and technicians are aware of the latest technology available, specially as Robe has been so proactive in launching new products in the last six months."
Leading Irish LD's attending included Darragh McAuliffe (currently lighting director on the Sugababes tour); Liam McCarthy (Elvis Costello, Clannad and Mary Black) who has worked with Just Lites since they started 15 years ago, plus Cormack Jackson and Kevin Saunders.
Ian W Brown adds, "Ireland is an incredibly buoyant market, there's lots of buzz and activity right now, and it's great to see Just Lites at the centre of the action. The open day also provided a great opportunity to put Robe's latest products in front of the large cross section of the Irish industry."
Just Lites stocks a full range of Robe kit. Its first order was for six MS Zoom 250 Spots which were installed in the Ambassador's Theatre in Dublin and left working for three years, "exactly what a rental company needs - gear that works all the time," says Smith.
Just Lites is involved with a wide variety of shows incorporating the worlds of live performance, theatre, corporate and television. Recent projects have included the Young Scientists Exhibition at Dublin's RDS, a TV special for Childline (working with LD Peter Barnes) and the Irish Meteor Music Awards, staged at The Point. Upcomings include the Green Energy Weekend, May Bank Holiday Weekend, events at Dublin Castle, Trinity Ball, the Oxegen Festival and The Electric Picnic.
(Jim Evans)
