u/herschelpony

A talent in the industry, gone too soon.

https://businessofhome.com/articles/mortgage-free-millennial-homeowners-are-on-the-rise-remembering-urban-electric-founder-dave-dawson-and-more

IN MEMORIAMDave Dawson, founder, president and CEO of The Urban Electric Company, passed away on June 30. Following his first career in corporate law, Dawson founded the luxury lighting manufacturer in 2003, establishing a headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. Under his leadership, the company grew to become a major force in the design industry, today employing 350 team members across multiple campuses. In 2018, Dawson turned the focus of his leadership and community-building skills outward with the launch of the Makers Alliance: a peer-to-peer group for the high-end product design and craft manufacturing industry. Not long after, he joined The Business of Home Podcast to share his optimistic outlook on the future of Urban Electric, and the design industry at large. “The good news is that design is in full bloom,” he said. “I don’t think it’s ever been more important than it is now—every restaurant, hotel or office wants to have a unique design. In a lot of ways, all of the challenges the industry is going through, they’re good things. They’re born out of more people aspiring for better design. Every time you see bad design, that’s an opportunity for good design.”

His passing produced an outpouring of grief from the industry, prompting magazine editors, designers, colleagues and fellow business owners to post remembrances, often tagged with the motto Dawson coined: “Always proud, never satisfied.”

“My admiration for Dave is profound,” design journalist Anne Hardy, who worked with Dawson on Urban Electric’s publication, The Current, told BOH. “He was known for zigging when others were zagging, getting into print in 2018 when publishers were fleeing, creating The Current—which became a kind of juggernaut, championing the art of interior design and beyond. Dave was a visionary business leader of course, but equally, he was the artist and editor among us.” His loss was greatly felt within the company he founded, with Urban Electric chief financial officer Sean Sykes writing: “Dave was a visionary, a true builder who turned a single idea into an entire community of passionate supporters and admirers. His legacy will live on in the strength of the team he built, the culture he created and the spirit he bestowed on everyone he encountered. He will be missed tremendously.” Anyone who would like to share a note or memory with Dawson’s family is invited to send their thoughts to rememberingdave@urbanelectric.com.

clean ingredients. anyone tried?