Spotlight on Diversity January 2024
Giselle Mercado Shares Her Resourceful Heritage
Giselle Mercado
NY Sales Manager, LED Linear USA
Lighting designer Giselle Mercado joined LED Linear USA after 14 years working in design. She still sees New York City as the center of the design universe, but credits her upbringing in Colombia for a key factor in her success here: resourcefulness. “I’m always reminded that nothing can be taken for granted, and that you have to work hard to keep it – to stay here and to grow. By trying to always push myself a little more – to learn, to share, to serve your professional culture,” she reflected, “I’m reminded that this is the reason I came here.”
Growing up in Bogotá and then studying and working in industrial design there, Mercado followed the famous architects and great designers based in New York City. “I was working with a small company designing furniture and architectural elements using mixed materials. Then I was introduced to lighting during a summer program in Italy. I went home with the idea to learn more about lighting as a material to be able to incorporate it more into the designs we were doing,” she recalled.
She began looking for a master’s program in architectural or interior design and earned a spot in the Parsons School of Design MFA in Lighting Design program. “I'd never heard of that profession before. This was not even a career path or practice in my country at that time.”
Renée Cooley, of Cooley Monato Studio, was one of her studio teachers there. “I started working for Emily [Monato] and Renée when their company was tiny. I stayed for 14 years.”
Some roadblocks
Beyond accents and idioms sometimes presenting roadblocks, Mercado found the scale of the design work arresting. “I had to adjust immediately to a new architectural mindset. The tolerances you use when designing furniture are in millimeters, and then you're specifying 8 ft linear lighting on an 11ft ceiling—then the change from metric to imperial units. Welcome to the United States.”
In general, Mercado did find the NYC lighting community welcoming. Several of her teachers at Parsons and numerous coworkers from Cooley Monato are now her customers and peers. “I learned everything I know about how to do lighting design in New York City. We had clients for years and years, and I still have very close connections with those architects and companies,” she said. “I made close connections with agents and manufacturers because it served my lighting design work, as well as my interest in industrial design. Nowadays I go to them often to ask questions. They are friends and confidants, and I had conversations with several different agents over lunches when I was deciding to transition to sales.” Today, her expertise in lighting design and installations benefits both customers and the local agent.
Nimble and resourceful
According to Mercado, a key difference between the US and Colombia is the comparative strength of the two economies. “Most of the design companies [in Bogotá] were small, growing from the ground up. Working with these firms, you have very limited resources, and everyone is watching what they spend…. Coming here, the resources you have available — as simple as what seems like endless paper, tools, and samples delivered to your office — you can’t get that there. At least not back then. It's a completely different world."
“Coming with the mentality of always taking full advantage of the resources you're provided with, you learn to navigate different challenges and be creative and resourceful to make things work; and find the solutions on your own.”
She describes the pace of work in NYC as fast, fast, fast. Even communications are more informal and quicker than where she grew up. “Twenty-three years later, it’s still a challenge to get to the point in the least amount of words! You're always out of time. So you figure things out yourself and double check on things after. Or you'll just miss the boat.”
She’s also noticed a competitive atmosphere that permeates the city. “There's a lot of Type A people, particularly parents, in New York City. I don't think I am one. It's a lot of pressure. You can grow from it, or you can also get burned out.” But the lighting community remains friendly and welcoming, always extending a hand when needed. “It’s just the culture of surviving in the city.. There are so many lighting designers and manufacturers and agencies and distributors working towards the same goals, that is so rewarding to be in this close community where you find support as well as you find how to support.”
Lightinas
Some of Mercado’s best friends are her best clients. But if she loses a spec, she knows they’re just looking for the best solution. “I support the designers trying to get the product they need for the project at hand. Again, I try to be resourceful and help them with support services to save them time. Often that’s the key, rather than the technical capabilities of whatever widget you're looking at. When you find that open space for interactions and contributions at different levels, it’s easy to find mentors and build relationships.”
Mercado expressed her joy at making new connections with young lighting designers just starting their careers now, particularly those willing to share an immigrant experience and find some commonalities. “This community is so rich in people coming and starting from scratch.”
A small group of Latina professionals involved in lighting gather occasionally somewhere in the city. “We socialize outside of professional life and support each other. We exchange stories and make [personal and professional] recommendations. We’ve become close friends. The shared heritage is a big aspect of it.”
