LAMPS PLUS outdoor lights recently made an appearance on The Early Show for a "Creating Curb Appeal" segment.

Host Harry Smith spoke with Ahmed Hassan from the DIY Network, and a Bellagio Collection outdoor wall light was featured. Good tips here, especially on how to choose a fixture to match the scale of your front door entrance.

The clip has been posted online; just click the link below to view.

If you were intrigued by the blog post last week about Karim Rashid, Karim Rashid on Design, you'll want to check out this video interview of him from reDesign magazine. Click below to view.

Kathy Ireland was recently featured in Baby Couture magazine's anniversary issue. She talks about her career, her writing, and her parenting philosophy. You can read the interview in Baby Couture's online magazine reader by clicking here. Mouse over the page navigation at the bottom; the interview starts on page 15. Kathy Ireland lighting.

While doing DVD-drive surgery this past weekend (don't ask), I realized that...I couldn't see what I was doing! Which led to a frantic household search for a desk lamp, none of which really did the trick (too big, not adjustable, bad light). After the fact, I looked at our online desk light selection and browsed our Chatsworth store. I've come up with these designs that would have helped me, and would make great hobby lamps for electronic buffs or crafters.

First up, an adjustable model with a built-in magnifier. The diopter glass has a 150 percent magnification power, which is handy, and the spring tension arm lets you manuver the light into position. Has a clamp base, which could be a drawback in some situations. Clamp-On Magnifier Desk Lamp

This model is slightly less adjustable, but is more compact and has a regular base. 5x magnifier is not as powerful as the model above, but would have worked just fine for me. I like the brushed steel finish as well. Gooseneck Magnifier Desk Lamp

 Finally, this lamp offers a more traditional look, but comes with a hi-tech HDLT (High Definition Lighting Technology) bulb. By Ott-Lite, the bulb offers lighting that's close to natural daylight, so it's great for crafting, working with paint colors, and reading. Ott-Lite Downbridge Desk Lamp

Let us know what you use for hobby or craft lighting, as well as what you think of these choices!

Pasquale Miranda, Director of Design for Murray Feiss lighting, talks about the company's line of lighting in this video clip. Click below to view, or browse our selection of designs by Murray Feiss.

Residential Lighting this month has an interesting piece penned by designer Karim Rashid. He talks about his design process and his thoughts on lighting. "I tend to use organic or sensual lines in my work — my hand and mind think that way — flowing, fluid, to create movement, to have a continuum of shape that is an extension of our organic world and the human body."

Read more online, A Revealing Look at Karim Rashid’s Design Process, or browse our collection of Karim Rashid lighting.

Our new giclee clip-on chandelier shades make for an easy style update. They come in sets of 4 and clip directly onto your chandelier's existing bulbs. It's a quick and inexpensive way to give a lighting fixture - or small accent lamp - a fresh new look. Choose from cherubs, Tuscan patterns, polka dots and more. We also like the French country rooster! View the new giclee chandelier shades, or click for all chandelier shades.

We've always loved the pleasant sound of gently flowing water that you get from our water fountain designs. Fountains are ideal for use in gardens and patios, or they can be used in a wide variety of indoor settings.

But it's hard to put into words how a fountain actually sounds and how the water is creatively used in each design...so we've added video to our fountain product pages to help us out. Dozens of water fountain products now how videos. Browse around, take a look and let us know what you think!

We've launched a brand new info page from the LAMPS PLUS Professionals' home/log-in about our professional trade Lighting Design and Specification Services.

Our lighting specification team works on a range of construction projects, including multi–family homes, senior housing, retail and light commercial projects.

From energy compliance reviews to custom designs and value engineering, they help you plan efficently and save money on your next project. Visit the page for more info.

Jeff Emmerson is a manager with LAMPS PLUS Professionals.

Japan gets all the cool stuff first! On July 15th, Sharp will introduce a new line of LED bulbs with a couple of interesting twists. Most interesting is the "fully-equipped" model, which features a remote control that allows you to adjust the color and dim the bulb via built-in dimmer.

You can choose from seven colors, ranging from pleasing warm to cooler daylight white, "to match the weather, the season, time of day, purpose, or other preferences."

Did we just refer to a light bulb as "fully equipped"? In any case, these energy-sipping bulbs are built to last for 40,000 hours.

One last cool feature of LED lights like these: They don't emit the kind of UV light that attracts insects. Don't you just hate cleaning the dead bugs from your ceiling fixtures?

No word on when these fancy bulbs will appear stateside. To get energy efficient right now, browse our selection of energy saving and long-lasting LED light bulbs and CFL bulbs.

Via Engadget. Read the full Sharp press release.