Kyle Bostic is the proud owner of Illuminate Vintage, a Houston shop specializing in handmade lighting.
And as a gay man, he’s a proud member of the LGBTQ community.
“Being part of the LGBTQ community means breaking the mold, being different,” Bostic said. “And that is exactly how I have operated my company.”
Bostic is a person – and a businessowner – who values and appreciates all walks of life.
“I take a lot of pride in the diversity of our staff,” Bostic said. “We have members of the LGBTQ community as well as many different ethnic backgrounds. That’s very Houston of us. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the country. It’s critical for the success of our business long-term, to have all those viewpoints.”
Illuminate Vintage is comprised of 11 employees who operate out of a 14,000 square foot facility.
A few years ago, it was just Bostic … working out of a closet.
“Irony not lost on me,” he said with a laugh.
Bostic’s father and grandfather were both master craftsmen. He inherited that passion for creating pieces by hand and decided to focus on vintage lighting projects in 2013.
What started out as a trade show booth (pictured above) soon turned into promising online interest and sales. Then came the move to Houston, where he settled into his rather snug workspace.
“Almost stopped making lighting,” Bostic said. “I decided to see if I could operate out of my new house. I was running a $100,000 a year business out of a closet. I did that for about a year.”
He was making it work, but the set-up wasn’t sustainable. So Bostic made the choice to accept the risk and truly go for it.
“It was time for a commercial space and I actually started hiring people,” Bostic said.
Success has followed, and Illuminate Vintage products have been available for purchase on Lowes.com for two years now.
“That was a pivotal moment for us,” Bostic said. “It was like, ‘Wow, we’ve gone big-time now.’ Even when I tell people that, they’re like, ‘Oh, you are at that level.’
“I feel very fortunate. It’s difficult though, because now you are playing the game with big manufacturers and we’re doing things we’ve never done before with barcodes, unique SKUs and inventory management software. It was a big step up for us and it took a lot of work, but it’s definitely paid off.”
That was a pivotal moment for us. It was like, 'Wow, we’ve gone big-time now.'
The timing was perfect for Bostic. He combined his skill with a style that soared in popularity as his business was emerging.
“The style of fixture that we make – that midcentury modern – when we started doing that in 2013 is when it really became popular,” he explained. “Now you are seeing that stuff in grandma’s house, in rural areas. It’s literally everywhere. We rode that wave. It’s about preparation meeting opportunity… that’s exactly what happened.”
But styles and trends come and go. When this simple, minimalist wave recedes, will more intricate varieties become desirable?
Bostic and the folks at Illuminate Vintage will help us see the light.
“Our challenge moving forward is figuring out what’s next,” he said, “and showing people what’s next.”