The story behind Lawn Lights

My name is Mark Halter. I grew up on a family farm in southern Indiana. Growing up, all I wanted to do was farm, but my parents, knowing how tough it can be to make a living farming, encouraged me to go to college first. So, I went to college for a dual engineering degree.
College was tough at times. The school I attended had an airport, and sometimes I would drive out to it at night to take a break from school. I enjoyed looking across the airfield at night when they had all the runway lights lit up. At certain angles, it looked like the whole area was covered in little lights. I started to think how cool it would look if I could cover the entire family farm back home in tiny lights.
So during Christmas break, I decided to see if it was feasible. I bought 5000 feet of wire and a bunch of incandescent mini Christmas lights. I started experimenting with different lengths and spacings. After I built one string, I set it out. Again, I experimented with different layouts and deployments. When I was done, it looked pretty cool, so I decided to build a couple more strings. I continued to build strings until I had covered about an acre around my house. It looked awesome! I was pleased, but kind of bored with building strings of lights, so I decided to give it a rest.
My house sat on top of a hill along a state highway, and you could see it from a great distance. People started pulling off the road, knocking on the door, calling me – asking me where I got those lights. When I told them I built them myself, a few practically begged me to build them some. I wasn’t really interested, but to be polite I agreed to build a few sets.
The orders kept coming in. It would take me 2 hours to build a set, and I did not want to spend all my spare time after work building Lawn Lights. So, I started doing lots of research to see if someone could manufacture the strings. After a lot of research, I eventually found a factory that would build me what I wanted.
I decided to take a chance and go into business in 2004. At the time, all I was really doing was avoiding the work of building the sets by hand, and thought I could make a little extra money on the side. I had no intentions of trying to grow the business or pursue Lawn Lights aggressively. All I knew about was farming and engineering – I didn’t know anything about business! It was just a hobby.
To my surprise, sales continued to grow significantly year after year. It soon became a business that was too big to call a hobby anymore. Sales reps began to contact me, and internet sales started to soar. I decided to get serious about it and really focus on the product and the business.
Now, Lightscape Decorative Lighting LLC manufactures and sells literally tons of Lawn Lights a year! And this is just the tip of the iceberg. New opportunities come up all the time, and we are always excited to work with new business partners. We continue to expand our business, and have even gone international.
The best is yet to come! We have new products planned and in development. We intend to continue to provide high quality products around the globe for many years to come.
Although I’m pleased with the success we’ve had, I think I enjoy the positive feedback I get from people on Lawn Lights the most. Lawn Lights are creating so many great memories. I have heard many stories about how children get so excited to see the Lawn Lights. Some families make it a great family function to put out the Lawn Lights. Neighbors who have not otherwise spoken to each other in months or years gather in front of the displays to complement the homeowner. Strangers stop by to introduce themselves and discuss them. Decorating competitions have been won because of them. Weddings, proms, and other events have been made unforgettable. How many products on the market can bring people together like this, even if just briefly? It has be so rewarding, and I look forward to helping create so many more warm memories for people!

6 thoughts on “The story behind Lawn Lights

  1. I think I bought one of the first sets…Love them. I no longer have my big house, but yu are correct the neighborhood loved them. I believe I sent you photos. It is great when a hobby becomes a business.

    1. Hi Ronda. Great to hear from you. Yes, you got yours back in 2010. I can’t seem to find your pictures, but I would love to see pictures if you have any. Thanks! – Mark

    1. Hello Jim. I get that question from time to time. The answer is no. The mower would destroy the wire. However, since they are so quick and easy to pick up and put down, should you need to mow, you can quickly move them out of the way and then redeploy them when you are done. Thanks for asking!

      – Mark

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