The story of Perrysburg-based Ilios Lighting should be taught in college economic development courses.
Founder Kelly Mondora took a skill set developed at Westcott Lighting of Maumee and created a wildly successful makeup mirror and ring light combination that replicates natural daylight and has quickly penetrated the hard to crack high-end retail market.
“I’m super excited to bring a team and jobs here,” Ms. Mondora told Blade reporter Sheila Howard for her story, “Outlook bright for Perrysburg woman after companies merge,” Sunday.
Now, Ilios has merged with Lume Cube, a West Coast company devoted to photography lighting products for the rapidly growing creative class tied to the internet. Each company will continue as a standalone business enhanced by the mutual expertise, under the name Lightbrands Holding Co.
Ms. Mondora’s mission in the new enterprise is to broaden the relationship with retailers like Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Dillards, Harrods of London, Target, and Costco to include products from the broader lighting categories in the Lume Cube portfolio.
Lume Cube will help Ilios Lighting create new products and relationships with the creative class and direct to consumer online sales. Help with growth issues from Lume Cube is behind the merger, and Ms. Mondora hopes to have an East Coast distribution center for both companies’ products in Greater Toledo eventually.
Northwest Ohio should be super excited to see the success of Westcott Lighting produced from the expertise and history of innovation shown since beginning as an umbrella manufacturer.
The Toledo glass industry is a well known example of an economic development cluster. The special skill and business ties of a company in any business category make formation of new firms in the same general category more likely.
Ilios Lighting and Westcott Lighting product lines do not overlap but together they make Greater Toledo a center of expertise for products sold by top retailers and used by visual media giants.
Kelly Mondora’s current success is inspiring and her future opportunity is exciting. Most of all, the genesis of Ilios Lighting is illuminating on the economic power of industry clusters. It’s how we became “the Glass City.”
First Published March 13, 2025, 4:00 a.m.
