You're living your life in the dark. You just can't see your way clear anymore. Avron Satill can help. The South African emigre made his way to America a mere 10 months ago, and within four months of moving here had opened his own business, Light Bulbs Unlimited, in Winter Park's New York Arcade. A long-ago "Saturday Night Live" skit about a store that sold nothing but Scotch tape parodied this kind of specialty shop - after all, nothing but light bulbs? How could they stay in business? But business is very good; thank you, no need to advertise. "Look at this place," Satill says, "It's like a beacon in the night." Light Bulbs Unlimited is adorned with loads of neon, specialty fixtures and groovy lumi-nations for the most discerning to the most college-dorm tastes. To explore the latter, check out the sample disco room with box strobes, fiber stars, multi-colored rope lights and, best of all, the stuff no '70s kid's bedroom would have been complete without: black lights and those ultra-fab velvet black-light posters of Jim Morrison, a black panther and the Green Giant getting stoned with his elfin pals. (The posters are for sale, too). The stock neon available through the store is largely of the type that makes sure everyone knows you live in Florida, like pink flamingos and potted palms. But Light Bulbs Unlimited also subcontracts custom neon work. And Satill offers free home or office lighting consultations. That includes advice on the best use of available light to enhance what you already have. After all, what's the point of having a great art collection if no one can see it? Light Bulbs Unlimited has light bulbs that will last up to 8 years, Chromalux plant lights that approximate sunlight for better care of your indoor foliage, blue police lights to amuse you and alarm your neighbors, and Basking Lights. The stem was green and the flower was red - the filament was actually a rose," Logan says, adding that while the bulbs are still around, they are no longer made. "They lasted 20 years. That's probably why (the manufacturer) went out of business."
In addition to the lights he stocks, Avron Satill will try to track down the bulb that should’ve come with that antique-store treasure you just bought.
By Liz Langley