Infinity mirrors and beyond! Shane Mead from Festive Lights discusses Disney’s new offering

Shane, thank you for joining us. How did you hurt your arm?!
Thanks for having me. I took a fall while playing football a few weeks back and now I’m stuck in a cast for 12 weeks… It’s definitely not ideal for our busiest time of year!

No… Well, I hope you won! So: You’re Shane Mead, General Manager at Festive Lights… Tell me: What is Festive Lights?
Festive Lights is the original lighting specialists. It all came about in 1999 when our founder, Mark, bought a container of Christmas lights while on a business trip to Taiwan. After bringing them home – and quickly selling out – it wasn’t long before Mark needed more hands on deck… And the wider family stepped in to help!

It’s a family-run business?
Yes – and a very proud family-run business. Since then, the business has grown and grown to where we are today… We’re the leading online retailer for decorative, home and functional lighting; we ship to over 180 countries. Over the years, our in-house purchasing specialists have worked to monitor current trends and resources and build a reliable reputation among our key-consumers. Our customers know they can come to us for ‘the next big thing’ in decorative lighting… And as we don’t need to outsource this specialist insight, we can offer it at affordable prices too.

Fantastic. And I understand the company’s celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Congratulations! What kind of products have you licensed in that time?
Thank you! We’ve been busy marking the milestone over the last few weeks – I’ve not let my arm stop me from getting involved in the celebrations! In the past, we’ve had licensing deals with likes of Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and DC – something that we’re immensely proud of. From decorative baubles and snow globes to impressive wall lights, and now magical infinity mirrors… It’s these collaborations with massive household brands and unique products that’ve earned us our reputable name in the lighting industry over the last 25 years.

And for those that aren’t in the know, Shane, what is an infinity mirror?
Infinity mirrors, also known as infinity lights, are set to be the next big trend to sweep the festive season! The concept is simple, but the outcome is oh-so magical! It’s an optical illusion created by concealing a standard mirror between two ‘two-way’ mirrors, with a length of LED strip lighting strategically placed within. The light then bounces between the mirrors, creating the illusion of a never-ending stream of light.

Got it. It creates the impression of a never-ending tunnel of light…
Exactly. And they’re a fully reversible decoration; there’s no backing to them. That means you can position them anywhere around your home or garden with full confidence that everyone can enjoy the magical effect.

Magical! That’s a great word to segue into your latest collaboration… Tell me about that!
Yes! We’re SO excited to announce our latest collaboration with Disney through Christmas Inspirations. This year, we’re offering our customers the chance to transform their homes into ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ with a wide selection of Disney-inspired infinity mirrors. We’re the UK’s largest online supplier to offer these for Christmas 2024; we’re anticipating that they’ll be a big favourite amongst our key demographics. It’s the magic of Disney with the charm of Festive Lights… What’s not to love?!

Quite so! Particularly since the characters in the range are all solid! Tell us about them…
We have recognisable faces that any Disney fan would love to bring home for the festivities. We have Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Winnie-the-Pooh, Olaf, Stitch and even Grogu to help celebrate the season. We even have an impressive 1.6m Mickey, dressed to impress in his full Father Christmas get-up to really ramp up those warm Christmas vibes.

Why those? What makes them ideal for your products?
As we ship to hundreds of countries worldwide, we have to consider many aspects when choosing products – especially at our busiest time of the year. We appreciate that no two households are the same, so what may be a perfect match for one person may not be necessarily right for another.

With this collection, we decided to shine a spotlight on a character from every corner of the Disney archives. The franchise has grown from the black-and-white days of Steamboat Willy to galaxies far, far away… So it’s only right that we’ve included iconic Disney faces like Mickey and Minnie, as well as the likes of Grogu and Olaf to appeal to the wider Disney audience.

What was the biggest challenge getting the design right?
Well, we start researching and purchasing our Christmas collections the year prior… That means we have to consider upcoming trends, our buyers’ behaviours and what our competitors will have on offer a year in advance. It can be quite the challenge, but with years of experience comes years of expertise. Christmas Inspirations had a vast collection of Disney products for us to consider, so the first thing we had to do was narrow them down.

Yes, I can imagine. And how did you do that?
We knew we wanted something that would stand out from the crowd, as well as evoke those fond memories that come hand in hand with both Christmas and the Disney name. As we’re known for our high-quality and unique products, opting for Infinity Mirrors was an easy choice. They combine playful charm with premium lighting – which is our bread and butter at the end of the day.

Good answer. And obviously Disney is a fantastic partner to have… What, then, do you look for in a licensing partner?
We love nothing more than working with partners who share our core values… Family, togetherness and – primarily – joy… ‘Share the Joy’ has been the motto we live by day by day since our founding 25-years ago – and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

Who else should be getting in touch with you, Shane?
We’d love to work alongside similar brands who value their roots as much as we do… Who take pride in their work and put their customer base first. The more creative, innovative and unique, the better!

Fantastic! Let’s wrap this up with a non-question question… What’s the one question I could’ve asked you today that I didn’t?
Well, seeing as it’s our 25th anniversary, we’re looking forward as well as reflecting back. So, I guess it would be, “What else is in store for the future?”

Makes absolute sense! And what’s the answer?
The lighting industry is in a constant state of evolution, so it’s important that we keep ahead of the curve. We’re working hard behind the scenes to perfect our core products as well as introduce new and exciting ones that we hope our customers will love as much as we do! We aim to support every Festive Lights household in the journey to becoming the best and brightest they can be with exciting, new additions to their homes and gardens…

And are any of those products that you can talk about now?
Sure! We’re expanding our home-grown connectable range with Colour Connect®, the first app-controlled connectable light of its kind. We’re also launching our most authentic, realistic LED flame candle yet: Ember Candles™. The last 25 years have been ground-breaking, and we’re excited to see what the next 25 years have in store for us.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for joining us, Shane.