CAMBORNE, COWNWALL, UK – “We’re in this together,” has been a common rallying cry for communities throughout the world as they deal with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Andy Tugby took this to heart recently, when he turned his home into an inspiring symbol for his neighbors in this tidy southwest England town.

With business at this company, SoundONE Disco, halted because of the prohibition on events, Tugby brought some of his idle CHAUVET DJ lighting fixtures home to his 160-year old house and created a brilliant Light It Blue display, the kind normally seen on iconic landmarks and public buildings.

“I felt this would be a nice gesture for my neighbors,” said Tugby. “At 8 pm people would come out to cheer the NHS, so I wanted to create an uplifting visual that would support them and serve as a positive symbol.”

Working with his DJ Sam Luke Barns, Tugby positioned four freestanding and battery powered Freedom Stick RGB fixtures evenly spaced across the front of his four-bedroom detached house. The powerful output of each unit’s 32 SMD LEDs allowed him to create an even field of color across the width of the building.

Adding impact to the display were four Intimidator Spot 455Z IRC fixtures. Drawing on the tight beam angle and illuminance (up to 7,700 lux at 5-meters) of these 180-watt movers, Tugby created crossing blue beams on the face of the building, lending greater dimensionality to his design.

Tugby and Barns were careful to leave the area directly below the home’s windows dark to allow the blue uplights inside to show through. Care was also taken to avoid spill- over light, so as not to disturb the neighbors.” I didn’t want the light to be disruptive to anyone in the area,” said Tugby.

He need not have worried about that. On the contrary, the response to his Light It Blue creation was overwhelming positive, with scores of photos taken and shared on social media. Tugby was even listed as the county’s 14th hero in the local newspapers Cornwall Live.

“It felt good doing this, and we were very happy that it made so many of our neighbors feel good too,” said Tugby, proving, as so many others in his community have, that we will indeed get through this together.