The Serious Readers Alex light - what's so special about it?


Hello again and welcome to this sponsored post where I want to share the details of the new reading light I've been gifted. When Serious Readers got in touch with me a couple of months ago I questioned myself as to whether I really need a reading light and if so, why this one? After using it for the past three weeks I can honestly say there's quite a lot about the Alex light which makes it special. Serious Readers are all about looking after your eyesight by preventing eye strain. I'm at that stage when I have reading glasses but don't need them all of the time. I'm aware that I tend to sit near the window to read my magazines during the day, but in the evening I don't bother to try as we have quite subdued lighting for watching TV. 


Thanks to the Daylight Wave Technology these lights replicate natural daylight. What really makes the difference is projecting a spectral power distribution akin to real light.  Here's the technical stuff - CRI (Colour Rendering Index) is a measure of natural light simulation with 100 being perfect. The High Definition light projects a CRI of 96 for the Alex light, making them the best for seeing colours in their true light. 


Founder and creator of Serious Readers, Alex Pratt revolutionised lighting when he developed a specialist sewing light for Singer in 1986. Combining brightness, durability and versatility, the light was an industry game changer. From there Serious went on to design ultra high specification lights for machine tools. As their reputation grew so did their client list with specialists in surgery, forensic science and fine art restoration all demanding technically specific lighting. Commissions followed for airport control towers, RNLI lifeboats and even the Space Shuttle. 


The warm white light has a 27 inch beam spread and is recommended for those who suffer from Glaucoma. I mention this as my father had the eye condition which can lead to blindness and therefore my siblings and I are regularly tested for it. Read about the their purchasing guidelines here for this and other conditions such as cataracts and AMD- they really have it all covered. 


One of the other great features of the floor lamp is the stay put flexible arm - it really does stay put! Not only that, but it has a 359 degree swivel joint at the lamp head with makes it uber-directionable (yes, I know that's probably a made up word). Anyway, for those of you who like to stretch out at the end of a long day, this lamp delivers light exactly where you need it, rather than you having to position yourself under it. The only thing it didn't do was give me the last two clues in my crossword.


The sleek design is real plus too and as you can see it fits in with the most modern of interiors. Oh, if only this were my kitchen/diner!


And finally one more selling point is that it makes a great uplighter with the dimmer facility meaning you can have it on full brightness or a lesser strength if you prefer. The light comes with a five year warranty too. There are other versions of this light including a heavyweight version of the Alex plus table versions and wall versions as well. All are LED lights, energy efficient and yet high performance to look after the health of your eyes. The older I get the more I realise how important it is to slow down the gradual deterioration in my sight that comes with ageing. I'm so pleased to have been given the opportunity to use this state of the art light and discover easy reading again. The crisp, clear light really makes a difference and so yes, I'd say that makes it pretty special. I know I'm no expert on this, but 500 Opticians recommend Serious Readers lights too!

Please note that this is a sponsored post, but all opinions are mine.

                                                                                                   Anna x

Share:

Less colour, more detail


Further to my post on Monday where I placed myself well out of my comfort zone by wearing top to toe beige, I decided to run with the theme of less colour but more detail today. My default setting as you know is to turn the volume up colour-wise at every given opportunity, but the positive response to the March Madness feature gave me cause to consider the value of more neutral tones.


Less colour doesn't necessarily mean less fun though!


What is fun, is the fact that even though I'm in my 60's I am still learning about clothes. If Hilda hadn't come up with that particular challenge I would never have pulled those random separates together to make my homage to beige. 


The starting point for today's ensemble is this snakeskin jacket which has been gifted to me by JD Williams. The fabric is a suede effect making for a very soft finish, comfortable to wear and more lightweight than if it were real suede. I'm a big fan of biker jackets, so when the offer came to through to choose something from their current range, I was happy to see this one. I don't have a patterned biker jacket in my ever expanding collection so this seemed to be the ideal opportunity. Made to the usual specifications the jacket has zipped pockets and zips on the sleeves plus the slanted zip across the body. The fit is good - I'm a size 10 and this was as expected. My favourite points have to be the pattern (snakeskin is always on trend in my books) plus the cool look of a biker jacket crosses all age groups. 


I decided to pair the biker jacket up with black work trousers to give a less rock chick look, but as usual I couldn't settle for plain old black trousers could I?


These eyelet trim trousers were from Zara last year. They tick the right boxes for me when I need a well fitting ankle length black trouser that keeps me out of the boring zone. The sock boots were from Zara too. I suppose if you don't feel this adventurous you could indeed wear plain black trousers with simple boots or even a pair of sandals with this look - see some ideas for sandals on the JD Williams website here


In my quest to wear less colour I've gone big on accessories, bringing out a new handbag which I bought in a tiny boutique in St Andrews in January. The turtle shape plus all of these sparkling gemstones had that quirky appeal for me and was also in the sale coming in under £40 which suited me too. I've been saving the bag for a special outfit and this seems to be the perfect one. Tonally the jacket and bag work so well together and the black ties in with the trousers too. I really like this mixture of black trousers saying work and biker jacket saying rock chick - it's all about being an individual, isn't it? This may not be a conventional work outfit for some, but it would be great for a lunch out or after work drinks with the girls, don't you think?


The final touches for today's look are this statement necklace from Topshop along with these gold coloured rings, both of them pre-loved. 

Before you go, let me confess that I had to give this gorgeous snakeskin jacket the true Anna's Island Style treatment and dressed it up with a mega splash of colour here -


Leave me have your votes please for which look you prefer. Either way, I'm a winner!

Wishing you a fab week ahead!

Anna x

Share:
Created by bo design