Amplified Lifestyles’ smart home projects range from historic mansions in Pacific Heights to a tropical oasis in the British Virgin Islands. The results can appear magical because these systems integrate elegantly into the design. If you peek behind the curtain, a team of outstanding Amplified technicians installs and maintains the systems while providing technical support. One of the team members is Senior Production Field Specialist Jorge Flores Jr. Jorge learned his craft from his father, Jorge Sr., who also works for Amplified. With the recent birth of his son Jorgie III, there may be a third generation.
AL: What drew you into the world of home technology?
JF, Jr: I followed in my father’s footsteps right out of high school. During my summer breaks in high school, I would go to work with him, and I fell in love with the tech industry. My father is also a part of the Amplified Lifestyle family. He has helped develop a strong work ethic that I follow today, from pulling wires to installing TVs to building racks. He was/is my role model.
AL: What’s your favorite aspect about being a part of the Amplified Lifestyles team?
JF, Jr: The effort and time that Amplified takes to ensure their employees feel welcomed, heard, and understood. I believe it plays a massive role in providing great results. It feels as if I have an extension of my family. It’s a pleasure to be a part of what makes this company so successful.
AL: Who is your ideal client?
JF, Jr: My ideal client is a person or family open to creativity, knows what they want, and has a vision of the result.
AL: Favorite app?
JF, Jr: It’s hard to just choose one. I have two. Savant and Crestron are my two favorite apps. Savant is great because you can go from project to project, and the app layout and functionality will never change, which is something I love. But I like Crestron because it is fully customizable, from the layout of the main page to the button layout to the background color. It would be a one-of-a-kind build, which I also like.
AL: What have been some of your most challenging projects you have worked on?
JF, Jr: Some of the most challenging projects I have worked on have been projects that we tackle remotely, from projects in Malibu to projects in Lake Tahoe. Working in a remote environment away from the resources of a warehouse or the capacity to have extra help on the fly has been the most difficult. However, the jobs themselves have been some of Amplified’s biggest ones.
AL: What’s something you’re proud of?
JF, Jr: I am proud of the family I have built. I have come very far in this industry. Being able to provide mentorship and being a person of contact for guidance is a gratifying part of my life in which I take pride.
AL: Who are the special people in your life?
JF, Jr: My wife, Karina, and my baby boy, Jorgie III, my wife is my most significant support and greatest cheerleader. She’s my lifeline; my job is not easy, and she keeps me grounded.
AL: When you are not installing systems, what do you enjoy doing?
JF, Jr: When I’m not working, I’m out on the lake fishing or in the duck blind doing what I love.
AL: What is your favorite place in the world?
JF, Jr: Anywhere I get to be with my family. We love being outdoors. You will usually find us fishing in a lake or ocean.
AL: If you were not in home technology, what would you do?
JF, Jr: My childhood dream was to become a Marine Biologist. I love nature, I love the water, and I like being outdoors.
Amplified Lifestyles’ principal, Timothy Johnson has 50 years of electronics experience, which he utilizes incorporating high-end A/V systems into the aesthetics of private estates. As an award-winning chief engineer, he mentors the next generation of home electronics specialists with his vast knowledge of audio, video, controls, integration, networking, communications, life safety, security, surveillance, lighting, and climate control. Due to his extensive experience, Timothy is a practical audiophile, he enjoys revisiting Genesis’ eccentric classic Selling England By The Pound when not delivering the highest quality service to Amplified’s clientele.
AL: Where did you grow up?
TJ: I was born and raised in Fresno, where I stayed until I was 20, moving to Sacramento and eventually the Bay Area.
AL: What drew you into the world of home technology design?
TJ: When I was a Junior in high school, I fixed stereo gear at a local stereo shop. In the late ’70s & early ’80s, I worked for Sacramento-based ESS Speakers, where I met Oskar Heil, the German-born scientist and electrical engineer who invented the Air Motion Transformer. Moving to Northern California, I worked with contractors on professional and commercial sound, signal, and control installations, learning skills I applied to the new field of residential integration projects.
AL: How did your involvement with Amplified Lifestyles happen?
TJ: I worked for a pioneering integrator for almost 17 years as Chief Engineer and Senior System Designer. Kevin Cook was the Director of Client Services, and Casey Webster was the Service Manager. We formed Amplified Lifestyles in 2015 with two other partners. We and our team share a dedication to the client experience, giving them what they want, ensuring it works, and leaving them smiling.
AL: What was one of your favorite projects to work on?
TJ: A 550-acre Sonoma vineyard lake estate for a wonderful family whom Amplified has worked with on multiple residential and commercial projects. We collaborated with interior designer Ken Fulk, Ken Linsteadt Architects, and Van Acker Construction. Because a Victorian hotel inspired the architectural style, we hid all the Great Room’s technology. The antiqued mirror behind the bar slides away to reveal a TV. When there are dance parties, four Claypacky moving headlights lower from the ceiling, and the hidden line-array speakers and subwoofers take the music up to discotheque levels. Outside the home, we designed a long-throw audio system for the lake that magically projects a concert across the water.
AL: What was one of your least projects to work on?
TJ: I have been fortunate in my career that 98% of my clients have been excellent to work for, and I forget the 2% who weren’t.
AL: How do you collaborate on a project with a GC, architect, and interior designer?
TJ: I prefer to get in early and be included in the construction drawings so that the electronics blend seamlessly into the home’s interior or landscape design.
AL: What is your most treasured memory?
TJ: Designing Loudspeakers at ESS in the late 70’s & early 80’s.
AL: What would it be if you could learn one skill instantly?
TJ: Sing and play piano & guitar.
AL: What album can you listen to repeatedly without getting sick of it?
TJ: Genesis – Selling England by the Pound.
AL: Do you have a favorite affirmation or quote?
TJ: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
For Amplified Lifestyles’ principal Casey Webster his eighteen-year career in the home electronics industry has made him committed to the client experience. It is a philosophy that Casey shares with the other managing partners. While Amplified is always searching for the latest integrated system technologies and solutions, the team and their dedication to customer service make the company unique.
AL: What drew you into the world of home technology?
CW: I wouldn’t say I was drawn to the world of home technology. Honestly, I fell into the industry without any knowledge or expectations, just a need to put myself through college. My roommate worked at Starbucks next to an electronics store, and one day while waiting for her to get off, I filled out an application to pass the time. The funny thing is when they called to offer me a job; I initially turned it down. It was summertime, and I was too busy being a “College Student” enjoying the San Diego weather. Later in the year, I got another call requesting I reconsider their employment offer, and this time the timing was right.
AL: Since you have experience in many facets of the industry, which do you enjoy most and why? Systems design, installation, or operations management?
CW: Customer service. I enjoy working with our customers and building partners to establish lasting relationships, solve problems, and create unique experiences.
AL: Can you elaborate on your mantra, “Flash and flare are fun, but at the end of the day, all that matters is if it works?“
CW: Many A/V companies get caught up wanting to say “Yes, we can do that” to win their clients. They jeopardize the reliability of aspects of home technology used 99% of the time for the one-off use case. Often less is more.
AL: What have been the challenges and opportunities that you have found as a partner at Amplified Lifestyles?
CW: The biggest challenge is also our greatest opportunity. Before starting Amplified, I founded another home technology company still operating in Southern California today. That experience opened my eyes to the biggest problem in our industry, and I was one of them, “The AV Guy”.
My second time around, I wanted to ensure I built a Team for our clients to outlast any individual. Everyone experiences life changes; your home technology’s serviceability shouldn’t hinge on whether your “AV Guy” decides to move out of state or retire.
Intending to build a Team, I was fortunate to meet incredibly talented people early on with Jeremy McKenzie, Kevin Cook, and Tim Johnson. It was clear that restructuring Amplified with this Team as equal partners was the best way to put an end to “The AV Guy,”
AL: Who is your ideal client?
CW: My ideal client is someone who values our time and expertise. As the industry has evolved, the products we provide become more commonplace, and our true offering is our people.
AL: How would you define your work in three words?
CW: Creative, Controlled, Chaos
AL: How do you maintain a work/life balance?
CW: I think most people would say my work-life balance is out of balance, but I genuinely enjoy working. It’s not the work that is always enjoyable but seeing the results of your hard work is the reward. That being said, my family is my pastime, and having a flexible schedule to be a part of my children’s lives and experiences makes it all worth it.
AL: A skill you’re working on mastering?
CW: Parenting.
AL: What are three things you can’t live without?
CW: Friends, Family, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
AL: Who would it be if you could switch lives with someone for a day?
CW: I don’t have a particular person I would switch lives with, but I would love to experience the world in a different period in time. Time travel would be my superpower if I could have one; switching lives with someone from the distant past would be awesome.
Amplified is always searching for the latest technological innovations for our clients and their homes. One of these is Ketra. The Austen-based firm, founded in 2009, delivers high-quality light that is flexible and adjustable, allowing for bespoke settings that gradually shift in color, temperature, and intensity to mimic the sun, making interiors feel seamlessly bathed in natural light. Lutron acquired the company in 2018, combining cutting-edge technology with painterly lighting. Ketra’s infinite High Def Palette of 16.7 million colors includes pastels, saturated hues, and high CRI whites spanning from 1,400K to 10,000K.
When Palm Desert’s historic mid-century Wave House needed restoration, Ketra provided the perfect lighting solutions. Designed by iconic Modernist architect Walter S. White, the residence showcases a futuristic undulating roof. The home suffered water damage and unfortunate past remodels, but Stayner Architects reinstated its 1950’s ambiance. They replicated the quality of light in the space through archival research discovering White’s vision of an internal glow for the house. Ketra technology was vital in matching the color temperature of the tungsten-based incandescent bulbs and the much cooler fluorescents available in 1955.
In addition to Ketra’s aesthetic attributes, because it can mimic sunshine, firelight, and moonbeams, it also has health benefits. Technology that emulates natural light helps regulate our body’s internal clock and circadian rhythm, boosting our immune system and sense of well-being. As we have spent more time indoors, especially during Lockdown, Ketra provides the full range of sunlight—crisp and bright during the day for working and soft and warm at night for relaxing.
Are you looking to improve your life quality or perhaps blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, day and night? Amplified Lifestyles has two Ketra experts on staff: Jessie Brady, Lighting Specialist, and Robert Gilligan, Senior Technology Advisor. For more information please contact Robert at robert.gilligan@amplifiedlifestyles.com.
Case Study: Zander Residence
CHALLENGE:
Business executive Ed Zander’s home technology system needed updating. He and his wife Mona are active philanthropists involved in education, health, and social services. Their 13,000 square foot estate in a beautiful but remote area of Carmel Valley had its original wiring, electronics, and speakers from when they built the home in 2004. Ed wanted to update the system to include more current technology while maintaining the integrated features of the speakers, televisions, network, lighting, climate, cameras, and security system. In addition, the Zanders were building a vacation home in Palm Desert, and they wanted to have identical technology in that house.
SOLUTION:
Ed worked with managing partner Kevin Cook as his lead executive from the start. In Carmel Valley, the Amplified project team performed a detailed inspection of each room in the home to assess the scope of the job, then worked to develop a design and path forward that was agreeable for all parties. While technicians worked with the extant wiring and racks to upgrade and convert the systems, including conversion to a Crestron control platform, Amplified Lifestyles also upgraded the existing dedicated home theater, including all-new theater seating. A year and a half after the project completion, Ed and Kevin stay in touch and maintain their relationship.
Amplified Lifestyles liaised directly with the local home electronics firm in Palm Desert to duplicate the user interface and features of the Crestron Electronics control system. Once Ed introduced the two companies to each other, they collaborated, and he did not need to get further involved with the project. The Zanders now have the same user interface, command signals, remotes, and phone applications in Carmel Valley and Palm Desert. “It is a great feature for someone with multiple homes.,” Ed said. Speaking of multiple homes, when asked if he would use Amplified Lifestyles if he were building another residence, Ed responded, “Obviously, yes, we had a really good experience.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
CLIENT: Ed Zander
SCOPE: Update Crestron Electronics System, New Media Room, Duplicate Crestron Electronics System
LOCATION: Carmel Valley, Palm Desert
In March, Amplified Lifestyles welcomed veteran Senior Technology Advisor Robert Gilligan to the team. Robert brings over twenty years of experience in audiovisual, automation, and security technologies. He is adept at collaborating with interior designers, architects, general contractors, and lighting designers to find the best technology solutions that blend seamlessly into their high-end residential projects.
AL: Congratulations on joining Amplified Lifestyles! What attracted you to the company?
RG: Thank you! I’ve previously worked with many Amplified team members at a company that pioneered the home automation world. Tim Johnson, Amplified’s award-winning chief engineer, was my mentor and taught me almost everything I know about incorporating high-quality A/V systems into an estate home’s aesthetics. So, this feels like both a homecoming and the beginning of something exciting and new. I firmly believe that estate-level projects are best served by locally owned and operated firms, so I’m thrilled to join Kevin Cook, Casey Webster, Jeremy McKenzie, and this fantastic team that’s performing at the top of their game.
AL: What drew you into the world of home technology design?
RG: My background is in recording studio engineering and special event production, like symphony galas and tech conferences. As luck would have it, the company I worked for at the time was doing a significant private event for a client in Atherton. We needed to tie in our event audio systems into the audio system of the house. I was thrilled to learn that the technologies we used in the live and studio production worlds were starting to be incorporated into Silicon Valley estate homes! This discovery coincided with my eldest daughter being born. It quickly became clear that the event world’s schedule was not family-friendly.
So, I needed to take stock of my skills and find a way to leverage them for a career that would allow me to stay in the Bay Area and be home for dinner. These were the early days of home automation, with only a couple of companies providing those systems. So, I cold-called Engineered Environments, who were creating a dedicated Service Department for the company. Randy Stearns, the firm’s founder, took a chance on me and thought I would be great at leading that new team. The rest is history, but as I’ve grown in my career, I always keep coming back to that critical issue of customer service.
AL: How have you seen technology solutions change over the last 20 years?
RG: The primary change has been the transition of all A/V Home Technology systems to function over data networks rather than proprietary wiring or controls. This change enabled mobile app-based controls of these systems so homeowners could have complete control over their environments at a fingertip or voice’s reach. I think the next 20 years’ focus will be on leveraging these technologies into systems focused on health and well-being as much as entertainment. (Though I still look forward to the day when we have full, 8K holographic smell-o-vision!)
AL: Who is your ideal client?
RG: We’re fortunate to usually be introduced at the beginning of a project with the other design consultants. My ideal experiences are with clients and project design teams that are both inquisitive and decisive. They want to learn about Home Technology options but are self-aware enough to know what they want. My best experiences are with clients and design teams who are also empathetic to the rest of the family and staff’s needs. With the technology systems we design, everyone involved uses the audio, video, data networks, lighting and shades, surveillance, and access control systems. So, proper planning for multigenerational users and staff becomes a beautiful game of 3D chess.
AL: If you were not in home technology design, what would you do?
RG: My default answer to that question is always Astronaut! However, I’d more likely be involved in the production of films or music.
AL: What are some of the podcasts you listen to and why?
RG: The Daily, The Moth, and 10% Happier usually are in rotation to keep me informed and inspired. Still, I tend to listen to new music when I’m not on the phone, which is most of my waking hours. I’m constantly on the lookout for the next Radiohead or Beyoncé.
AL: What’s your current TV obsession?
RG Schitt’s Creek and The Mandalorian got me through the Pandemic. (That’s an interesting Venn diagram that describes me more than any Rorschach test could). I’m also planning not to watch anything on TV for the next year 🙂
AL: Song you can listen to on repeat?
RG: That’s constantly changing, and I tend to get obsessed with whole albums. The current rotation is “Razzmatazz” by IDKHow and the new Foo Fighters album “Medicine at Midnight.” I can also enjoy anything by Sarah Vaughan or Elbow at any time.
AL: Favorite app?
RG: The popular home automation apps from companies like Lutron, Savant, Sonos, and Nest are always at my fingertips. Still, apps like Calm and Noom helped me navigate the personal challenges of the last year. (And with all due respect and appreciation, I look forward to using my Zoom and Amazon apps much less in the immediate future!)
AL: What’s inspiring you in life right now?
RG: The reconnection of human relationships, both personal and professional, I’m currently talking to my friends and industry partners to schedule face-to-face get-togethers (when everyone is vaccinated and feeling safe). These calls fill my days with hope and optimism for the future. We’ve all just gone through an experience that will fundamentally change the way we think about home. I can’t wait to engage in this conversation with our fantastic design and building partners to help leverage technology to improve the quality of our client’s lives.
