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WIB - 13
Jan
Clouse
Jennifer
Crider
C
arolina lanterns was born
when Jan Clouse was snubbed. While
building her new home in 1998, she
thought that gas lanterns flanking the
front door would add the ideal finishing
touch. At a local lighting store, the sales
associate told Jan that gas lanterns would be more than her
$3,500 budget and turned away to assist another customer.
Clouse doesn’t accept “no” for an answer and searched
until she found someone who could make gas lights not
only for her home but for
other houses as well. She
bought all the copper lanterns she could and sold them out
of the back of her car. From that humble beginning, Clouse
has grown her company over nearly two decades to become
the premier lighting company in the Lowcountry and be-
yond. Most of her 18 employees are ALA certified Lighting
Specialists, offering a new standard of customer service.
“I went to Staples,” she said. “I named the company on
the spot and had business cards printed.”
Clouse said she “groveled” to bring those first custom-
ers on board and many of those well-known builders have
remained loyal. Today’s clients, who have expanded beyond
Mount Pleasant to Kiawah Island and even Turks and Cai-
cos, tend to want whole home lighting designs.
Starting with a space in the Mount Pleasant Antique
Mall, she stepped up to larger locations as her clientele
expanded, ultimately purchasing and renovating the current
location at the corner of Chuck Dawley Boulevard and
Bowman Road.
Clouse’s daughter, Jennifer Crider, has followed in her
mother’s footsteps.
“I worked in shipping for several years,” Crider said. “It’s
an interesting business.”
It has proved to be a useful skill since Crider joined this
family owned and operated business 11 years ago. Currently
she is preparing to open a new retail outlet, the Carolina
Lighting Clearance Center, just off Clements Ferry Road. It
will be a separate entity, offering lighting fixtures at afford-
able prices from a select group of vendors.
“One of my projects today includes negotiating ship-
ping, both products coming in as well as delivery to cus-
tomers,” she said.
As vice president of operations and partner in the Carolina
Lanterns Clearance Center, Crider’s skills perfectly comple-
ment her mother’s visionary thinking and sales expertise.
Clouse speaks highly of her daughter’s hands-on capa-
bilities. Crider handles the day-to-day operations, fielding
advertising strategies, hiring new employees and seeking
more efficient shipping options – literally whatever the day
brings across her desk.
Clouse has earned her place in the local and national
business community. She has gone from being a “fish out of
water” to being a board member of the Charleston Trident
Homebuilders Association. The list of honors and awards is
long, but she is especially pleased to be included in
Southern
Living’s
50th Anniversary celebration.
Clouse said, “I’m relentless. I love making sales calls.”
But she does know how to relax: “I like walking, work-
ing out, dinner with friends and reading.”
In addition to her ever demanding role at Carolina Lan-
terns and its new Clearance Center, Crider has a domestic
side and enjoys canning, running, boating and spending
time with her husband, Charlie, and son, Hayden.
With Jan Clouse and Jennifer Crider as the guiding
lights, the future of Carolina Lanterns is indeed bright.
Carolina Lanterns
1362 Chuck Dawley Blvd.
Mount Pleasant
843-881-4170
www.carolinalanternsandlighting.comPhoto by Jenn Cady.
By BarBara MILLen PatrICk