# About Space Lighting Case study by [Eoin Villarin](https://amvprosox.com/about). Shopify ยท Ecommerce, 2025, Role: Shopify Developer. Canonical: https://amvprosox.com/case-studies/about-space About Space is a lighting and furniture retailer with a huge collection tree, pendants alone split into single, cluster, and more, plus live predictive search. A serious Shopify catalogue on custom Liquid. ## Key results - **1000s** Of SKUs kept browsable - **0** Security incidents - **<1s** Search response feel - **24/7** Storefront monitoring ## The challenge About Space is a designer lighting and furniture retailer with showrooms in Alexandria, Fitzroy, St Kilda, Brisbane and Canberra. The About Space Lighting Shopify store carries a huge range of pendants, wall lights, floor and table lamps, track and linear lighting, downlights and furniture from brands such as Slamp, Zava, Sigma, Cattaneo and the About Space Originals collection. Lighting shoppers rarely browse in a straight line. They look by fixture type, by room and by style at the same time, often with a renovation plan in hand. A shopper might start with glass pendant lights, switch to lights for a kitchen, then look at a particular brand. The store needed a deep nested collection architecture and instant predictive search that keeps thousands of designer SKUs only one or two clicks away, while staying fast enough for shoppers comparing many options on mobile and desktop. ## The solution The store runs on Shopify with custom Liquid mega-menu navigation, nested collection templates and predictive search integration, and I maintain the catalogue and storefront on an ongoing basis. Key pieces include: - A mega-menu that organizes the full range by fixture type, with sub-collections such as single, multi-light, brass, glass, feature and custom pendants - Nested collection templates that work at every level of the tree - Shop by space and curated collections for bathrooms, dining rooms, entries, bedrooms, kitchens and living areas - Predictive search that shows matching products as soon as shoppers start typing - Wishlist, trade login and brand pages for professional and repeat buyers Every level of the catalogue loads quickly, and search responds almost instantly, so shoppers can move between product types, rooms and brands without losing their place. I monitor the store around the clock and keep the theme and apps maintained. The key results reflect it: thousands of SKUs kept browsable, a search response that feels under one second, 24/7 storefront monitoring and 0 security incidents. ## Designer lighting and furniture across five Australian showrooms About Space creates and sells lighting and furniture for contemporary interiors. Alongside its own Originals range, including Australian-made pieces, it stocks designer brands such as Ole!, Slamp, Zava, Slide, Sigma, Cattaneo, Carpyen, Pen, Brigit Heller, Yeend and Bubi+. Customers range from homeowners renovating a single room to designers and commercial clients specifying lighting for whole projects. The business supports both with five showrooms, a commercial lighting team, a virtual showroom and residential lighting design consultations, in person or online. The website ties these together. It is a full online store, but it is also a research tool for people planning a space, which is why navigation, collection structure and search are so central to the build. ## Mega-menu navigation and nested collection templates The mega-menu is the backbone of the About Space Lighting Shopify store. It organizes the range by fixture type, then breaks each type into meaningful sub-collections: - Pendants: single, multi-light, brass, glass, feature and custom - Indoor wall: LED, sconces, reading lights, step lights and custom wall lights - Track: magnetic track, single circuit, spotlights and recessed track - Downlights, ceiling, linear, outdoor, strip and profile, acoustic panels, globes and furniture Custom Liquid collection templates support this nesting, so every level shows the right products, filters and navigation back up the tree. Product counts and sale badges help shoppers judge each collection at a glance. This structure is what keeps thousands of SKUs browsable without overwhelming people. ## Shop by space and curated collections Not everyone starts with a fixture type. Many shoppers think in rooms, so the homepage includes Shop By Space collections for Bathroom, Dining, Entry, Bedroom, Kitchen and Living, each showing how many products are available. Curated collections add another way in. Sale edits such as the Comma Projects and Walt Collins edits, material-led edits such as Marbled & Textured and Timber, and brand ranges such as Cambio and Sigma give shoppers inspiration as well as products. These collections reuse the same Liquid templates, so new edits can be launched quickly by the team. They also give search engines more relevant entry points, such as bedroom lighting or timber pendant lights, which supports SEO without adding thin pages. ## Predictive search that keeps thousands of SKUs close With a catalogue this size, search is often the fastest path to a product. Predictive search shows matching products as soon as a shopper starts typing, so they can jump straight to a specific pendant or brand without browsing several levels of collections. The search experience is tuned for speed, giving a response that feels under one second. That matters for trade buyers and designers who know exactly what they want, and for shoppers comparing similar products across brands. Combined with the wishlist and trade login, search helps repeat buyers work quickly. They can find, save and return to products as they plan a project, then order online or visit a showroom to see the pieces in person. ## Maintaining the About Space storefront: fast, secure and always on A large catalogue needs constant care. I maintain the theme, apps and catalogue structure, monitor the store 24/7 and test updates before they go live, which has kept the storefront running with 0 security incidents. Performance is part of that work. Large collections, product imagery and search can all slow a store down, so I keep an eye on page weight and app impact. My [Shopify speed optimization checklist](https://amvprosox.com/blog/shopify-speed-optimization-2026) shares the approach. For another media-heavy store I maintain, see [Illusion Fires](https://amvprosox.com/case-studies/illusion-fires). If your Shopify store has a large, complex catalogue and needs better navigation, faster search or reliable ongoing support, [get in touch](https://amvprosox.com/#contact-form). ## Tech stack Shopify, Liquid, JavaScript, CSS, Predictive Search Live website: https://www.aboutspace.net.au/