Profession:
Owner and Managing Director of Universal Stars Incorporated.

Date & place of birth:
December 16 1965; Tehran, Iran.

Your first job after full-time education?
I worked as a film PA and ran a small duplication library for ICM International in Frith Street, London W1. The video duplication paid my wages, but I had lots of spare time. The producers started relying on me so I used the opportunity to work hard at being a good PA which got me lots of work on most of the agency’s location shoots and eventually elevated me to producer for nearly 15 years.

What led to your involvement in entertainment technology?
Having been trained as an audio-visual technician, my technical experience got me far in my career in film and TV. I’ve always been a behind the scenes girl, super-organised, passionate about filming and lighting and well-versed in dealing with clients and crew.

How did Universal Stars Incorporated evolve?
Universal Stars was the brainchild of John Dipple, the first person to apply industry lighting technology to an LED and put it into a cloth. He created the first ever DMX LED starcloths back in 1999. Sadly, John passed away in 2006 and in his inimitable way, he passed on all his knowledge to myself. As a promise to him, I decided to re-start the company and continue the wisdom. Luckily, our chief technicians are still with the company and we are good friends as well as colleagues.

How competitive is the current LED starcloth market?
In terms of hire and installation, I always take the position that there is plenty of work to go around for all of us. While some colleagues concentrate on the capital, I find there is plenty of work for us elsewhere in the UK [Universal Stars is based in Malpas, Cheshire], as well a number of high quality projects that we retain in London.
    We are a unique manufacturer of a specialised product and possibly one of the only true manufacturers of this product in the Western world. It’s a big label to carry so we are adamant in keeping the quality of the product at the highest level. All our equipment is hand-sourced and hand-built by us to be roadworthy and provide a long life.

As a customer, what should one look for in a starcloth in terms of reliability?
The bulb is the most important aspect, closely followed by the materials. We primarily recommend heavy duty black serge wool which provides a certain blackout density, but is also long-wearing, fire retardant and easy to clean. Some starcloths sport LEDs that have a relatively short life span — for instance, if your serge is going to last 10-15 years, you want your bulb to do the same. We have always bought our bulbs from the same manufacturer. They are the best LEDs with a wonderful variety including full RGB tri-colour bulbs and they have a 15-year life span.

What has been the most unusual request you’ve received from a client?
There was a magician who wanted us to create blind spots in the starcloths so he could sneak around and reappear in different parts of his stage set. Well, of course, we said yes!

What has been your most outstanding starcloth application to date?
I’d say the full colour RGB ceiling at Battersea Evolution was a sight to behold when all 155 starcloths were connected for the first time and a colour wash run through them — it was a real ‘wow’ moment!

Is the recession biting in your world?
We feel incredibly fortunate that our repeat businesses are so far intact and that our manufacturing is stronger than ever. In the world of entertainment you can’t predict what will happen, but I feel everyone is resolved to try and keep working, so that’s reflected in the special deals we are prepared to undertake for our UK and overseas customers.

Any big ambitions?
I’d like to continue to develop the product and work with serious partners to creatively enhance the use of LEDs in set designs, as well as manufacturing lots more LED starcloths for the American market.

What occupies your free time?
Sleeping, swimming, live music and yoga.
  
Your favourite record of all-time?
I want to say Deee-Lite’s ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ or ‘All Along The Watchtower’ by Jimi Hendrix, but David Bowie’s album Hunky Dory is always next to the stereo.

What would be your advice to a teenage Natasha Safavi?
Same as it is to my teenage son: Go for the jobs that you really love, be prepared to network and don’t smoke that cigarette!