As is tradition, the show will kick-off with a floor-wide Opening Night party to benefit Safe Place for Youth, a non-profit organization that aims to provide critical resources for homeless youth. More than 1,500 attendees are expected; among those will be prominent business leaders, acclaimed media partners, connoisseurs of design, celebrities, and emerging stars in the design community. There will be a preview of the fair before it opens to the public as well as an auction that will feature exclusive designer items. Throughout the action-packed night, guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.
A diverse showcase of talent, WestEdge includes brands and manufacturers from all over the world including Canada, Mexico, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Thailand, Iceland and more. Rising designers, artisans and makers will be featured as well with an array of modern designs. Attendees can check out a range of programs, workshops, meet-and-greets, book signings, culinary demonstrations and tastings, networking opportunities, and more.
“WestEdge is the most important trade show we have in Los Angeles. This curated show brings together new, luxurious, and important designers, artists, manufacturers and visionaries. It is here that you will get up-close-and-personal with key trendsetters and innovators making a difference in the world of design. It’s a must-see event each year and an honor to align myself with the WestEdge team on every level.” – LA ASID Chapter President (2015-16), Laura Schwartz
High Point Market (HPMKT) is around the corner! Kicking off on October 13th, designers and industry insiders will arrive in North Carolina for the mecca of all things home. Established in 1909 as the Southern Furniture Market, HPMKT has become one of the most anticipated shows in the design industry, attracting over 75,000 guests to see more than 2,000 exhibitors with tens of thousands of product introductions. As the largest home furnishings trade show, with an international reputation, High Point gives attendees the first scoop on the emerging trends, product launches and design collaborations.
With several roundtable discussions, meet and greets, seminars and more, HPMKT is celebrated as the place to make strategic connections and to learn valuable tips and tricks of the trade. We’re excited about the lineup for this year’s Keynote Series, which will explore a wide range of cultural influences impacting the current home furnishings market. Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams Sue Wadden with VP of Home and Interiors for Fashion Snoops Jaye Anna Mize will explore the role of color and offer a 2019 forecast. Author and internationally renowned consumer futurist Doug Stephens will discuss the strategy behind creating an unforgettable customer experience, both in-stores and online. And Executive VP of Research and Chief Material Scientist at Material ConneXion Dr. Andrew Dent will share insight on the importance of creating personal and tangible interactions for customers in today’s increasingly digital world.
This year, the Design Viewpoint Series will dive into the newest innovations in home tech and the growing opportunity for healthy design. These panel discussions will cover topics like: the importance of developing new approaches in design, technology tools used by industry peers to make business more productive, and health and environmentally-conscious design. This series is sure to offer rising designers a competitive edge towards building an effective business model.
At The Point at HPMKT there will be a variety of activitations throughout the day including live podcasts, informal roundtable sessions, mixers including “After Hours” hosted before evening events, and more. Attendees are invited to connect, learn and share at these events.
As every tradeshow veteran knows, it’s important to take advantage of the quiet moments. HPMKT has organized Stars Under the Stars for a little fun and relaxed entertainment after the day ends. There will be plenty of tasty bites, drinks and live music!
We are also tracking several other cool events happening in conjunction with the show including the HGTV Stars Reunion, a HPMKT first. Surya showroom and Design Talk LIVE have collaborated to create this special event. Featuring some of our favorite faces from the network, this red carpet event is sure to be memorable.
We can’t wait to see all that this season’s HPMKT has in store!
New at the Gagosian, PLAY from Swiss artist Urs Fischer is a must-see exhibit this fall. An ensemble of nine office chairs greets visitors as they enter the gallery. But these are not ordinary office chairs. They swivel in place, glide across the gallery space, and appear to take on lives of their own. Fischer’s interest in escaping traditional art norms is echoed in PLAY, where viewers are invited to walk a fine line between spectator and participant. But just as much as we are free, the objects of exhibit (the nine chairs) are also in a sense, autonomous – as they appear to roam the gallery on their own volition.
The longer one watches, the more challenging it becomes to distinguish between random movement and orchestrated choreography. Viewers may find they feel compelled to in fact play with the chairs. And in time, the interplay between the spectators and the objects of spectacle seamlessly forms a play of its own – perhaps an area Fischer wanted to explore in the first place.
The chairs, by Humanscale and the celebrated industrial designer Niels Diffrient, are spectacles in their own right. Fischer selected nine different variations of the Freedom chairs so each one has a distinct design identity. From Crayola-like colors, to various configurations of headrests and armrests, each one captivates the audience as it moves. Though extensive engineering and programming helps to create the magic of the scene, viewers still buy into the illusion of this fictional world of play as they interact with the colorful chair-like critters or critter-like chairs.
According to the Gagosian, “Play, a ritual older than humankind, has set rules that distinguish it from reality, but it has no clear aim or value other than itself. Instead, it is merely a feedback loop, a push/pull of energy, bound by time and place. Accordingly, the chairs seem to behave in such ways as to belie some level of predictability—only to then debunk the illusion.”
Come to play and let yourself escape from reality for a bit at the Gagosian. PLAY is on view at the Gagosian until October 13th.
We stopped by the Somerset House during the London Design Biennale to visit our friends at culture.pl and check out A Matter of Things. Curated by Małgorzata Wesołowska, it reveals the inextricable link between emotion and experience through the lens of Polish design. The exhibit is particularly poignant as it coincides with the 100th anniversary of Poland’s renewed independence.
A Matter of Things is the result of a nation-wide open call that the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and National Museum in Warsaw announced in November 2017. The winning exhibition was selected from sixteen entries submitted both by recognized curatorial voices and young curators, by a jury which included London Design Biennale Artistic Director, Christopher Turner. Małgorzata Wesołowska, the curator with the winning proposal, invited a team of designers, including Studio Noodi Design, Studio Szpunar and graphic designer and illustrator Michał Loba to work on the exhibition as a creative team. The resulting showcase explores the fluid meaning of items according to the place, time, language, and culture in which they are presented.
The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2018 Home for the Holiday Showhouse will mark the 10th annual milestone when the house opens November 15 and runs until December 9, 2018. Over 20 designers working on the showhouse were in attendance, as well as many sponsors and the generous hosts Sub-Zero, Wolf & Cove displaying the ultimate southern hospitality, the presenting sponsor Blackston Custom Homes, and new sponsor Larson-Juhl to share a few.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) will be the deserving beneficiary of this gorgeous showhouse this year. Melisa Morrow, CHOA Foundation Development Officer, attended the event, expressed her gratitude and shared that it takes over $3M a day to provide care to all the children within the CHOA network. “She said, we simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of the design community and projects like the AH&L Home for the Holidays Showhouse.”
The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle 2018 Home for the Holidays Showhouse opens November 15. We can’t wait to see what this incredible team creates!
Looking for anything new? Or trying to discover what’s next? Join the New York Design Center (NYDC) for their 10th annual What’s New, What’s Next event tomorrow! What’s New, What’s Next has established itself to be one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, in the interior design community. This year, it will return with over 85 showrooms that will feature product introductions, meet and greets, panels, and soirees.
Last year, the event garnered more than 7,500 guests, in the iconic 16-floor design building on 200 Lex,. to celebrate the “new” and the “next” in design. Guests had the opportunity to meet and engage in dynamic conversations with the industry’s most prominent figures. NYDC partnered with 23 notable media publications and editors, some of which include: Architectural Digest, Elle Decor and T: Magazine.
Above three images: What’s New, What’s Next 2017
Don’t miss out on the industry’s biggest event yet. RSVP here.
About NYDC:
Designed by Ely Jacques Kahn, NYDC first opened its doors in 1926. Upon opening, it initially focused on department and retail store buyers. When the building began to shift its attention to architecture and interior design in the late 1970s, the building finally established itself, in 1981, as what it is known today: the New York Design Center. Over the years, NYDC has formed a network of close ties with museums, charity organizations, designers, and design schools. Today, NYDC is the industry’s finest resource for design and innovation.
With dazzling views of New York City’s evening skyline, people from the design community gathered for the 7th annual Picnic by Design fundraiser held by DIFFA (Design Industries Fighting AIDS) last Wednesday at the Viacom Lounge & Terrace.
Guests enjoying the extravagant views of New York City’s evening skyline. Photography by Erik Bardin.
Picnic by Design is DIFFA’s summer celebration. It offers design, food, and fun all to make a “DIFFArence” for a worthy cause. Designers, manufacturers, and artists collaborate to create “picnic baskets” filled with exclusive tickets and designer goodies, based on a particular theme. These baskets are then bid on by DIFFA supporters in which the funds eventually go to grant-making efforts that help nonprofits battle HIV/AIDS. The theme of this year’s Picnic by Design was Broadway, making the already spectacular event even more theatrical. This year the event surpassed last year’s record of $50,000, raising a total of $60,000! “You ask designers to create a simple basket, and you get a full-blown picnic extravaganza!” comments DIFFA Chair Cindy Allen.
This year’s Picnic by Design Participants for the “Picnic Baskets”:
Vanessa Deleon Associates: Breakfast at Tiffany’s Photography by Erik Bardin.
Knoll + Studios Architecture: Wicked
Michele Alfano Design: Dear Evan Hanson
Matouk: Spongebob
McCory Interiors: Mama Mia
About DIFFA:
DIFFA was founded over 3 decades ago with the mission to raise awareness and grant funds to organizations that “provide treatment, direct care services, preventive education programs and advocacy for individuals impacted by HIV/ AIDs”. Over the past 30 years, it has grown from a grassroots organization to a national foundation based in New York City with chapters and community partners all over the United States. Over the years, these associations, working together, have “provided more than $43 million to hundreds of HIV/AIDS organizations nationwide”.
“I first got involved with DIFFA over 20 years ago… It was this amazing revelation that design could make a difference. To this day, it remains a cathartic tool for designers to see their creations do good in the world.” -Co-Chair David Rockwell
Left: Co-Chair David Rockwell, Center: Executive Director Dawn Roberson, Right: Executive Director of Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS Tom Viola. Photography by Erik Bardin.
How do you get the media to notice your unique talents in a seemingly ceaseless sea of designers? How do you successfully get your message out? Those who are interested in the answers to these questions may want to check out the programming during next week’s ASPIRE Design Tour!
Coming to NYC, August 22-23, ASPIRE Design Tour’s two full days of programming and events will include a panel discussion on “How to earn press” at the Complete Tile Collection on August 23, 2018(12:30 – 3:00 pm). Moderated by the Senior Vice President of Novità Communications, Danielle McWilliams, a lively panel of industry experts will share their insider tips on getting audiences’ favor. Panelists include Lifestyle & Interiors Editorial Photographer, Brittany Ambridge, widely published Interior Designer, Mary Douglas Drysdale, and ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME Editor in Chief, Amy Sneider.
Here’s a little bit more about the panelists:
Danielle McWilliams
With 14+ years of experience in design public relations, McWilliams has a keen marking insight, strategic communication skills and extensive national and international experience. She serves as the PR Chair of the New York Metro Chapter of ASID.
Brittany Ambridge
Ambridge’s editorial work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Vogue, and Architectural Digest, while her portraiture also captures tastemakers like Eva Chen, Christy Turlington, and fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff.
Mary Douglas Drysdale
Drysdale’s career and project work have consistently been honored by the design industry. Drysdale’s projects have garnered over 60 career covers both in the US and abroad. She was named 5 years running as one of House Beautiful’s Top 100 of American Design.
Amy Sneider
Sneider has been the Editor in Chief of ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME since 2010. “ASPIRE represents quiet and varied ideas of beauty and shelter,” said Sneider. “We like to savor the subjects and the images, with large dedications to their art/talent and create conversations.”
Although it is early on, NYCxDESIGN is preparing for its biggest year yet in 2018! May 11th-23rd NYCxDESIGN will hold its citywide celebration of design, highlighting the creative, cultural, and educational opportunities in NYC through a variety of exhibitions, talks, and open studios. On January 12th, The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) gave us a glimpse of what’s to come this year at a press conference for NYCxDESIGN in the Brooklyn Museum.
Opportunities for New & Distinguished Designers
Whether you’re a student or a celebrated designer, there are several opportunities to have your work showcased in NYCxDESIGN this year!
NYCxDESIGN 2017 Tech Office Winner. Photography by Garrett Rowland.
Brooklyn Designs, an event showcasing the collaborative spirit of design, architecture, and art while celebrating Brooklyn’s unique style, will showcase accepted designs from a range of categories at the Brooklyn Museum on May 12-13.
NYCxDESIGN will partner up with Interior Design magazine and ICFF to deliver the NYCxDESIGN Awards on May 21st, with submissions opening up next month.
Frog Design, focused on creating cultural change through design, will hold a design competition which will include illustrators, architects, woodworkers, and furniture and fashion designers.
WantedDesign is teaming up with Rado to award the Rado Star Prize with the theme of “Design Inspired by Nature”. Submissions are open until March and the winner alongside nine finalists will be showcased at WantedDesign Manhattan during NYCxDESIGN.
Educational Opportunities & Talks
There will be a variety of opportunities to learn about and get excited for the future of design both in NYC and internationally!
NYCxDESIGN Q&A with Cindy Allen & Edward Hogikyan.
Domino Sugar Factory will hold a panel event and a tour for its newly designed Domino Park.
Design Trust for Public Space, concentrated on making an a positive change in New York’s public spaces, will hold a discussion and tour for El-Space, a design project set to create a better experience for pedestrians, greater resiliency through changing seasons, and improved lighting.
DESIGN TALKS NYC, in part of NYCxDESIGN’s DESIGN PAVILION, will host design leaders in Times Square who will discuss the role of design for the future in several talks from May 14th-18th.
Exhibits
Of course, exhibits, showrooms, and open studios are the bulk of experience at NYCxDESIGN!
ICFF 2017.
Red Hook Design will hold neighborhood walks, open studios, and an exhibition which will feature creators of furniture, glass, textile, and ceramic.
Brookfield Place, in collaboration with artist Carlos Rolón, will show a range of bicycle designs, celebrating bicycles as a serious means of transportation in cities for the future.
ICFF, one of the largest trade shows at NYCxDESIGN, will feature over 3,600 interior designers, architects, retailers, distributors, developers, and visual merchandisers. Showcasing the newest in high-end luxury furniture and materials, the 30th annual ICFF will include French furniture designs from names such as Philippe Starck and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and 180 galleries of handmade German art objects. Collective Design, the New York City based fair showcasing the diversity of material design, will also be launching “Collective Concept @ ICFF”, a platform for selected independent designers to share what they consider “inspirational” and “alternative” thinking.
WantedDesign Manhattan will be hosting a variety of exhibits including their main exhibit, Lookbook, an in-person portfolio for top high-end North American designers to showcase their latest products. The winners of Launch Pad, the competition for emerging talent in furniture and lighting design, and the Rado Star Prize will also be showcased at WantedDesign Manhattan. Look out for more exciting exhibitions to be announced for both WantedDesign Manhattan and its sister event, WantedDesign Brooklyn, in the coming months!
The Times Square Alliance, whose goal is to improve and preserve the creative energy of Times Square, will launch prototypes from a program to commission new designs from NYC designers for public spaces, with Times Square as the lab space.
In addition to these events, you can expect plenty of opportunities to purchase your own unique pieces of art and furniture and enjoy the food and drinks of the city. You can also look forward to the list of events growing larger in the coming months leading up to NYCxDESIGN! Check out the video below to get a better glimpse of what you can expect at NYCxDESIGN 2018, and don’t forget to follow our instagram for more updates on NYCxDESIGN 2018 and other design events!
With just one day of the consumer electronics trade show CES left, we have been busy experiencing all of the this year’s newest technologies! This year’s CES includes over 4000 exhibitors marketing products and services from 37 different categories ranging from hardware and software systems, to communication, lifestyle, and entertainment technologies, to our favorite– the latest and sleekest in smart home appliances. CES featured exhibits this year also include Smart Cities, Sports Zone, and the appropriately named Eureka Park, where startups market their innovative services and products to big names in the industry.
We have also enjoyed the informative CES conferences, which after receiving criticism for only including male keynote speakers, added several women to the panel including CEO of A+E Networks Nancy Dubuc, Vice Chairman of MediaLink Wendy Harris Millard, and founder & CEO of 605, Kristin Dolan. As the major convention for the latest evolutions in the world of technology and consumer electronics we are excited to see the inclusion of women leaders in the industry.
Still, we know you are curious about some of the new technologies for the home, and we’ve got you covered!
Lighting & Decor
Gloo by Deconnect – Gloo looks like a modern lava lamp, except its color and brightness can be adjusted from an app, it has the ability to deliver 8 full smartphone charges, and it can take and upload photos with its 360 camera controlled completely from your phone. Coming in different sizes and styles, Gloo is a multifunctional piece that can be transformed to fit any setting.
Bathroom
Flotation Tub with Zero Dimension and Neorest NX by Toto– For your bathroom, Japanese company Toto has two luxurious new products. The Neorest NX is the crème de la crèmeof toilets, complete with heated seats, automatic subdued lighting, clean washing technology, and self cleaning and deodorizing capabilities so you never have to worry about touching your toilet again. The Flotation Tub by Toto keeps you suspended in the Zero Dimension position, freeing you from the strains gravity can create on your joints and granting you full relaxation alongside the tub’s water jets targeted at massaging your muscles.
Bedroom
Smart Bedding by Sleepace– In the bedroom, sleep is at the forefront of our minds and smartbeds are big at CES this year. We love Sleepace’s Smart Bedding which monitors your heart rate and movement throughout the night to give you a sleep score and give you proper solutions to improve your quality of rest. Lights and sound also adjust themselves to give you a natural and soothing wake up every morning.
Backyard & Patio
SUNFLOWER by ShadeCraft – SUNFLOWER is perfect for any day or night spent outdoors. Equipped with sensors, SUNFLOWER tracks the sun’s movement to provide perfect shade while simultaneously recharging using solar energy. There are also lights, speakers, and a camera which can be controlled from your smartphone and used to chat with friends or as an extra security camera. Also functioning as a hotspot, the SUNFLOWER ensures you will be able to enjoy all of your favorite technologies outside.
For more updates on CES and future events, we recommend following our Instagram!
