DESERT DESIGN WEEK | FALL 2026

October 6 to 11, 2026 | Phoenix & Scottsdale, Arizona

Desert Design Week returns October 6 to 11, 2026, bringing together six days of design, art, architecture, creativity, and conversation across Phoenix and Scottsdale. Through 19 events held in showrooms, galleries, museums, restaurants, studios, private homes, and architecturally significant spaces, the Fall 2026 program offers an opportunity to experience the people, places, and ideas shaping design in Arizona and beyond.

Created for design professionals and the design minded public alike, Desert Design Week is a citywide platform for discovery and connection. The program moves between professional conversations and cultural experiences, offering access to nationally recognized designers, architects, artists, editors, creative entrepreneurs, makers, and some of the region’s most interesting spaces.

This fall, attendees can explore the business of design with JHL Design, hear from designer and author Benjamin Johnston, spend time inside the historic headquarters of Upward Projects with Lauren Bailey, and join Phoenix Home & Garden Editor-in-Chief John Roark for a conversation about the editorial process. Architecture takes center stage through programs with Chen Suchart Studio and Johnston Marklee, while House of Form explores the relationship between hospitality, interiors, food, sound, and atmosphere.

Art is woven throughout the week. Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art opens its doors for two complimentary Desert Design Week Community Days centered on Desert Perspectives, while an after-hours evening offers guests a closer look at the exhibition. Costello Gallery presents the ceramic work of Dustin Gimbel, Local Nomad gathers artists and makers for Here & Elsewhere, and Red Modern Furniture celebrates Arizona modernists Allen Ditson and Lee Porzio.

The program also moves into fashion, objects, food, and the rituals that surround design. The Global Ambassador hosts Miron Crosby and a Style Soiree, Lauren Allen Culinary Events creates two distinct food-centered experiences, and the week concludes with a tour of two Arizona homes designed nearly a century apart.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2026

DESIGNING THE BUSINESS WITH JHL DESIGN
A practical discussion with Holly Freres, Principal of JHL Design, focused on the financial systems and business strategies that create sustainable, profitable design firms. Attendees will gain actionable insights they can immediately apply to improve profitability and confidently grow their businesses. Topics include financial metrics, billing models, project profitability, scope creep, delegation, and the use of dashboards to support better business decisions.

LAUREN BAILEY | UPWARD PROJECTS
An informal conversation, lunch, and tour of the historic Upward Projects headquarters with Lauren Bailey, Co-Founder and CEO of Postino and Upward Projects. Bailey will share advice and strategy for creative businesses, including brand building, marketing, historic preservation, and creating a loyal community. The event includes time for questions and candid conversation.

BENJAMIN JOHNSTON DESIGN
Designer and author Benjamin Johnston joins John Roark, Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Home & Garden, for a candid conversation about the creative and business sides of building a design career. Johnston will discuss growing Benjamin Johnston Design, translating his point of view into a furniture collection with Chaddock, and the lessons, risks, and opportunities that have shaped his practice. Every guest will receive a signed copy of Refined Interiors: Timeless Homes for Modern Living.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026

SMoCA | DESERT PERSPECTIVES COMMUNITY DAY
Desert Design Week Community Day at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art offers free admission to the museum and an opportunity to explore Desert Perspectives. The exhibition brings together a multigenerational group of artists working in, or regionally connected to, the Southwest whose practices engage with the desert as an ecological, cultural, historical, and political landscape.

COSTELLO GALLERY | DESERT FORMS
An artist reception celebrating Desert Forms, an exhibition of ceramic sculpture by Dustin Gimbel. Drawing on his background as a landscape designer and horticulturist, Gimbel creates segmented ceramic totems inspired by the structure and character of cacti. Guests are invited to explore the exhibition, meet the artist, and experience the work up close at Costello Gallery in the Scottsdale Design District.

GLOBAL AMBASSADOR STYLE SOIREE
A celebratory opening evening for The Global Ambassador Style Pop-Up with music by Backroom, bites, art, fashion, jewelry, and objects. The event features Miron Crosby's fashion-forward handcrafted cowboy boots, a founder-curated selection from Olea Fine Jewelry, fashion and objects from The Global Ambassador Boutique, and art and objects by Desert Design Week artists.

MIRON CROSBY AT THE GLOBAL AMBASSADOR
A special two-day pop-up experience presented by Miron Crosby in collaboration with The Global Ambassador. Founded by sisters Lizzie Means Duplantis and Sarah Means Ward, Miron Crosby brings together West Texas ranch heritage and the style and energy of New York. The collection centers on handcrafted cowboy boots with unexpected color, elevated materials, playful details, and a strong point of view.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026

MCCULLY CONSTRUCTION | PROTECTING DESIGN INTENT
A practical discussion with Nick McCully of McCully Construction exploring where great projects go wrong, how to keep them on track, and what it takes to carry a strong design vision from concept through completion. Topics include communication breakdowns, selections, shifting budgets, substitutions, value engineering, and collaboration among designers, builders, and clients.

CHEN SUCHART STUDIO | THE REFERENCES BEHIND THE WORK
An intimate conversation with Tommy Suchart and Patricia Chen of Chen Suchart Studio about the unexpected sources that shape how they see, think, edit, and create architecture. Rather than beginning with the finished building, the conversation looks at the architects, art, buildings, materials, landscapes, books, music, films, objects, rituals, and travels that inform their practice.

HOUSE OF FORM | FIRST BITES OF PHOENIX
An intimate, immersive dining experience with hospitality design studio House of Form at the newly completed KUZA. Guests will experience the design and hospitality of the space through a multi-course dinner layered with Japanese listening-room influences, artistic installations, and immersive activations that reveal the ideas behind the design through food, sound, art, and atmosphere.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026

EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE WITH JOHN ROARK
An informal, interactive conversation with John Roark, Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Home & Garden, about what makes a great story. Roark will discuss what editors look for in a pitch, what makes a project editorial-worthy, how and when to approach an editor, common pitching mistakes, and how to position projects and ideas for coverage. The conversational format includes time for audience questions.

AN EVENING IN THE COLLECTION
An exclusive evening of art, design, and immersive experiences with Desert Design Week, Scottsdale Arts, and Lauren Allen Culinary Events. SMoCA curator Keshia Turley will lead an intimate walkthrough of Desert Perspectives, offering insight into the exhibition's views on landscape, ecology, identity, history, and the Southwest. Guests will enjoy cocktails and chef-prepared bites while exploring the museum and exhibition after hours.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026

LOCAL NOMAD | HERE & ELSEWHERE
A morning exhibition at Local Nomad centered on handmade ritual objects, original art, and one-of-a-kind finds. The gathering brings together artists and makers including Perro Y Arena, Bettina Chow, Nik Nik, Ben Latham, Hannah York, Katie Lebel, Black Phoebe, Roaming Barefoot, Hey Moon Ceramics, and Scout Dunbar. Guests can explore the collection, meet the artists, and discover something memorable to take home.

BENJAMIN LATHAM ARTIST RECEPTION
As part of Here & Elsewhere at Local Nomad, artist Benjamin Latham will present a selection of original paintings alongside a curated group of artists and makers. His compositions navigate the intersection of memory and mythology, bringing together the countercultural history of the American West and the enduring aesthetic of the high desert.

SMoCA | DESERT PERSPECTIVES FREE ADMISSION DAY
A Desert Design Week Community Day offering free admission to Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and the Desert Perspectives exhibition. Drawing from the museum's permanent collection, loans, and new commissions, the exhibition traces more than a century of artistic responses to the deserts of the Southwest and considers landscape, ecology, identity, history, and lived experience.

AFTERNOON TEA EXPERIENCE AT THE LOFT
An intimate afternoon tea with Christina Silvestri, Editor-in-Chief of Arizona Foothills Magazine, hosted in collaboration with Lauren Allen Culinary Events. Guests will enjoy teas curated by tea sommelier Jorge Rizo, savory and sweet bites, and an informal conversation about creativity, storytelling, and the editor's eye. Special teacups and plates are made by ceramic artist Bettina Chow.

ARIZONA MODERNISTS | ALLEN DITSON & LEE PORZIO
An exhibition presented by Red Modern Furniture celebrating the work of Arizona modernists Allen Ditson and Lee Porzio. The mid-century husband and wife duo worked across sculptural wood furniture, painting, ceramics, fiber art, pierced metals, molded concrete, cording, tile mosaics, tapestries, and public commissions. The exhibition brings together seldom-seen pieces from private collections, including objects from the personal home of Red Modern's Jonathan Wayne.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026

HOME TOUR | ONE CENTURY, ONE DESERT
A tour of two Arizona homes designed nearly a century apart, each offering a distinct perspective on desert living. From the historic Rancho Arroyo in Phoenix to the newly built Avenida in Paradise Valley, the tour explores the relationship between place, architecture, and the desert landscape. Guests will meet the principals behind the interior and landscape design and explore how each home responds to the Sonoran Desert through materials, orientation, shade, courtyards, indoor-outdoor living, and landscape.

JOHNSTON MARKLEE ARCHITECTURE x TSOA
A lecture and conversation at RAY Phoenix with Sharon Johnston, founding partner of Johnston Marklee, presented with The School of Architecture. Moderated by TSOA President Chris Lasch and students, the program traces the firm's work from early residences to arts institutions and RAY Phoenix. The discussion considers designing for the desert, including the building's green facade and the role of light, shade, landscape, art, and shared space in connecting it to Roosevelt Row.

Together, these 19 events create a six-day portrait of design in the desert, moving between architecture and interiors, fine art and collectible objects, hospitality and fashion, landscape and materiality, business and creative practice. Desert Design Week invites attendees to experience the region through the people who are designing, building, making, collecting, and thinking about its future.

Rather than taking place within a single venue, DDW unfolds across Phoenix and Scottsdale, encouraging attendees to move through the city and experience its creative landscape firsthand. It is a week for design professionals, collectors, creatives, and anyone interested in the ideas, objects, spaces, and people shaping how we live.