The Future of Homeware Trends
(sponsored by Afterpay)
The next generation of influential consumers, characterized in part by their ever-changing shopping behaviors, is turning to “buy now, pay later” to finance their lifestyle wants and needs, notably in the home category. To capture this complex Gen Z customer, retailers need to first understand and then leverage relevant data. Niki Cordell, Afterpay’s enterprise sales director, is here to help explain the purchasing habits of this growing demographic at the core of the company’s business, as well as outline the key factors impacting their decisions and identify the home goods trends evidenced by their choices.
Niki Cordell is the enterprise sales director at Afterpay, the leading retail payments innovator, where she oversees sales for the company’s largest acquisition partners and launched Afterpay omnichannel with brands like Ulta, J.Crew and American Eagle. Prior to joining Afterpay, Cordell drove new business and innovation nationwide with global retailers such as H&M, Fabletics, Savage X Fenty, Theragun, Tonal, Peloton, Rhone and Sephora in her work for Brookfield Properties, one of the largest retail real estate companies in the U.S., with more than 140 shopping centers. Passionate about giving back to her community, she currently serves as the board president of her children’s preschool and also volunteers with her daughter at Nourishing Hope, a food pantry in Chicago, where she lives with her husband, three children and feisty Westie.
Runway Ready at Home
(Sponsored by Miranda Kerr for Universal and Crypton)
In this virtual interview with the fashion icon, supermodel and entrepreneur, Miranda Kerr discusses her new home collection that is debuting for the first time at Future of Home. The space reflects her approach to creating a happy and healthy home and features a refined palette of materials and textures. Learn about Kerr’s inspiration for the collection, preview Universal’s new performance cotton boucle fabric from Crypton Home—an on-trend material made of more than 50 percent recycled cotton that will perfectly pair with a variety of furnishing silhouettes—and discover the power of organic skincare in the Kora Organics pop-up shop. Be sure to enter the Miranda Kerr Home x Kora Organics Giveaway for your chance to win a piece of furniture from Miranda Kerr Home along with a complete set of Kora Organics morning and evening skincare essentials.
Designing for The Next Generation
Sponsored by Crate & Kids
Crate & Kids creative director Sebastian Brauer exclusively reveals the brand’s new children’s collection—and its new collaborator. The of-the-moment line embraces the changes in how families are setting up their homes. As the creative leads from Crate & Kids and their surprise partner kicked off their brainstorming conversations in the early days of the pandemic, they noticed the white space for fun, versatile and elevated kids furniture, which became the inspiration for the new collection’s East Coast-meets-West Coast style. The ultimate goal? To give little ones the tools to transform their own spaces and provide parents with thoughtfully functional pieces.
Sebastian Brauer leads a team of designers and merchandisers shaping creative direction for Crate & Barrel, offering a honed perspective on storytelling, trend exploration and product development. Prior to joining the company in 2019, he served as the vice president of design for J.Crew, leading concept, print and accessories design, and was the director of visual for West Elm, where he led the corporate and field visual teams to create compelling store presentations, new store concepts and immersive retail environments. Brauer started his career in URBN's Anthropologie art department before expanding into product design for footwear, accessories and home. Inspired to connect more deeply with artisan activism and production, he ventured out as an independent consultant in the world of global sourcing and design, which set him on his current path.
Leveling Up
(sponsored by High Point Market)
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three distinguished designers—Christi Barbour, Barry Goralnick and Christina Kim—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships and making a larger margin on trade products have allowed them to transform their firms’ growth trajectory and increase profitability. To bring such benefits to your own business, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join the industry at High Point Market twice a year. Save the dates: Fall Market is coming up, October 22 to 26, 2022; Spring Market will be April 22 to 26, 2023.
Barry Goralnick is a world-renowned architect and designer whose trademark Blended Modern lifestyle captures the ultimate in successful living. From his studio in Manhattan, he designs for such premiere home and hospitality companies as Villeroy & Boch, Currey & Company, Vanguard Furniture, Visual Comfort and Watermark Designs. A graduate of Brandeis University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, he is the recipient of numerous industry honors, and his work has been showcased in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor and The New York Times, as well as international publications, among them Residence (China), Vogue Italia and Schöner Wohnen (Germany).
Leveling Up
(sponsored by High Point Market)
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three distinguished designers—Christi Barbour, Barry Goralnick and Christina Kim—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships and making a larger margin on trade products have allowed them to transform their firms’ growth trajectory and increase profitability. To bring such benefits to your own business, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join the industry at High Point Market twice a year. Save the dates: Fall Market is coming up, October 22 to 26, 2022; Spring Market will be April 22 to 26, 2023.
Christi Barbour is the founder and partner of the multifaceted, award-winning Barbour Spangle Design, located in High Point, North Carolina. Her firm’s unique position at the intersection of the residential, showroom and commercial design worlds informs an ability to source wider and generate more original ideas, while a strong culture and experienced team guarantees total commitment to each project. In Fall 2021, Barbour assumed the role of vice chair of the Market Authority, and she is the founder of the nonprofit High Point Discovered, an organization that connects, communicates and catalyzes growth in the city.
Modernizing an Iconic Brand
Sponsored by Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams
To become the CEO of an established and revered brand is a privilege. To inspire and ignite its future is a responsibility. For Allison O’Connor, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams’s first female CEO, the starting place was to embed a reinvigorated brand purpose of “artisans of comfort for all” with a business strategy of becoming an omnichannel, “modern maverick” home furnishings brand. She discusses how the company’s 32-year heritage of craftsmanship, sustainable materials, custom design, innovation, and social responsibility has provided the foundation for meeting trade customers where they are: navigating changing times in which home is more important as a place of belonging than ever before. O’Connor will also shares insights into the brand’s new partnerships, including its first collaboration with an interior designer.
Allison O’Connor is a veteran executive leader, passionate customer advocate and proven brand builder who has created both business success and impact within corporate cultures on a global basis throughout her career. Since joining Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams as president and CEO in 2019, she has led the 32-year-old company’s transition to an omnichannel lifestyle brand, introducing key new categories including the MG+BW Outdoor furniture collection, a home fragrance line, the European Bed Linens collection, and brand partnerships with national and global makers and designers. She is known for her commitment to sustainability and healthy homes, support of women in business, and wellness and inclusion in the workplace.
Since 1989, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has been designing comfortable furnishings for a healthy home. In keeping with MG+BW’s commitment to lasting quality and the craft of furniture-making, its new line of sustainably sourced upholstery is hand-built by skilled artisans at the company’s North Carolina factory and comes with extensive options for customization. The Fall 2021 collection also includes tables, storage, lighting, rugs, bed linens, home fragrance, art, decor and outdoor furniture, and is available online and in-store nationwide.
Leveling Up
(sponsored by High Point Market)
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three distinguished designers—Christi Barbour, Barry Goralnick and Christina Kim—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships and making a larger margin on trade products have allowed them to transform their firms’ growth trajectory and increase profitability. To bring such benefits to your own business, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join the industry at High Point Market twice a year. Save the dates: Fall Market is coming up, October 22 to 26, 2022; Spring Market will be April 22 to 26, 2023.
Christina Kim’s eponymous New Jersey interior design firm specializes in from-the-ground-up construction of modern beach homes. Her signature warm, soft, modern aesthetic translates into stylishly relaxed homes that bring a hint of surfer cool to laid-back luxury. She is influenced by her travels and a lifetime of training her eye.
The Curated Bath
Sponsored by Ann Sacks, Kallista, Robern and Kohler
Kohler Co.’s family of brands have long been renowned for their industry-leading excellence. So what happens when all four brands—Ann Sacks, Kallista, Robern, and Kohler—come together to maximize their individual areas of expertise? A truly luxurious bath experience, in the form of the Ann Sacks Curated Bath Collection. While high-quality materials and expert craftsmanship connect each piece, versatility rules the day in this line, well timed to answer the reimagining of home environments and personal spaces. Ranging from classic to modern, the collection—including sinks and faucets, showers and baths, mirrors, lighting, storage and decorative tile and stone—offers the perfect pairing of chic sophistication and advanced convenience.
Seth Stevens is a leader and innovator in the field of design with a diverse background in product design, interiors and fashion. Since starting at Kohler in 2017, he has brought a global perspective to the Kohler luxury businesses, focusing on creating brand-defining kitchen, bath and lighting products for residential and commercial applications. A third-generation industrial designer, Stevens began his personal and professional exploration of design at an early age under his father’s and grandfather’s tutelage—a passion that continues today. Prior to joining Kohler, he held positions as divisional vice president of home categories at Sears Holdings Inc. and creative director at Brunschwig & Fils, as well as serving in a variety of design roles at Donghia, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, West Elm and Starwood Hotels. Stevens holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial design from the University of Illinois.
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, Kohler is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of home products. Kohler Co. luxury brands consist of wholly owned subsidiaries: Kallista, known for its luxury plumbing products; Robern, offering lighting, mirrored cabinetry and vanities; and Ann Sacks, a premier provider of decorative tile and stone.
Dennis Scully is the host of the Future of Home conference and the Business of Home Podcast, where he explores the changes and challenges facing the interior design community through interviews with industry thought leaders, entrepreneurs and creatives. He was previously a business development consultant for major trade brands, and has held sales and marketing roles at Domino, Waterworks, and more. He is also the host of the Dialogues on Design series for the New York School of Interior Design.
Looking Back to Move Forward
Sponsored by CB2
Join CB2 divisional merchandise manager Andrea Erman and senior vice president of marketing Samie Barr for an exclusive conversation diving into how—and why—the brand has committed to continuing the legacy of iconic furniture designers like Clara Porset and Paul McCobb. Design is at the heart of everything CB2 does, so incorporating these groundbreaking designers was a natural fit. Learn how the McCobb collection remains true to the designer’s original midcentury designs (down to the hinges, in some instances), but was updated with a CB2 twist where appropriate.
Andrea Erman leads product development for CB2, focusing on the houseware category (which includes lighting, rugs, decorative accessories, tabletop, textiles and more). Her career with Crate & Barrel brands spans more than two decades, and she has been with CB2 since 2012.
Kaitlin Petersen is the editor in chief of Business of Home. She is also the author of the site’s 50 States Project, a weekly series that chronicles the unique challenges of running a design firm through interviews with interior designers state by state, and host of the podcast Trade Tales. Kaitlin has been writing about style and design for a decade, and her work has appeared in Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home and Veranda, as well as Chicago, Texas Monthly, Time Out New York, and the international editions of Vanity Fair and Vogue.
Media's Shift to Platforms
Sponsored by Pinterest
It’s hard to be creative if you’re surrounded by negativity and comparison. On Pinterest, the experience is different: It’s a place to grow an inspired and engaged audience. Rather than passively scrolling, people are showing up for your ideas—and not just to like them, but to try them. There’s a new way to create, and it’s yours for the taking. Pinterest’s home and design creator lead Jeremy Jankowski sheds light on the platform’s latest features and the opportunities for innovative content creators, and shares what’s next for the 89 million people coming to Pinterest every month for home and design content.
Jeremy Jankowski joined the Pinterest team this year as creator management lead for the home and design category. He is a digital expert with more than 14 years of experience building and leading digital efforts and consulting across tech and publishing partnership sales, delivering record-breaking revenue results for Mode Media, Refinery29, and most recently, Domino, where he was chief client officer. As a 360-degree brand builder, he excels at forecasting sales trends in the ever-changing world of digital media.
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine people use to find inspiration, including recipes, home and style ideas, travel destinations and more. People have saved more than 300 billion Pins across a range of interests, which others with similar tastes can discover through search and recommendations. Located in San Francisco, Pinterest launched in 2010 and has more than 450 million monthly users around the world. Available on iOS and Android, and at pinterest.com.
Fred Nicolaus has been covering the world of interior design and high-end home renovation for over a decade. In addition to Business of Home, his work has appeared in The Franklin Report, House Beautiful and Elle Decor. In a past life, Fred was a songwriter and musician—he toured internationally, released several albums, and his songs have been featured in film and television, including Gossip Girl, Blue Valentine, Man Seeking Woman and Wanderlust. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and children.
Looking Back to Move Forward
Sponsored by CB2
Join CB2 divisional merchandise manager Andrea Erman and senior vice president of marketing Samie Barr for an exclusive conversation diving into how—and why—the brand has committed to continuing the legacy of iconic furniture designers like Clara Porset and Paul McCobb. Design is at the heart of everything CB2 does, so incorporating these groundbreaking designers was a natural fit. Learn how the McCobb collection remains true to the designer’s original midcentury designs (down to the hinges, in some instances), but was updated with a CB2 twist where appropriate.
Samie Barr brings more than 30 years of consumer and retail experience in fast-paced, high-growth companies like Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Starbucks Coffee Company to her role as senior vice president of marketing for CB2. She joined the company in 2017 and leads all marketing functions, including the launch of innovative collaborations with lifestyle brand Goop, retailer Fred Segal, interior designer Kara Mann, jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher, international men’s magazine GQ and more.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
One of the most acclaimed entrepreneurs of the last decade, Alexa von Tobel is a “startup whisperer” who incorporates elements of design into all facets of her work. In New York, her Inspired HQ provides a collaborative space that combines design expertise, operational support and access to the capital required to turn bold ideas into category-defining companies. In this discussion, she’ll share her most important rules for entrepreneurial success, including how to raise capital, know your customer, inspire teams and organizations and identify your success metrics. She’ll also analyze the current economic climate and address what business leaders can do to plan ahead in a downturn.
Alexa von Tobel is the managing partner of Inspired Capital, a $500 million venture capital firm that specializes in early-stage tech founders and startups such as executive women’s network Chief. Previously, she founded and served as the CEO of LearnVest (acquired by Northwestern Mutual in 2015), which redefined the American approach to personal finance. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, she has appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine and been featured in such prominent publications as Fortune, Inc., Marie Claire and Elle. In addition to her role as a columnist for Money and Cosmopolitan magazines, she is the New York Times bestselling author of Financially Fearless and hosts a related weekly podcast, Inc. Founders Project with Alexa von Tobel.
A Window of Opportunity
(Sponsored by Hunter Douglas)
It is the window that creates that liminal moment where the outside world converges with our home’s interior—which means the covering a designer selects for it has the power to not only add style to a room but provide a positive impact on a client’s life at home. The right window covering can enhance natural light, provide energy efficiency and add convenience with motorization. In this conversation, interior designer Marie Flanigan shares how she approaches the selection process for shades, blinds and drapery, and how she has been able to rely on Hunter Douglas’s offerings to meet a variety of client needs.
For more than a decade, Marie Flanigan has crafted spaces that celebrate innovative simplicity while expertly reflecting the lives of those who live within. Originally trained as an architect, she seamlessly unites structure with style, creating award-winning interiors that have been featured in many shelter magazines. She regularly shares her expert design and lifestyle advice with TV audiences, as in her most recent role on HGTV’s internationally broadcast series Brother vs. Brother. Flanigan’s latest projects include the debut of her lighting collection with Visual Comfort and the release of her first book, The Beauty of Home: Redefining Traditional Interiors.
Hunter Douglas is the leading manufacturer of window coverings and architectural products in North America. The company’s products are sold through certified retailers, where dedicated specialists work with designers and consumers to find and then install the perfect window treatments. Continual innovation of its wide range of high-quality window coverings is the cornerstone of the Hunter Douglas brand.
Changing Spending Habits of the Next Generation
Sponsored by Afterpay
A generational shift is happening in payment preferences, and younger consumers are increasingly turning to “buy now, pay later” when shopping for major lifestyle categories. Afterpay vice president Bree Blazak shares how millennial and Gen Z shoppers are rewriting the rules of spending, and how home brands and retailers can innovate and offer flexibility throughout the customer experience.
Bree Blazak is the vice president of enterprise sales at Afterpay, the leading retail installment payments innovator and one of the fastest-growing global fintech companies. Blazak is a seasoned enterprise sales executive, with expertise in retail technologies, platforms and payments. Prior to joining Afterpay, she was the vice president of retail at Westfield Retail Solutions, a subsidiary of Westfield Corporation that is focused on reinventing commerce by enhancing digital and physical shopping experiences for retailers, brands and venues. Previously, she held roles in business development and sales at ShopRunner, a members-only e-commerce platform focused on bringing shopping innovation to retailers. She also worked in business development at YourAmigo, and spent her early career at various internet companies, including Verisign, DoubleClick and Register.com. Blazak graduated from Texas Tech University with a B.S. in French and business and from the University of North Texas with a B.A. in French language and literature. She currently resides in New York with her family.
Afterpay empowers today’s generation of shoppers to buy your products now, pay over the course of six weeks, and never pay interest. As the preferred “buy now, pay later” provider in the U.S., Afterpay allows shoppers to go after what they want both online and in-store, with transparent spending limits and no external credit checks—and in the process, 86,000 of the world’s favorite retailers have unlocked sustainable growth with increased sales, greater foot traffic and more new-to-file customers. Afterpay is building its services to be more than just a payment platform; the company is also a solution for today’s retail businesses, delivering data, omnichannel services and marketing solutions to its retail partners.
Digital Transformation of Home
In an era of rapidly accelerating digital transformation, concepts such as “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest” are defining who survives and who thrives in the home industry. Bestselling author Tom Goodwin shines a light on the future by looking at lessons from the past and offers insight into how business owners can create their own digital transformation. He challenges assumptions around how to adapt, what to embrace and what to ignore—and encourages business leaders to go big or go home.
Tom Goodwin is the author of Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business Disruption, the host of The Edge on Euronews Next and the founder of All We Have Is Now, a business transformation consultancy. With more than 700,000 followers, Goodwin has been voted the No. 1 voice in marketing on LinkedIn four times. Business Insider named him one of 30 people to follow on Twitter, and Fast Company called him a “must-follow.” He considers it his role to understand new technology, consumer behavior and culture, then create solutions that take advantage of these opportunities. An industry provocateur, keynote speaker and writer on the future of business, Goodwin has been quoted in The Economist and The New York Times and featured on CNBC. His writing has appeared in publications including The Guardian, TechCrunch, Forbes, Adweek, Marketing Week, The Drum, Inc., Digiday, Quartz, and the World Economic Forum.
The Aesthetic Advantage
Good taste is a critical yet undervalued contributor to business success, according to author Pauline Brown. While most designers inherently possess a high level of aesthetic intelligence (or AQ, as she calls it), most are not trained to apply it to their own brands and leverage it for long-term competitive advantage. Brown believes that being more attuned to the aesthetic preferences, sensory experiences and design aspirations of clients will not only incent them to invest more in goods and services but also elicit greater delight in the process, especially in the luxury category. In this fireside chat, Brown outlines the fundamental steps for heightening your aesthetic sensitivity, identifying and expressing your brand’s aesthetic codes and striking the right balance between commercial and creative objectives.
Pauline Brown is a leader in the luxury sector and pioneer in the business of aesthetics. Her current roles include marketing professor at Columbia Business School, board member of the Neiman Marcus Group and founder of the corporate advisory firm and e-learning platform Aesthetic Intelligence Labs, which teaches executives and entrepreneurs how to apply their innate aesthetic gifts to their competitive advantage. Brown is also the author of Aesthetic Intelligence, published by HarperCollins in 2019. Previously, she was the chairman of North America at LVMH Moët Hennessy–Louis Vuitton, managing director at The Carlyle Group, and held roles at The Estée Lauder Companies and Bain. Brown received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, an MBA from the Wharton School, and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Eneia White, Kati Curtis and Rajni Alex—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022.
Eneia White is known for her positivity, warm smile and creative approach to problem-solving. Born and raised in a small suburb between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., she gained an early appreciation for learning through cultural diversity. White earned her BFA in interior design from The Art Institute of Washington, and developed her craft under the instruction of high-end designers and architects in D.C., Los Angeles and New York. When she’s not designing interiors, she enjoys building and collecting miniature dollhouses, reading, and trying out the latest restaurants New York has to offer.
High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.
Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Rajni Alex, Kati Curtis and Eneia White—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022.
Rajni Alex is the founder and principal of the award-winning design firm Rajni Alex Design, where she guides an elite team of designers to execute her vision. Her design philosophy is rooted in putting the client first—she understands the need to combine form and functionality, and firmly believes that good design can be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. From timeless pieces to sleek chinoiserie and French influences, her design style embodies a harmonious palette that does not shy away from color, sculptural forms or intricate patterns. In 2018, Alex was named a New Trad by Traditional Home and a Rising Star by New York Cottages & Gardens. She is also a recipient of the Decoration & Design Building’s Star on the Rise Award.
High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.
Data-Powered Design
The latest digital trends harness datasets in surprising ways—perhaps most notably to create a more human experience. What does that mean, and what are the design opportunities along the way? As hearable, feelable and wearable technologies—powered by data, artificial intelligence, sensors and more—become increasingly commonplace, David Shing shares how brands and businesses can leverage these new technologies to succeed in a consumer environment where attention, measured by time and engagement, is the new currency.
David Shing (aka “Shingy”) is an Australian futurist, creative director, strategic digital consultant and entrepreneur. As the “Digital Prophet”—the bold and polarizing moniker for his performative persona—Shingy specializes in advising clients about inventive, effective and sustainable approaches to optimizing brand value within the digital landscape. He is passionate about educating big brands about the unique opportunities afforded by emerging digital, social and mobile technologies. Forbes describes him as an “artist, globe-trotting speaker and market seeker … who identifies emerging trends and inspires clients to think differently.”
Leveling Up
Sponsored by High Point Market
Attending High Point Market is not just about getting inspired—it’s also about leveling up. Three designers—Kati Curtis, Eneia White, and Rajni Alex—share how establishing relationships with vendors, building new trade partnerships, and making a larger margin on trade products has allowed them to increase profitability and transform their firms’ growth trajectory. You’re invited to head over to the High Point Market in New York activation throughout the two days to visit with the panelists and get tips on mapping your Market experience to better your business model. Then, of course, be sure to lock in your travel plans to join Business of Home, these designers, and the rest of the industry at High Point Market every April and October! Save the date: Fall Market is coming up October 16 to 20, 2021, and Spring Market will be April 2 to 6, 2022.
The work of interior designer Kati Curtis, whose firm is based in Manhattan and Los Angeles, combines that sophistication of New York and a little taste of California. With a style that’s unrestrained yet very refined, she designs homes that are the visual story of the people living there. Her interiors are bold statements balanced by quiet details—the dark accents in a white room, the well-defined edge that reveals a surprise of color. A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, Curtis is a sought-after speaker and design influencer, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor and most recently House Beautiful. She travels frequently, and the colors, motifs, patterns and textures she encounters influence all she designs.
High Point Market, held in High Point, North Carolina, is the largest home furnishings industry trade show in the world, with more than 12 million square feet and roughly 2,000 exhibitors throughout about 180 buildings. Each year, the Spring and Fall Markets welcome 70,000 to 80,000 attendees from more than 100 countries.
Emotional Fitness in Leadership
The world is beginning to understand that stress, burnout, anxiety—and, let’s face it, the universal pains of adulting—can drastically affect a company’s bottom line. To be successful today, business leaders and employees need to be emotionally and physically healthy. There are plenty of apps and products that claim to help achieve this, but an effective focus on mental and emotional health must be built from the inside out. In this 30-minute interactive presentation, renowned psychologist Dr. Emily Anhalt explores the importance of supporting yourself and your team by developing emotional fitness and gives practical, concrete tips for building a true culture of wellness.
Dr. Emily Anhalt is a psychologist, emotional fitness consultant and the co-founder and chief clinical officer of Coa, the digital gym for mental health offering live, therapist-led emotional fitness classes. For the past 13 years, Anhalt has been working clinically with executives, entrepreneurs and overachievers and has conducted extensive research with prominent psychologists about how leaders can improve their emotional fitness. Anhalt has matched more than 700 people into therapy and has collaborated with some of the fastest-growing organizations in the world, including Google, TEDx, NBCUniversal, Unilever, Bloomberg and Salesforce.
Building Authentic Connections
For all of the hand-wringing around getting social media strategy right, designer Carmeon Hamilton has a key piece of advice: Be yourself. By staying true to her core values in all of her online interactions, Hamilton has discovered a winning approach that attracts new design clients and brand partners—one focused around authenticity, clearly communicated boundaries and honesty about her inspiration and expectations.
Carmeon Hamilton is the Memphis-based interior designer and lifestyle blogger behind the brand Nubi Interiors, winner of HGTV’s Design Star: Next Gen and star of HGTV’s Reno My Rental. Committed to authenticity in branding and elevating the everyday in her design work, she has been featured in Architectural Digest, Southern Living, Essence and Domino, among other publications. Drawing from her design education and extensive experience, she seeks to discover the beauty in all things and help others find beauty in what surrounds them.
How to Thrive in the Passion Economy
The 20th century’s economy of scale has given way to an economy of passion. What does that mean for the design industry? Adam Davidson, one of the leading public voices on economic issues, shows how the modern financial paradigm offers new ways of making money, fresh paths toward professional fulfillment, and unprecedented opportunities for curious, ambitious individuals to combine the things they love with their careers.
Adam Davidson is the co-creator of NPR’s Planet Money podcast, served as the media organization’s international business and economics correspondent, and has been a frequent contributor to This American Life, where he received a Peabody Award, a duPont-Columbia Award, and a Polk Award for his work on the radio documentary “The Giant Pool of Money.” He co-founded a podcast production company with Sony Music and served as a technical consultant to Adam McKay, the co-writer and director of the Academy Award–winning film The Big Short (as well as Davidson’s co-host on the Gimlet Media podcast Surprisingly Awesome).
Portrait: Michael Lionstar
NFTs and the Future of Interior Design
Distrust of NFTs and the cryptocurrency market in general is not unique to the design industry. But Mariam Naficy, founder of the online art platform Minted, wants to bridge the gap between affluent art and decor buyers and the vast, untapped landscape of NFTs and digital art. Alongside a prestigious team of design-minded co-founders, including Yves Béhar, Kate Berry, Ken Fulk, Emily Henderson, India Mahdavi, Brigette Romanek and Sarah Sherman Samuel, Naficy will announce the launch of a new platform that pairs NFT artworks with an optional physical twin and presents them in interior environments rather than gallery settings. Centered around a community of interior designers and enthusiasts, the new venture emphasizes the creative collaboration between artist and designer and is intended to expand NFTs to a broader audience than just “crypto natives.” In this discussion, Naficy, co-founder Mahdavi and others examine how NFTs and digital art will affect the future of the physical space and why designers are key to unlocking this newest of mediums for everyone by simplifying the process of owning, collecting and displaying such works.
India Mahdavi is an architect and designer. Since opening her studio in Paris in 2000, she has earned acclaim around the world for her work on large hospitality projects, luxury collaborations and her own furniture line. Often referred to as the “reigning queen of color,” Mahdavi has conceived bars, restaurants, retail concepts, clubs and hotels, from Le Cloître in Arles, France, the Hotel on Rivington in Manhattan and the Townhouse Hotel Miami Beach to the Gallery at Sketch London and Ladurée in Los Angeles and Tokyo. She approaches contemporary design in a singular, eclectic and nomadic manner, bringing a pop of orientalism to the West, and looks to her heritage to drive her work, seeking inspiration from less frequented places such as Tehran, Iran, the city of her birth. “To conceive a space, I listen to it, I analyze its constraints, its needs and its context,” she says. “This is how my studio functions; the human scale prevails.”
The Future of Collaboration
Baccarat CEO Jim Shreve was described by Out magazine as “the gay rockstar CEO” and credited with making a centuries-old crystal brand cool again. His goal of changing the perception of Baccarat to be accessible, not elitist or fancy, shows up in the brand’s unconventional collaborations with Supreme, Lady M and Virgil Abloh. The strategy has worked, and the company is poised to hit record revenues this year, doubling expectations. In this interview, Shreve and new Baccarat collaborator Martha Stewart explain how they think about partnerships, why those choices are mission critical, and what it means to reach cult brand status. During the event, they will unveil their new collection for the first time.
Martha Stewart is the founder of the first multichannel lifestyle company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an entrepreneur, a bestselling author of 99 lifestyle books to date and an Emmy Award–winning television show host. Stewart is the go-to source for the homemaker, reaching more than 100 million devoted fans every month through her magazines, TV shows and books, as well as her products for the home, which are sold at multiple retail and online outlets. She and her talented staff provide trusted, timely, and useful information on all aspects of everyday living: cooking, entertaining, gardening, home renovating, collecting, organizing, crafting, healthy living, holidays, weddings and pet care, both in print and on social media.
The Future of Life at Home
The future of home is a heavy topic, so we asked two of the wittiest creatives we know—Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler—to weigh in on what life at home will look like in the future. Don’t expect research or data—this is straight from the crystal (or Lucite) ball.
Simon Doonan is an expert judge on the NBC series Making It with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, a regular guest at The Moth, and the author of several books, including Confessions of a Window Dresser, Wacky Chicks, Drag: The Complete Story, How to Be Yourself, and his latest, Keith Haring. He spent 35 years as creative director of Barneys New York, and decorated the Obama White House for the 2009 holidays.
Portrait: Joe Gaffney
Curation Commerce
With the rise of the passion economy, creators are monetizing their “eye” (or aesthetic intelligence, as Pauline Brown calls it) in profoundly personal ways that make buying online not just a commercial transaction but a true exchange. Designer-influencers Athena Calderone and Colin King are masters of this modern craft. They has become a sought-after digital curators by contextualizing the very best and most meaningful products via scenography and storytelling, infusing them with purpose that fosters a personal connection with their followers. In this eye-opening discussion, these titans in the digital space explains the power of curation in community engagement and how it can be leveraged into a multifaceted business.
Athena Calderone is an interior designer, author, culinary and visual storyteller and creative director. Layered textures and patterns, collected vintage pieces and highly contrasting elements are hallmarks of her aesthetic. Deemed “the modern girl’s Martha Stewart” by The New York Times, she regularly publishes both culinary and design content on her lifestyle media platform, EyeSwoon. She is the author of Live Beautiful (Abrams, 2020) and Cook Beautiful (Abrams, 2017), recipient of the James Beard Award for photography, and hosted More Than One Thing, a podcast for like-minded multi-hyphenate creatives.
Curation Commerce
With the rise of the passion economy, creators are monetizing their “eye” (or aesthetic intelligence, as Pauline Brown calls it) in profoundly personal ways that make buying online not just a commercial transaction but a true exchange. Designer-influencers Athena Calderone and Colin King are two masters of this modern craft. Each has become a sought-after digital curator by contextualizing the very best and most meaningful products via scenography and storytelling, infusing them with purpose that fosters a personal connection with their followers. In this eye-opening discussion, the two titans in the digital space explain the power of curation in community engagement and how it can be leveraged into a multifaceted business.
Colin King is the go-to stylist for many of the world’s leading brands and publications and a regular contributor to Architectural Digest, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Ark and Rum. He collaborates regularly with Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, Roman and Williams Guild, West Elm and Zara Home and has his own celebrated product lines with Beni Rugs and Menu. A former dancer, King brings his understanding of the power in stillness to both his interior styling and product design.
The Pivot to Home
The relationship between fashion and home has long been intertwined, but most designers feel they have to pick a lane. The fashion designers who dabble in home often stick largely to accessories: candles, napkins, tableware, maybe a bedding license. Furniture is a different beast, and the logistics of prototyping, quality control, delivery and returns quickly scares most creatives away. But COVID-19 has inspired some to rise to the challenge. The pandemic was rough for the fashion industry, and particularly for designers like Christian Siriano, who focused exclusively on eveningwear in a time when no one was going to glamorous parties. For Siriano, a pivot to furniture design felt exciting and used similar creative muscles. With his debut line available now on 1stDibs, the designer shares the challenges of putting the collection together and talks about whether the home space is a long-term play for his business, how making a chair is different than making a gown, and how he’s drawing connections between the worlds of fashion and home.
Christian Siriano is an American fashion designer and a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He first gained attention in 2008, after winning the fourth season of Project Runway, becoming the youngest to take home the top prize in the design competition. That year, he launched his namesake collection, and has since dressed luminaries like Jennifer Lopez and Michelle Obama. In 2020, he launched his first home collection.
Understanding Design Personalities
In her work as a designer, Ingrid Fetell Lee noticed that people take different paths to create a joyful home. Some care deeply about being on-trend and invest their time and energy in staying ahead of the curve. Others put people at the center of their design, creating spaces that make everyone feel welcome. Some are practical and think through every detail, while others follow their hearts. Curious about these different approaches, Fetell Lee started to dig into them and realized that there were distinct design personalities—ways of thinking about home decor that influence how people get inspired, how they shop and make decisions, where they are most confident, and where they sometimes get stuck. These personality types can also explain people’s motivation for wanting to decorate, and can help designers understand what clients care about most. In this presentation, the designer reveals the hidden influence of our surroundings on our emotions and well-being, and how to tap into the hidden clues about what makes a client feel good at home.
As a former design director at design and consulting firm IDEO, the author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, and the founder of the website The Aesthetics of Joy, Ingrid Fetell Lee empowers people to find more joy in life and work through design. Her popular TED talk, “Where Joy Hides and How to Find It,” has been viewed more than 17 million times.
Wellness for Designers
Sponsored by Benjamin Moore
Heavy workloads and demanding schedules are the new reality for many designers, resulting in unsustainable patterns and, in some cases, burnout, anxiety and poor mental health. After experiencing aspects of this personally, designer Caleb Anderson embarked on a multiyear journey of wellness, which led him to co-found an initiative dedicated to supporting the design community through shared wellness experiences. In this discussion, Anderson and his co-founder DeAndre DeVane, along with psychologist Amanda Hilton, explore the importance of adapting a healthier framework for work and life, offer ways to authentically connect as an industry and outline a path designers can take individually and collectively to achieve a healthier way of being—one where creativity, relationships and business flourish.
Caleb Anderson is a partner at award-winning design firm Drake/Anderson and the co-founder of Well-Designed, a new venture committed to sharing resources and tools to support a more harmonious design community through enlightening experiences. With his dedication to creating and fostering more opportunities for authentic connection among his peers, Anderson is using his design talent to heighten awareness within the community around healthy materials, sustainability and social consciousness.
The Challenge of Change
One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk, Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram joins Caroline Baumann and Rupal Parekh to discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change.
Eddie Opara is a multifaceted designer whose work encompasses strategy, design and technology. He joined Pentagram’s New York office as partner in 2010 and is a senior critic at the Yale School of Art. Born in Wandsworth, London, he studied graphic design at the London College of Printing and Yale University, where he received his MFA in 1997. He began his career as a designer at ATG and Imaginary Forces and worked as a senior designer and then art director at 2×4 before establishing his own studio, The Map Office, in 2005. He was named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2012 and 2014, and was featured in Ebony magazine’s Power 100 and Adweek’s Creative 100. In 2014, Opara authored the book Color Works: Best Practices for Graphic Designers (Rockport).
Wellness for Designers
Sponsored by Benjamin Moore
Heavy workloads and demanding schedules are the new reality for many designers, resulting in unsustainable patterns and, in some cases, burnout, anxiety and poor mental health. After experiencing aspects of this personally, designer Caleb Anderson embarked on a multiyear journey of wellness, which led him to co-found an initiative dedicated to supporting the design community through shared wellness experiences. In this discussion, Anderson and his co-founder DeAndre DeVane, along with psychologist Amanda Hilton, explore the importance of adapting a healthier framework for work and life, offer ways to authentically connect as an industry and outline a path designers can take individually and collectively to achieve a healthier way of being—one where creativity, relationships and business flourish.
DeAndre DeVane is a wellness enthusiast, development coach and co-founder of Well-Designed. After several career transitions, from the Air Force to a corporate career in the financial services industry, DeVane decided to pair his desire to share personal wellness experiences with his passion for being of service to others. As a student of holistic healing, he recognizes the need for and receptivity to wellness in the design community.
The Challenge of Change
One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk, DID co-founder Caroline Baumann, and Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram and Rupal Parekh of DID member organization Work & Co discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change.
Caroline Baumann has a proven track record in culture and design, repositioning Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum as America’s preeminent design museum and overseeing a mammoth renovation that transformed the organization into a globally recognized powerhouse for critical design debate and presentation that is accessible to all. Following nearly two decades at the museum, she is now on a mission to use design as a force for positive change, building communities and experiences that foster compassion and belonging. An ardent and longtime supporter of equity and justice, Baumann has dedicated much of her career to introducing design to underprivileged communities across the nation. At Cooper Hewitt, she conceived and developed National Design Week, the Teen Design Fair, the Harlem Design Education Center and the National Design Awards luncheon. She is now consulting for various corporations and nonprofits, and was hired by Herman Miller last spring to assist with the company’s diversity and inclusion efforts. She co-led the development of the Diversity in Design Collaborative, which launched in May 2021 with the purpose of ensuring that diverse voices lead design in the future.
NFTs and the Future of Interior Design
Distrust of NFTs and the cryptocurrency market in general is not unique to the design industry. But Mariam Naficy, founder of the online art platform Minted, wants to bridge the gap between affluent art and decor buyers and the vast, untapped landscape of NFTs and digital art. Alongside a prestigious team of design-minded co-founders, including Yves Béhar, Kate Berry, Ken Fulk, Emily Henderson, India Mahdavi, Brigette Romanek and Sarah Sherman Samuel, Naficy will announce the launch of a new platform that pairs NFT artworks with an optional physical twin and presents them in interior environments rather than gallery settings. Centered around a community of interior designers and enthusiasts, the new venture emphasizes the creative collaboration between artist and designer and is intended to expand NFTs to a broader audience than just “crypto natives.” In this discussion, Naficy, co-founder India Mahdavi and others examine how NFTs and digital art will affect the future of the physical space and why designers are key to unlocking this newest of mediums for everyone by simplifying the process of owning, collecting and displaying such works.
Mariam Naficy is the founder and managing partner of Heretic Ventures and founder and chairperson of Minted. With more than two decades of consumer internet experience, she’s known for seeing around corners and anticipating the advent of e-commerce. In 1998, Naficy launched Eve, the world’s first cosmetics e-commerce site, selling it successfully two years later, then led product management at Movielink, an early downloadable movie service. Quick to recognize the potential of online communities, she founded one of the most successful e-commerce companies in the world, Minted, which generates several hundred million dollars in sales each year and has pioneered decentralized decision-making through crowd voting, the funding of a designer “middle class” and the promotion of creative output through artist collaboration. Naficy sits on the board of directors of Minted, Every Mother Counts, Medium and Victoria’s Secret. She is a trustee of Williams College and a member of the advisory council of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Future of E-commerce
The power of AR/3D tech, visual search and artificial intelligence to give consumers exactly what they want is real. So in a world where the boundaries between physical and digital shopping are blurred, how should home furnishings brands operate? In this fireside chat with Martha Welsh, we’ll see mind-blowing demonstrations of Google Lens, which allows you to photograph an object and instantly identify its maker and price, and Imagen, which can manifest any image based on the description you provide. We’ll also discuss how these tools can be applied to design and what it means when consumers can suddenly identify and purchase nearly anything they see.
Martha Welsh stands at the intersection of strategy and execution, business and technology, and leadership and organizational development. Since joining Google in 2011, she has led product, partnership, and strategy and operations teams across the company. Previously, she worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, and she started her career at The Century Foundation, a think tank. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she studied public policy and international affairs, and holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Interior Design 2.0
High-touch luxury services are notoriously hard to scale—and hard to disrupt. As a result, the business model for high-end interior design hasn’t transformed much in the last decade, let alone the last century. But change is afoot: Unlike most e-design platforms, The Expert didn’t attempt to automate, streamline or cut the costs of design services. Instead, it placed a premium on designers’ time and expertise. Dozens of top designers now use the platform, charging $400 to $2,000 per hour, many with a deep waiting list. Gwyneth Paltrow is an investor, as is Forerunner Ventures, the VC firm behind many successful startups. Founders Leo Seigal and Jake Arnold explain how the interior design industry has evolved and where the consultation-based model fits in.
Los Angeles–based serial entrepreneur Leo Seigal began his career after dropping out of Oxford University in 2012 to take part in the prestigious tech-startup incubator Y Combinator in Silicon Valley with his first company, the crowd fundraising site Prizeo. He went on to co-found Represent.com (an online merchandise platform, sold to CustomInk five years ago for $100 million) and the women’s accessories brand Pop & Suki, for which he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2017.
Interior designer Jake Arnold has worked with celebrity clients including Aaron Paul, Rashida Jones, Julianne Hough, Sophia Bush, and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, as well as entrepreneurs Stewart Butterfield, Jen Rubio and Katherine Power. His work has been featured by many publications, including on the covers of Architectural Digest and Elle Decor. In 2019, Arnold was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 20 Interior Designers in Los Angeles.
The Future of Virtual Worlds and NFTs
Starting with Beeple’s NFT sale for $69 million in March 2021, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital real estate have had a breakout year. Although the number of users in metaverses is still small, selling real-world products to people in virtual worlds may become a cost-effective way to market. (To wit: Adidas dropped a collaboration with Karlie Kloss inside Decentraland, where attendees from all over the world could get a free virtual pair of Adidas shoes for their avatar to wear.) If a virtual storefront can cater to an infinite number of potential customers (millions more than walk down Madison Avenue in a year), then its value may reach Beeple levels. The rapid adoption of NFTs by the art world demonstrates just how quickly these changes can take place. As real-world companies set up shop in virtual worlds, they have the potential to drive up property values around them and foster investment in community-building projects, building a new and valuable digital real estate ecosystem with credible players and significant price tags. In this talk, Janine Yorio and Noah Davis demystify the virtual landscape and spotlight the innovations to come.
Noah Davis is a postwar and contemporary art specialist at Christie’s, and has acted as head of sale for the department’s online-only First Open auctions, contributing to the auction house’s increasingly successful virtual programming. Most recently, he spearheaded the historic sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, establishing Christie’s as the vanguard traditional auction house for NFT offerings. Davis also assists the department with business-getting and client engagement for auction and private sales. He joined the company in October 2014 as a cataloguer; prior to that, he was a post-sale manager at an international auction house and worked in the publications department of the Gagosian gallery in New York. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at New York University with a focus on absurdist postwar French theater.
[don’t publish yet, no headshot!]
Digital Transformation at Home
In an era of rapidly accelerating digital transformation, concepts such as “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest” are defining who survives and who thrives in the home industry. Bestselling author Tom Goodwin shines a light on the future by looking at lessons from the past and offers insight into how business owners can create their own digital transformation. He challenges assumptions around how to adapt, what to embrace and what to ignore—and encourages business leaders to go big or go home.
Tom Goodwin is the author of Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business Disruption, the host of The Edge on Euronews Next and the founder of All We Have Is Now, a business transformation consultancy. With more than 700,000 followers, Goodwin has been voted the No. 1 voice in marketing on LinkedIn four times. Business Insider named him one of 30 people to follow on Twitter, and Fast Company called him a “must-follow.” He considers it his role to understand new technology, consumer behavior and culture, then create solutions that take advantage of these opportunities. An industry provocateur, keynote speaker and writer on the future of business, Goodwin has been quoted in The Economist and The New York Times and featured on CNBC. His writing has appeared in publications including The Guardian, TechCrunch, Forbes, Adweek, Marketing Week, The Drum, Inc., Digiday, Quartz, and the World Economic Forum.
Design Services at Scale
Entrepreneurs and investors haven’t given up on the idea that design services should be more accessible. While business models in this category are constantly shifting—and despite the failure of at least four major players in the e-design space—both newcomers and those still standing continue to find innovative ways to evolve their companies in response to the growing consumer demand for online design. Consider: After nearly a decade of exclusively digital offerings, Havenly rolled out in-person design services earlier this year, while venture-backed startup Intro is shaking up the consultation model by connecting consumers with designers in 15-minute increments. How are these companies finding success while scaling services, and what can designers learn from them? In this discussion, Lee Mayer and Raad Mobrem analyze what consumers are connecting with and why, what’s unique about selling design online and how to digitally communicate the value of design.
Raad Mobrem is the co-founder and CEO of Intro, connecting top experts for personalized advice over video call. Previously, Mobrem built an operating system for small businesses that was acquired by Intuit and transformed into the next generation of QuickBooks Online. He has won numerous awards and honors, including being named to Inc. magazine’s 30 Under 30 list in 2014. He resides in Los Angeles, where Intro is headquartered.
The Future of Collaboration
Jim Shreve was described by Out magazine as “the gay rockstar CEO” and credited with making a centuries-old crystal brand cool again. His goal of changing the perception of Baccarat to be accessible, not elitist or fancy, shows up in the brand’s unconventional collaborations with Supreme, Lady M and Virgil Abloh. The strategy has worked, and the company is poised to hit record revenues this year, doubling expectations. In this interview, Shreve and new Baccarat collaborator Martha Stewart explain how they think about partnerships, why those choices are mission critical, and what it means to reach cult brand status. During the event, they will unveil their new collection for the first time.
Jim Shreve is the president and CEO of Baccarat North America. Previously, he served as vice president and head of global merchandising at Diesel for five years, leading the brand’s worldwide merchandising teams. He also worked for French brand Façonnable, where he oversaw European buying, merchandising, planning and product development, and spent 13 years with Gap Inc. as part of the team that transformed Banana Republic from a safari-inspired company to a modern sportswear brand. Shreve began his career at Nordstrom’s men’s division, opening several new stores. He is an active member of New York–based nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver.
The Role of Decor and Protocol in Diplomacy
Designers are well aware that the built environment plays a fundamental role in shaping human experience. It’s not just pretty things—it’s a stage set, as Angelo Donghia once said about a well-designed room, and the people are its stars. It’s an idea that guided Deesha Dyer’s work as White House social secretary during the Obama administration, when she welcomed luminaries from Pope Francis to Beyoncé to heads of state into The People’s House. Every detail— the floral arrangements down to the color of the napkins—was carefully curated and considered to set a tone for important decisions and discussions. Dyer shares how she learned and navigated thousands of dos and don’ts, the way she tailored events to the Obama family, and the role design plays in diplomatic relations across the globe.
Deesha Dyer is the founder and CEO of Hook & Fasten, a social impact agency that specializes in transformational relationships between corporations and communities, with a focus on diversity and inclusion and executive operations. She’s an award-winning strategist and community organizer adept at turning ideas into causes that create tangible change. Dyer entered the Obama administration as a community college student intern and worked her way up to White House social secretary. She recently completed a two-year tenure at the Ford Foundation, and in December 2019, finished a fellowship at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, where she designed and taught a study course titled “From Imposter to Impact.” Named to Marie Claire’s New Guard of women changing the world, Dyer says her personal journey is guided by an unwavering passion for servant leadership, civic engagement and social justice.
Design Services at Scale
Entrepreneurs and investors haven’t given up on the idea that design services should be more accessible. While business models in this category are constantly shifting—and despite the failure of at least four major players in the e-design space—both newcomers and those still standing continue to find innovative ways to evolve their companies in response to the growing consumer demand for online design. Consider: After nearly a decade of exclusively digital offerings, Havenly rolled out in-person design services earlier this year, while venture-backed startup Intro is shaking up the consultation model by connecting consumers with designers in 15-minute increments. How are these companies finding success while scaling services, and what can designers learn from them? In this discussion, Lee Mayer and Raad Mobrem analyze what consumers are connecting with and why, what’s unique about selling design online and how to digitally communicate the value of design.
Lee Mayer is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Havenly, the largest online interior design service. The company has raised more than $57 million and completed hundreds of thousands of personalized designs for its clients. In 2021, Havenly announced a multiyear partnership with Reese Witherspoon’s eponymous book club, acquired direct-to-consumer fast-furniture brand The Inside and expanded nationwide with in-home design services. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to founding Havenly, she worked in corporate finance at Bankrate and Bain & Co.
Designers Will Build the Metaverse
Home is about to be hybrid: There will soon be a new augmented virtual layer, and it won’t matter how small your physical living space is, because your virtual space can be as vast as you make it. During the pandemic, Michael Beneville and his team created a virtual replica of his Manhattan office, and meets his team there every day. He knows he’s walking around the virtual version, but it still evokes real-life memories of pets, parties and, yes, street smells. Beneville believes layering on the metaverse is the most profound and significant event on the near horizon—and that people don’t know how quickly it’s coming or just how much it’s going to affect their lives. In this talk, he explains why the ones who will build this world will be architects and designers—and why it’s an incredible creative task. Imagine designing in an unbounded universe where limits like physics (or zoning) don’t exist. The virtual world is poised to create an interesting arms race that redefines beauty in the built environment.
Michael Beneville is the chief creative officer and visionary leader behind Area15, a 250,000-square-foot immersive art, entertainment and retail complex that opened in Las Vegas in September 2020. He also designed the New York City headquarters of iHeartMedia, the completely reimagined entrance to the Empire State Building Observatory, the lounges for BLADE helicopters in New York and Miami, and the Warner Music Group offices in Los Angeles. Beneville is the co-founder and chief creative officer of SpatialWeb, a next-generation platform that allows users to design custom environments for engaging and communal virtual experiences. Media-agnostic, his creative practice is informed by an international upbringing—Lebanon, Morocco, India, Mauritius, Senegal, Ivory Coast, England and the United States—and at 25, he moved to New York City to pursue a life as an actor and artist. He first made ends meet twisting balloon animals beneath a lamppost in Union Square, just around the corner from where his studio now sits. He and his team at Beneville Studios specialize in realizing the visions and telling the stories of some of the world’s most exclusive clientele—whether individuals, families or corporations—on projects that vary from privately commissioned books (he owns a book bindery), films and fine art to machines and corporate headquarters.
Designing for TV
On the new Netflix series Instant Dream Home, a high-energy team of design pros complete dramatic 12-hour transformations for unsuspecting families. Dubbed “part home renovation show, part heist movie,” each episode details the ups and downs of a project as it unfolds over one long day of painstaking plans and big risks. But how did they really make it happen? In a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to push a project across the finish line, interior designer Adair Curtis and carpenter Erik Curtis (no relation) share how they utilized innovative built elements to meet looming deadlines—and how those same strategies and solutions can be applied to today’s challenging design/build environment.
Erik Curtis is an American designer, sculptor and television personality. A master woodworker, he studied at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, and has worked alongside such world-renowned craftspeople as Rob Hare, Yuri Kobayashi, Peter Korn and David Upfill-Brown. By combining the sculptural with the functional, he creates beautiful objects that not only elevate his clients’ spaces but offer them the luxury of interacting on a daily basis with a work of art. Curtis also stars as the team’s carpenter on Netflix’s Instant Dream Home.
The Future of Shared Space
The idea of sharing is central to the new economy, and it’s a powerful force in commercial and residential real estate—particularly in urban centers. For some, sharing a workspace or a home is based on economic efficiencies (lower pricing and streamlined services like cleaning, cooking and child care); for others, it’s driven by hopeful ideals (like-minded people, community events, friendships). Either way, good design is table stakes. WeWork’s Ebbie Wisecarver and Common’s Brad Hargreaves will address questions such as, How do we think about designing for the future of living and working as sharing becomes the norm? What are people looking for in shared spaces? And how can these learnings translate to other areas of design?
Ebbie Wisecarver joined WeWork in 2015 and currently oversees 730+ buildings worldwide as the company’s global head of design. Previously, she worked as a designer at Diller Scofidio + Renfro New York. She holds a master’s in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.
Designing for TV
On the new Netflix series Instant Dream Home, a high-energy team of design pros complete dramatic 12-hour transformations for unsuspecting families. Dubbed “part home renovation show, part heist movie,” each episode details the ups and downs of a project as it unfolds over one long day of painstaking plans and big risks. But how did they really make it happen? In a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to push a project across the finish line, interior designer Adair Curtis and carpenter Erik Curtis (no relation) share how they utilized innovative built elements to meet looming deadlines—and how those same strategies and solutions can be applied to today’s challenging design/build environment.
Adair Curtis is the co-founder and managing partner of JSN Studio, a multidisciplinary design and styling firm based in Los Angeles. A celebrity interior designer with a business management and communications background, he is widely regarded for his clean aesthetic and elegant approach to style and living. Curtis is a 1stDibs 50 Honoree and stars in the new Netflix series Instant Dream Home.
Working in the New World
What does work look like in the 21st century, and how long will “The Great Resignation” be a pain point for employers? Career experts Billy Clark and Clayton Apgar posit that, while work has undoubtedly evolved, it still retains its existential importance in giving us structure, meaning and a sense of identity. What form work will take going forward, however, is the subject of much debate. Drawing from their new book, The Little Book to Land Your Dream Job, and new podcast, The Hire Life, the business partners examine the elements critical to developing a professional identity, hiring the right candidates and creating a work culture that supports your best people. They also share insights and lessons from the decades of work they’ve done with companies and individuals in the interior design and home industry. Stay for a book signing following the talk.
Billy Clark is the founder of Billy Clark Creative Management (BCCM). Prior to opening the agency, he spent 11 years building the recruiting firm Jack Kelly & Partners after starting his career in investor relations at Taylor Rafferty. A graduate of Boston College, he now divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.
Clayton Apgar is a partner at BCCM. He began his career in public relations at Enterprise Community Partners and for seven years was an actor, working on Broadway and in television and film. After leading his own interior design practice, he spent two years on the design team at Michael S Smith. He holds an MFA in acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University. He lives with his wife and son in Southern California.
Designer Case Study: Redefining Your Role as Your Firm Grows
As her firm grew, designer Kelly Finley had a decision to make: Stay small or change everything. She chose to go big, hiring an operations manager to help her implement new systems and repositioning herself as the company’s creative director. In this conversation, Finley explains why she hired an external CFO for strategic financial guidance, what it takes to rethink processes to facilitate growth, and how she’s pivoting from hands-on client management to guiding the firm’s big-picture vision.
Kelly Finley is the founder, CEO and creative director of Joy Street Design, a nationally recognized full-service interior design firm with offices in Atlanta and Oakland, California. As a former lawyer, Finley is no stranger to managing large, complex projects. With her fun personality, energy and love of bold colors, she brings the perfect combination of project management, creative design ideas and unparalleled service to her clients. In 2018, she founded Joy Street Initiative, an organization dedicated to improving lives through transforming spaces. The nonprofit is guided by the belief that restoring dignity and ownership in your living space is extremely important, especially when you are in transition out of hardship or trauma. Joy Street Design donates 10% of its profits to the program, which, along with vendor support, enables the nonprofit to transform the spaces of Bay Area shelters for women and children. Finley studied interior design and interior architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a law degree from Stanford Law School and a business degree from Emory University. She has been featured on the Today show, HGTV and KQED, as well as in a variety of publications, including House Beautiful, the San Francisco Chronicle, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, California Home + Design, San Francisco magazine, This Old House, Gentry magazine and Apartment Therapy.
Growing a Better Future
Manufacturers are experimenting with every conceivable alternative material in the race toward a more sustainable future. But while many fashion brands have already adopted eco-conscious fabrics, the home industry has been slower to make that shift. At the forefront of the movement are Danielle Trofe and Tessa Callaghan. As the founders of businesses focused on plant-based materials, they exemplify how entrepreneurs are paving the way for the home sector’s material revolution. Together, they discuss the challenges of working with alternative materials, why consumer demand for them is so strong and how the design industry can get on board.
Danielle Trofe is a biodesigner, biomimicry specialist and founder of a Brooklyn-based design studio that’s been creating sustainable solutions at the intersection of science, technology and design for more than a decade. As a consultant, she advises organizations about ways to adopt nature-inspired design strategies, and she has taught courses on the subject at Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design at The New School. Her work includes most notably the award-winning MushLume Lighting Collection, a biofabricated product line grown from mushroom mycelium. Trofe’s designs have been featured at the Design Museum in London, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Bryant Park, as well as many prominent hotels, restaurants and public spaces.
The Future of Good Business
A refreshing new corporate trend has begun to take hold in recent years: Businesses are starting to behave more like humans. Rather than focusing solely on profit, they are holding themselves accountable for their social and environmental impact. Many companies are working with the nonprofit B Lab to become Certified B Corporations, businesses that have met stringent standards for their mission and the value they create for their employees, community and clients. B Corps communicate their mission and create value for their employees, community and environment within a verified framework, which then allows them to organize as a Certified B Corporation. In this talk, Christopher Marquis, author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, joins Eric Edelson, of B Corp Fireclay Tile, who explains how he is using his company as a catalyst for social change—and attracting a better pool of talent and a new base of conscious consumers as a result.
Christopher Marquis is the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and the author of the award-winning book Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism. His research and writing focus on how businesses are creating a more resilient and sustainable capitalism by focusing on the elusive triple bottom line of environmental, social and financial performance. Prior to joining Cornell, Marquis worked at Harvard Business School for 10 years, developing an award-winning course on social entrepreneurship. He is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed academic articles and more than 50 Harvard business cases on topics related to sustainable business, and has earned awards for scholarly achievement from the Academy of Management and the American Sociological Association. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology and business administration from the University of Michigan.
Growing a Better Future
Manufacturers are experimenting with every conceivable alternative material in the race toward a more sustainable future. But while many fashion brands have already adopted eco-conscious fabrics, the home industry has been slower to make that shift. At the forefront of the movement are Danielle Trofe and Tessa Callaghan. As the founders of businesses focused on plant-based materials, they exemplify how entrepreneurs are paving the way for the home sector’s material revolution. Together, they discuss the challenges of working with alternative materials, why consumer demand for them is so strong and how the design industry can get on board.
Tessa Callaghan is the co-founder and CEO at AlgiKnit, a biomaterials company working to provide fashion brands with kelp-based textiles. AlgiKnit’s yarn development is driven by sustainable needs, cost competitiveness and the establishment of a circular economy. With a background in design and innovation, Callaghan is leading a growing team to work across the supply chain, connecting and aligning partners, brands and manufacturers to achieve their sustainability goals and transform the textile ecosystem.
The Future of Life at Home
The future of home is a heavy topic, so we asked two of the wittiest creatives we know—Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan—to weigh in on what life at home will look like in the future. Don’t expect research or data—this is straight from the crystal (or Lucite) ball.
Jonathan Adler can trace his illustrious career as a potter to the first time he gave the wheel a spin at summer camp when he was 12 years old. After a college professor told him, “You have no talent. Move to New York and become a lawyer,” he listened—only to quit law and get back behind the wheel three years later. In 1993, Barneys bought his first collection of pots; in 1998, he opened his first store. Today, Adler has stores around the globe, and his offerings span furniture, lighting and decor. His motto? “If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it.”
Sustainable Supply Chains
Consumption patterns have shifted, and there is increasingly an expectation among consumers for brands to be mindful of their environmental impact. But while the furniture industry is a top culprit in deforestation, which is a key contributor to climate change, few companies are offering meaningful solutions. How can furniture designers and manufacturers build a better supply chain and lessen the industry’s environmental impact? From 3D-printed food waste and localized micro-factories to alternative materials, the leaders of two sustainable-first luxury home brands discuss the ways they are doing it.
Phillip Raub is the CEO of Model No., a company that delivers luxury furnishings that are good for people and the planet. Prior to his current position, he co-founded B8ta, where he pioneered the retail-as-a-service model, growing the business to more than 30 global locations. He has also held various leadership roles at Google Nest, Nintendo and Gap Inc.
Sustainable Supply Chains
Consumption patterns have shifted, and there is increasingly an expectation among consumers for brands to be mindful of their environmental impact. But while the furniture industry is a top culprit in deforestation, which is a key contributor to climate change, few companies are offering meaningful solutions. How can furniture designers and manufacturers build a better supply chain and lessen the industry’s environmental impact? From 3D-printed food waste and localized micro-factories to alternative materials, the leaders of two sustainable-first luxury home brands—Whitney Frances Falk and Phillip Raub—will discuss the ways they are doing it.
Whitney Frances Falk is the founder of ZZ Driggs, a New York–based Certified B Corporation focusing on sustainability in home furnishings. A three-time Webby Award honoree and Fast Company Innovation by Design Award winner, she has a background in experiential and interior design, including set design for mass meditation movement The Big Quiet, and a degree in art history from the University of Miami. In her previous career as a stockbroker at global investment bank Jefferies, she analyzed equities including specialty furniture retailers and manufacturers.
The Future of Virtual Worlds and NFTs
Starting with Beeple’s non-fungible token sale for $69 million in March 2021, NFTs and digital real estate have had a breakout year. Although the number of users in metaverses is still small, selling real-world products to people in virtual worlds may become a cost-effective way to market. (To wit: Adidas dropped a collaboration with Karlie Kloss inside Decentraland, where attendees from all over the world could get a free virtual pair of Adidas shoes for their avatar to wear.) If a virtual storefront can cater to an infinite number of potential customers (millions more than walk down Madison Avenue in a year), then its value may reach Beeple levels. The rapid adoption of NFTs by the art world demonstrates just how quickly these changes can take place. As real-world companies set up shop in virtual worlds, they have the potential to drive up property values around them and foster investment in community-building projects, building a new and valuable digital real estate ecosystem with credible players and significant price tags. In this talk, Noah Davis of Christie’s and fund manager Janine Yorio demystify the virtual landscape and spotlight the innovations to come.
Janine Yorio is the co-manager at Republic Realm, a pioneer in the nascent decentralized commerce industry and the world’s first digital real estate development company, with a footprint across seven metaverses and a development team on three continents. She was previously the CEO of Compound, a fintech app focused on real estate investing that was backed by leading VC firms NEA and Founders Fund, and that was acquired by Republic in 2020. She also previously worked in private equity for Northstar Capital and in real estate and hotel development at The Standard Hotels. She is a graduate of Yale University.
The sharp pivot to working remotely at the onset of the pandemic has cemented online design as a fixture in the industry, but what form it takes is still open to interpretation. Four designers with a variety of reasons for venturing into virtual services—as well as a mix of approaches to connecting with clients digitally, from 15-minute video calls to longer-term relationships that culminate in a shopping list—shed light on what they’re doing, how they make it work, how they’ve made it lucrative and what you stand to gain (and lose) when designing online.
Katie Rosenfeld is a nationally published designer best known for her optimistic, layered, eclectic yet classic and clean style, as featured in Veranda, Country Living and The Wall Street Journal. Based in Boston, she has projects throughout the United States. While her style is rooted in tradition, Rosenfeld always infuses her designs with that one “imperfect” moment that makes a space feel just the right amount of edgy, happy and cool. Clients come to her for fresh, timeless and truly livable interiors that meet the demands of busy family life while still managing to look effortlessly chic.
The Future of Media
The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.
Zach Klein is CEO of Dwell, the leading media brand and marketplace for contemporary home design, reaching more than 30 million people annually. Klein co-founded Vimeo, and he also created Cabin Porn, the website that inspired a global fascination with small homes in beautiful settings. He turned the cult obsession into a household name by publishing a New York Times bestselling book of the same name, now available in eight languages with more than 400,000 copies in print worldwide. He recently released a second volume (Cabin Porn: Inside), which serves as a valuable reference for both the cabin builder and anyone seeking perspective on creating small spaces that work.
Designer Case Study: Enhancing Your ROI
When the industry hit a standstill in the early days of the pandemic, designer Everick Brown consulted a business coach with a simple goal: By the time the world reopened, he wanted Everick Brown Design to be an essential business. With his partner and co-founder, Lisa Walker Brown, he began to study his past clients and what made each relationship successful. In this talk, the couple share how understanding their own dynamic led them to better understand their client base—and their unique place among the competition.
Everick Brown Design is a New York–based interior design firm led by the husband-and-wife team of Everick Brown and Lisa Walker Brown, who blend modern and classic styles to deliver beautiful, timeless interiors for residential and commercial clients. With an intense focus on enhancing return on investment, the duo works with clients to avoid common design pitfalls. After more than two decades of experience working with divergent perspectives, they are adept at navigating the design conversation through transparent budgeting, clear communication and a balanced approach. The firm has designed homes throughout the U.S., and their commercial projects include the United States Tennis Association President’s Suite at the U.S. Open, John Ridley’s NōO Studios in Milwaukee, and the Coveleigh Club in Rye, New York. Their interiors have been published in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Westchester magazine, as well as being featured on NBC’s Open House NYC.
Making Online Design Work for You
The sharp pivot to working remotely at the onset of the pandemic has cemented online design as a fixture in the industry, but what form it takes is still open to interpretation. Four designers with a variety of reasons for venturing into virtual services—as well as a mix of approaches to connecting with clients digitally, from 15-minute video calls to longer-term relationships that culminate in a shopping list—shed light on what they’re doing, how they make it work, how they’ve made it lucrative and what you stand to gain (and lose) when designing online.
Kobel + Co. principals Mallory Robins and Elizabeth Bennett decided long ago that their studio would live and die by one simple ideology: What’s best for the design? Asking this question early and often has resulted in explosive growth for the Kansas City–based firm over the past five years. The duo’s design ethos, complementary yin-and-yang dynamic and talent for creating family-friendly spaces that don’t skimp on style have won Kobel + Co. many large-scale residential clients in Kansas City and across the country, via both traditional in-person offerings and their proprietary e-design service, Shoppable Design.
Sustainable Supply Chains
Consumption patterns have shifted, and there is increasingly an expectation among consumers for brands to be mindful of their environmental impact. But while the furniture industry is a top culprit in deforestation, which is a key contributor to climate change, few companies are offering meaningful solutions. How can furniture designers and manufacturers build a better supply chain and lessen the industry’s environmental impact? From 3D-printed food waste and localized micro-factories to alternative materials, the leaders of two sustainable-first luxury home brands discuss the ways they are doing it.
Jerri Hobdy began her career as a product designer for Wisteria and Anthropologie Home before opening her own furniture and lighting design business, where she works with top retailers, hospitality partners and factories including Arteriors, Four Hands and Ash. In late 2021, she launched her private label, Meno Home, which offers curated vintage furnishings along with her signature clean candles. A line of environmentally friendly home goods is slated to debut in the U.S. market this fall.
Designer Case Study: Putting the Client Experience First
Six years ago, Cortney Bishop’s new business manager asked her what makes her clients happy. The designer was quick to answer: “Coming in on budget and on time.” With that as the ultimate objective, she retooled her workflow, changed the way she talked about money with clients, and even opened a warehouse space to launch her own receiving business. In this conversation, she explains why prioritizing the client experience at every step of the design process is her secret to success.
Cortney Bishop, principal designer and owner of Cortney Bishop Design, founded the full-service interior design firm in 2007. She holds a BBA in business marketing from the University of Georgia, and pursued her design career by blending her passions for travel, art, fashion and music. Her wide-ranging talent and innate ability to mix patterns and hues has resulted in a robust portfolio of diverse, inspiring residential and commercial projects, each reflective of the client’s lifestyle, personality and aesthetic. With a vision that runs the gamut of style and structure, Bishop enjoys inspiring other creatives, clients and everyday people through design. In 2019, she launched Harwood House, a line of woven textiles in collaboration with Holland & Sherry. This fall, her second collection, Kalos, is set to debut. Most recently, Bishop and her team completed The Ryder, her first fully branded, escape-meets-experience boutique hotel in Charleston, SC.
Redefining Design
For too long, the Black family home has been a missing piece in the narratives of both interior design and American history. But thanks to a forthcoming book from Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, that’s about to change. By redefining “home” and exploring its role as a cornerstone of Black culture and life, while also documenting obstacles like gentrification and redlining that Black homeowners have faced for generations, it helps complete the picture of a long-overlooked yet vitally important part of the country’s housing market. Ahead of its November publication, Hays and Mason offer a first look at the art- and heirloom-filled pages of AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home and share why it’s so essential to honor the journey, recognize the struggle and celebrate the joy of these spaces.
AphroChic is dedicated to exploring the intersection of modern design and global culture across diverse populations, with a focus on highlighting culture, creativity, art, fashion and food within the African diaspora. Founded by husband-and-wife team Bryan Mason and Jeanine Hays, the brand started as a blog before quickly expanding into creative fields such as interior design, product design and content creation. Through projects with HGTV, House Beautiful and their own publication, AphroChic magazine, they have been documenting the Black family home and Black contributions to design for more than a decade. Experts storytellers, the pair are also the authors of Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects and Soul and were the producers of Sneak Peek With AphroChic, a groundbreaking house tour series created exclusively for HGTV’s Facebook Live channel. The brand has been featured in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, People and New York, which celebrated AphroChic as one of the top interior design firms in the city.
The Future of Media
The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.
As general manager and senior vice president of the Home Group at Dotdash, Mélanie Berliet oversees all content initiatives and business strategies for The Spruce, The Spruce Pets, The Spruce Crafts and MyDomaine. She has more than 15 years of experience creating, managing, and publishing lifestyle content across platforms. Prior to joining Dotdash in 2018, Berliet was the chief editorial director of Thought Catalog. She has worked as a producer and writer for brands including MTV, Vanity Fair, Elle, New York, The Atlantic, Esquire and Cosmopolitan. She started her career as an analyst in the Fixed Income Division of Credit Suisse.
Intro to Holistic Design
Holistic design is based on the premise that mental and physical health are enhanced by the quality of interior environments. Using that framework as the essence of her practice, Gala Magriñá explains how she works with clients to design spaces that support their minds, bodies and spirits. In addition to creating rooms that simply feel good, holistic design can also promote overall health—by eliminating poor lighting, for example, which can induce stress, and renovating to allow for more natural light, a key factor in our bodies’ regulation of immune system functioning and sleep. With a tool kit that’s as much about overarching ideas and theory as it is tactical, actionable solutions, Magriñá shares how to incorporate holistic design principles into the daily workings of a firm and promote wellness throughout the design process.
Raised in New York and Barcelona, Gala Magriñá founded her multidisciplinary firm, Gala Magriñá Design, in 2017. While her interest in interiors can be traced back to her Hawaiian-themed childhood bedroom, her career was ultimately shaped by her education as a film student at New York University and her eventual role as the founder of M Crown Productions, an award-winning production design agency that focused on events, pop-ups and exhibition and retail displays. Her interest in holistic design and mindfulness practices influenced her career shift from events and temporary spaces to interiors, and it continues to inform the mission of her business today.
How Well Does Work-From-Anywhere Work?
As design professionals, we are curious about the future of work—both in terms of what we do for our own firms and what we are asked to build for our clients. Are we building cozy home offices in a suburb, or corner suites in a tower? We’ve heard about clients canceling design plans for a home office once they were called back to HQ, while others doubled down on the home office. Raj Choudhury is one of the foremost experts on the future of work, especially the changing geography of work and productivity effects of remote work practices such as work-from-anywhere (WFA), all-remote and hybrid-remote. Long before the pandemic, he was calling on companies to become WFA organizations. Now that they have, what have we learned about productivity and flexibility in the past year? What are the pros and cons of WFA for individuals and for companies? Choudhury answers these questions and more as he discusses a few of the hybrid work models he studies (such as the TCS 25-25 and remote-first) and shares how he thinks the future of work will ultimately play out.
Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury is the Lumry Family Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School, and was an assistant professor at Wharton prior to that. His Harvard Business Review article “Our Work-From-Anywhere Future” was a finalist for the 2020 HBR McKinsey Award; he has advised organizations like Google, Walmart, Arrow Electronics, Careem, Atlassian and Deloitte on the future of work; and his research has been cited by notable outlets including BBC, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The World Economic Forum. Choudhury earned his doctorate from Harvard, and has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. Prior to academia, he worked at McKinsey & Company, Microsoft and IBM.
The Future of Media
The media landscape is in a moment of transition: E-commerce platforms are publishing their own content, legacy magazine brands are relying on affiliate programs, and journalists are untethering from publishing companies to become substackers or social media influencers. What even counts as media anymore, and where does the home industry fit in? Brian Morrissey interviews Zach Klein of Dwell and Mélanie Berliet of Dotdash about why content is still king, but where you put it and how you monetize it is paramount to success.
Brian Morrissey writes The Rebooting, a weekly newsletter focused on building sustainable media businesses. Until last October, he was the president and editor in chief of Digiday Media, a vertical company that has titles covering media and marketing (Digiday), fashion and beauty (Glossy), and retail (Modern Retail). At Digiday, he was responsible for all editorial across the brands, memberships, product, events programming and design. Prior to joining the company in 2011, he had been digital editor at Adweek for six years.
Reframing the Metaverse
Rather than dismissing the metaverse as a dystopian notion, David Truog views the digital landscape as an enhancement of the physical world—provided we make good design decisions about it. He makes the case that the metaverse is not new: Humans have been world-building for centuries, whether in a novel written 300 years ago that presents an imaginary place; designed objects and interiors that can act as an escape from external realities; or even modern-day digital experiences on your iPhone. In this presentation and conversation, Truog highlights some of the ways the metaverse offers a profoundly human experience, demonstrating how the basic concept is one designers are already using and sharing examples of how they and the brands they represent can further embrace it to enrich their craft.
David Truog researches innovation, tools and best practices at the intersection of technology and design, with an emphasis on conversational AI (voice and text virtual assistants or chatbots), the metaverse, extended reality (augmented, virtual and mixed) and other emerging advancements in the field. His passions also include filmmaking, coding and photography.
The Future of Shared Space
The idea of sharing is central to the new economy, and it’s a powerful force in commercial and residential real estate—particularly in urban centers. For some, sharing a workspace or a home is based on economic efficiencies (lower pricing and streamlined services like cleaning, cooking and child care); for others, it’s driven by hopeful ideals (like-minded people, community events, friendships). Either way, good design is table stakes. WeWork’s Ebbie Wisecarver and Common’s Brad Hargreaves will address questions such as, How do we think about designing for the future of living and working as sharing becomes the norm? What are people looking for in shared spaces? And how can these learnings translate to other areas of design?
Brad Hargreaves is the founder and CEO of Common, the nation’s leading co-living brand, which designs and manages multifamily apartments with more than 6,000 residents in over 10 markets across the country. Before founding Common in early 2015, he co-founded General Assembly, a global education institution with campuses in more than 15 cities worldwide. As part of the General Assembly founding team, he led the growth of the company's education business from its launch in 2011 into a global institutio. Most recently, he was a venture partner at Maveron, General Assembly's lead investor. Hargreaves won an Ernst and Young 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year New York award, and has been named to Vanity Fair’s Next Establishment list, Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100, and the Crain’s 2017 40 Under Forty.
Making Online Design Work for You
The sharp pivot to working remotely at the onset of the pandemic has cemented online design as a fixture in the industry, but what form it takes is still open to interpretation. Four designers with a variety of reasons for venturing into virtual services—as well as a mix of approaches to connecting with clients digitally, from 15-minute video calls to longer-term relationships that culminate in a shopping list—shed light on what they’re doing, how they make it work, how they’ve made it lucrative and what you stand to gain (and lose) when designing online.
Tina Ramchandani developed her design expertise at several top-tier, high-end residential and commercial interior design firms, including Vicente Wolf Associates, which led to the formation of her own company, Tina Ramchandani Creative, in 2014. Her twin passions for amazing travel experiences and gorgeous design discoveries inform her work and her spirit. When not leading a team of talented designers at TRC’s headquarters in Manhattan, she enjoys all her home city has to offer alongside her husband, Ajay, and spunky dog, Figaro.
The Future of Product Discovery
What if you could point your phone at anything—a brand-new sofa, an antique vase, anything—and know exactly where it came from and how much it was worth? What if your clients could do the same? For most of the history of the internet, searching has been text-based: You type what you’re looking for into Google and hope for the best. Now, a wave of new technological developments is making visual search better and better—soon, what once seemed like science fiction will be part of everyday shopping. In a compelling presentation, Clark Boyd explains why we’re on the cusp of a search revolution and what it will mean for the design industry.
Clark Boyd is a digital strategy consultant, professor and author. He has held senior leadership positions at marketing agencies in London and New York, where he devised and implemented global strategies for clients including American Express, General Motors and Adidas. He works with business schools at the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and Columbia University to structure master’s degree courses on data analytics and digital marketing. A recent appointee to the industry advisor panel for Columbia’s Media and Technology program, Boyd regularly delivers keynote speeches on data science and marketing and has been featured as a technology expert on the BBC and in the San Francisco Chronicle and Vice.
Building Momentum for a Rapidly Evolving Future
Instead of pining for an eventual return to “the way things used to be,” we must adapt our lives (and our businesses) to a new world and a new reality. In many cases, the circumstances of the pandemic accelerated many already developing trends; in others, they caused consumers to pause, reset and shift priorities. Either way, personal spaces are now being recalibrated, and design in all of its manifestations will be one of the most important growth areas as we enter the early stages of a Roaring 2020s. In this talk, futurist Jared Weiner stimulates new thinking and offers insights on how to better capitalize on emerging opportunities.
As a leader at The Future Hunters, one of the world’s top futurist consulting firms, Jared Weiner evaluates emerging social, technological, economic, political, demographic and environmental trends in the global marketplace and identifies the strategic implications (the “So what?”) of those trends.
Cultivating a Growth Mindset
When you start your firm as a solo practitioner, it can be hard to get out of your own way once your business begins to grow. (After wearing all the hats from the outset, it’s easy—and understandable—to believe that no one else could pull them off even half as well as you.) But by systematically reorganizing her approach so that she could focus on the aspects of interior design she loves the most, Arianne Bellizaire cracked the code to developing talent, delegating effectively and telegraphing the value of her team to clients. In this empowering talk, she shares how she shored up her processes, then got comfortable not having her hands in every part of her business.
Arianne Bellizaire is a sought-after media personality and the CEO behind her full-service design firm, Arianne Bellizaire Interiors. Recognized as a leader for the next generation of design, her integrated technology, ROI-focused strategy and trend-forward work have graced the pages of Architectural Digest, Forbes and House Beautiful. Hospitality is embedded in the DNA of her Baton Rouge, Louisiana, firm and can be felt from the way she designs to how she partners with clients.
The Challenge of Change
One of the biggest cultural shifts in the past year has been a refocus on equity in design. Companies, organizations and media brands have funded scholarships, built programs and launched initiatives—and while the momentum is exciting, real change takes time. One of the most notable efforts has been the Diversity in Design Collaborative (DID), which aims to gather the resources of major companies—from Gap and Adobe to Herman Miller—to build a pipeline of Black designers, broadening the talent pool. In this talk, DID co-founder Caroline Baumann, and Eddie Opara of DID member organization Pentagram and Rupal Parekh of DID member organization Work & Co. discuss the urgency of the initiative, the roadblocks to success, and what the industry can and must do to make real change.
Rupal Parekh is a partner at Work & Co, a design and technology company with nearly 400 employees across six global offices in the United States, South America and Europe. She leads marketing for the company and specializes in content strategy and messaging development, partnering with clients—which include Ikea, Gatorade, Apple, Nike, Mercedes and Give Blck—to launch successful digital products and new initiatives. Prior to Work & Co, Parekh was a strategic adviser to agencies, startups and brands, and a longtime business journalist and editor at Advertising Age. She has an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Well-Designed was founded by interior designer Caleb Anderson, co-principal of the award-winning firm Drake/Anderson, and his partner, DeAndre DeVane, with the mission of curating meaningful wellness and learning experiences that support a healthier, happier and more harmonious design community. Through industry-supported events, workshops and retreats, Well-Designed serves as a catalyst for change within the culture, encouraging an industry where creative brilliance co-exists with wellness and authentic connection fosters an environment of support, compassion and unity.
The Future of Residential Real Estate
There’s no better bellwether for the interior design industry than the real estate market: When home sales are up, renovations and design projects are close behind. But as real estate prices have skyrocketed in the past year, new models for co-owning and long-term renting are emerging as attractive options—especially at the luxury end of the market. Owning a second home is becoming more accessible with Pacaso, a new venture from Zillow founder Spencer Rascoff and Dotloop founder Austin Allison. Now valued at $1 billion, Pacaso acquires luxury homes and sells up to eight shares (most range from $25,000 to $1 million) in the properties; shareholders stay for a set number of weeks per year, depending on the size of their stake. Allison discusses how these businesses impact the American dream of homeownership in a tight market and what opportunities they present for the design industry.
Austin Allison co-founded Pacaso in 2020 with Zillow founder Spencer Rascoff to make the dream of owning a second home a reality for more people after experiencing the profound effect it had on his own life. He started selling real estate at the age of 18 and worked in residential and commercial real estate for a decade. Pacaso is his second startup. In 2009 in his hometown of Cincinnati, he founded Dotloop, a company that created software to seamlessly manage real estate transactions. After Zillow Group acquired the company six years ago, he continued to run it as a Zillow executive until 2018. Allison enjoys running, flying and race car driving. He lives in Napa, California, with his wife and dog.
Wellness for Designers
Sponsored by Benjamin Moore
Heavy workloads and demanding schedules are the new reality for many designers, resulting in unsustainable patterns and, in some cases, burnout, anxiety and poor mental health. After experiencing aspects of this personally, designer Caleb Anderson embarked on a multiyear journey of wellness, which led him to co-found an initiative dedicated to supporting the design community through shared wellness experiences. In this discussion, Anderson and his co-founder DeAndre DeVane, along with psychologist Amanda Hilton, explore the importance of adapting a healthier framework for work and life, offer ways to authentically connect as an industry and outline a path designers can take individually and collectively to achieve a healthier way of being—one where creativity, relationships and business flourish.
Amanda Hilton is a wellness consultant and founder of The Simply Well, an online education platform specializing in personal growth, community care and goal setting. She holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute and undergraduate degrees in education and psychology from Skidmore College. Her work has included facilitating workshops on emotional resilience, designing wellness-based programming tailored to partner organizations’ specific values and audiences, and teaching family mindfulness and yoga. Passionate about using empirical science to dissect widespread wellness tropes, she considers personal and community well-being as vitally interdependent pieces of the same puzzle.
The Future of Good Business
A refreshing new corporate trend has begun to take hold in recent years: Businesses are starting to behave more like humans. Rather than focusing solely on profit, they are holding themselves accountable for their social and environmental impact. Many companies are working with the nonprofit B Lab to become Certified B Corporations, businesses that have met stringent standards for their mission and the value they create for their employees, community and clients. B Corps communicate their mission and create value for their employees, community and environment within a verified framework, which then allows them to organize as a Certified B Corporation. In this talk, Christopher Marquis, author of Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism, joins Eric Edelson, of B Corp Fireclay Tile, who explains how he is using his company as a catalyst for social change—and attracting a better pool of talent and a new base of conscious consumers as a result.
Eric Edelson joined Fireclay Tile, a 35-year-old vertically integrated Certified B Corp, in 2009, and has helped grow it from 20 to more than 200 teammates while delighting residential and commercial clients with work that ranges from small decorative pieces to large-scale projects for clients like Google, Whole Foods and New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Edelson has an MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. from Amherst College. He lives in California with his wife and two girls, is an avid trail runner and an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
Nail Your Pricing Strategy
Sean Low is the founder and president of The Business of Being Creative, a consulting firm focused on providing practical advice to creative professionals. He is passionate about challenging such businesses to be the best versions of themselves, helping them set the foundation for growth and development and working alongside them to take their businesses as far as they want to go. His clientele boasts an impressive list of creative business owners—from florists and fashion brands to photographers and designers—including Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Vicente Wolf, Barry Dixon, Kevin Isbell and McGrath II. Prior to founding his own company, Low spent several years as president of Preston Bailey Design, Inc. He has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and credits his present business acumen to his previous experience as a lawyer, investment banker, financial executive and entrepreneur.
Master Your Money Mindset
Justine Clay is a speaker, writer and business coach for creative entrepreneurs and freelancers. Using her actionable Profitable by Design framework, she helps established creative professionals and business owners identify and articulate their unique value, position themselves to high-quality, well-paying clients and build a fulfilling, efficient and prosperous creative business.
Find Your Inner Design Book
Kim Perel has more than 15 years combined experience in magazine and book publishing. As the founder of Paper Over Board, a subsidiary of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency specializing in lifestyle titles, she conceptualizes, sells and writes books for the “Big Five” publishers that consistently rank at the top of global sales for the category on industry watchlist Publisher’s Marketplace. Her credits include Make Something Good Today by HGTV stars Ben and Erin Napier, House Story by HGTV star Jasmine Roth, Living with Pattern and Living with Color by artist and textile designer Rebecca Atwood, The New Southern by renowned interiors photographer Alyssa Rosenheck and The New Bohemians Handbook by multimedia sensation Justina Blakeney. In addition to designers, Perel represents award-winning chefs, journalists, memoirists, spiritual gurus and more.