On November 13 designers and industry players gathered at the offices of Traditional Home in New York for the 2018 annual meeting of the Decorative Furnishing's Association (DFA). Following the excitement of the Los Angeles e-commerce summit in May, DFA board members including president Eric Chang, vice-president Jobi Blachy and president of the DoItFor initiative Chad Stark shared insights gathered during their regional task for meetings, including a call for industry-wide pricing transparency. A discussion followed with Melody Lee, former global brand director of Cadillac, John Bricker, creative director of Gensler, and a presentation by Mike Goldman, founder of Performance Breakthrough. After a brief lunch, DFA members broke into round table-discussions to brainstorm and discuss actionable strategies for the industry.
“We were extremely encouraged by all the positive feedback from the audience that included representatives from showrooms, design centers, various media publications, vendors and manufacturers and the interior design community at large," said Chang. "The turn out and the energy in our discussions were amazing to be a part of. While our goal is ambitious and sweeping for the industry, we are energized by the commitment from the strength in numbers and the leadership of the brands represented by the DFA’s membership. Despite the massive cultural and technological shifts that have caused so much anxiety in our industry for the past decade, we in the DFA are tremendously optimistic and excited about the massive growth opportunities provided by these initiatives.”
Members in attendance represented a diverse cross-section of the design industry, hailing from Holly Hunt, Holland and Sherry, Phillip Jeffries, Artistic Tile, Zimmer Rohde, Ligne Agency, Fuigo, Fabricut, Nobilis, Kravet, Niermann Weeks, Pollack, Donghia, Stark, Hellman-Chang, Quintus, Dennis Miller, Jerry Pair, Ivy, Material Bank, Viyet/ Sotheby’s Home, Brynn Olson Design Group, Mark Cutler Design, Traditional Home, Conde Nast, Cottages and Gardens, House Beautiful, I+D Magazine, Galerie Magazine, Departures, Business of Home, The Mart, San Francisco Design Center, Boston Design Center, ADAC, Denver Design District, Seattle Design Center, Dallas Design Center, Laguna Design Center and DCI / Las Vegas Design Center.
"The recent DFA meeting in NYC was exciting on many levels," said attendee Mark Cutler of Mark Cutler Design in LA. "Designers and showrooms and manufacturers working together with common goals is great to see. The industry has changed so much in recent years its feels that we all have been working in isolation and that divided we are easily conquered. The DFA has really established itself as the preeminent hub for all members of our community to share ideas and strategies. At this meeting the results of almost a year of meetings across the country were presented along with innovative ideas for vendors to help support designers in the face of an ongoing increase in retail sources marketing directly to our client base. These ideas strive to reestablish the value proposition of our community and educate a new generation of consumers about why the design community is a necessity not just a luxury."
Images by Ayano Hisa.
