IDS National Conference 2016

The 2016 Interior Design Society (IDS) National Conference was held in Dallas, TX last week from Wednesday March 30th to Friday April 2nd. The theme for this year’s conference was “Building a Better Business: One Design at a Time.” The 3-day event showcased a variety of successful industry entrepreneurs and design coaches each of whom imparted their wisdom and shared their contrasting formulas for success within the dynamic interior design industry. Attendees were given the opportunity to network with designers from across the country, gained new entrepreneurial insights, and were exposed to a variety of fresh approaches for running a lucrative design business.

As President of the IDS New York Chapter, I was invited to attend a conference leadership session on the Wednesday. It was a wonderful opportunity to re-connect with some familiar faces from within the IDS community. Our sessions focused on establishing strategies for building a better chapter and raising awareness, organizing and promoting events, and developing more stringent membership guidelines. Our evening concluded with an opening cocktail reception at Arteriors wonderful showroom in the Dallas Design District.

The general conference commenced bright and early on the Thursday morning. Featured keynote speakers included Gail Doby and Lloyd Princeton, both of whom spoke about how to add value to your business through pricing, legal contracts, social media and more. I was fortunate enough to speak to an enthused audience about my own unique combination of Feng Shui and interior design, followed by a wonderful interview with Donna Drake of “Live it Up,” a weekly online TV show that’s” dedicated to delivering messages of hope, motivation and inspiration.” After a sales master-class with Fred Berns, the day concluded with a tour of the Dallas Design Center and a cocktail party hosted by Global Views – what a wonderful product showroom!

On Friday, the final day, Nina Magon, Jennifer Wagner and Nick May spoke about their unique products and services in a panel discussion lead by Barbara Viteri of “Designerlebrity.” The set for the discussion was provided by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and the contributions from each of the panelists were both informative and entertaining. The conference concluded on the Friday night with the Designer of the Year Awards Dinner where our NY Chapter and friend Toni Sabatino were both given awards (for outstanding networking event of the year). The drinks flowed and the fun continued well into the night – a wonderful conclusion to a truly fabulous conference.

Thanks to IDS National and our corporate sponsors for putting together such a wonderful and engaging event. See you next year!