Posts from — March 2012

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Spotted at M&O- studio job’s (job smeets and nynke tynagel) collection of five stunning pieces of kitchenware entitled, ‘containers II’.

The project began during the design process of ‘piece for peace’ which the duo developed in association with Belgian crystal producer Val Saint Lambert. They stumbled on a supply of hundred year-old hand-blown crystal pieces that were never crafted into finished products. studio job transformed five pieces from the unfinished stock and rework them into unique vessels including a coffee pot, a waste basket, a casserole, and a chafing dish.

Each piece became individual when they colored and intricately cut the original crystal , and added polished and patinated bronze elements. They were unveiled at Design Miami before crossing the pond to Paris for M&O.

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Design Confidential just returned home from sunny and warm L.A and the Design Bloggers Conference and it was AWESOME! I have been to a lot of conferences and trade shows and I can honestly say it was the best one I have been to in 5 years. I credit the enthusiastic and open attendees, the well planned and executed agenda, the amazing lineup of marketers and design bloggers. This was the first time I have attended and it was all I expected and more.

The event kicked off with Martyn Lawrence Bullard walking through a retrospective of his work, sharing personal stories and giving us an inside peek to the lives of the rich and famous. (Love how his entrepreneurial spirit sparked his design career; that man has seen it all and the world.) There was no let up with two days filled with nonstop education, networking, and epiphanies all rolled up into one big extraordinary experience that finished Tuesday evening with a party at Harbinger in West Hollywood hosted by Trad Home/ Kravet and Bunny Williams. Here’s my roundup report of the conference.

I loved the shadowboxes and in a room full of designers you can bet they were rearranging the furniture!

Social Media Star Sightings:

• Rhonda Carmen, All the Best
• Tobi Fairley
• Martyn Lawrence Bullard
• Bunny Williams
• Cassandra LaValle Coco + Kelley
• Leslie Carothers
• Macala Wright , FMM
• Annie Selke, Pine Cone Hill
• Stacy Kunstel, Stacy Style
• Lisa Ferguson, Décor Mentor
• Holly Hollingsworth Phillips, The English Room

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The list goes on and on….

Best Memory: Technically my best memory wasn’t at DBC, BUT, if I hadn’t gone and met up with fellow designer Cheryl Draa; it would never had happened. Cheryl and I were invited to Hutton Wilkinson’s Sunday before the conference for tea . Hutton worked with the fabulously eccentric Tony Duquette. Duquette was a design giant and his over- the- top stylings are something I closely align with when it comes to design. Never for the life of me did I EVER think I would get a chance to have an invitation like that; (Heart be still…) yet alone to have a tour of Hutton’s jewel box house and Dawnridge – Tony Duquette’s stunning home- next door. I can’t tell you how amazing it was, the colors, the textures, the contrasts - MORE is definitely better! (More on Dawnridge, Hutton and Tony about this later this week.)

Best Quotes: The audience was all a twitter with these quotes:

“The 70’s Vibe is the new black.” Martyn Lawrence Bullard

“Commenting isn’t necessarily a bad thing; you can only say so much about pretty pictures. “ Adam Japko, Design Sherpa

“ Money is a good lubricant. ” Kimberly Seldon, Dabble

“There is a lot of value in your F—ups.” Brian Patrick Flynn, Décor Demon

Surprise!

Adam Japko, Design Sherpa and wine aficionado surprised us all with a fabulous morning toast of Pierre Gimonnet Champagne. Now that’s a ”coffee” break.

Top takeaways:

• Be your authentic self and don’t over think it. Your brand should have an authentic voice, authentic look and authentic content.
• Find your niche and blow it up.
• “Every brand has a story- What is yours? Make your story available to everyone, everywhere and you’ll be part of the conversation. Amplify your voice. Be seen, Be heard, Be Shared and Be remembered and you’ll be invited in to the tent.” Tami McCarthy

Sites I HAVE to check out: Each speaker or panelist shared their favorite resources. These are my must dos.

• Design Sherpa
• Appify- already on it!
• Discovered
• Instrgr.am
• Stipple
• Chimein
• The Fancy

DBC Buzz words

• Curated Content
• Authentic
• Subject Matter Expert
• Point of View as in “What is your point of view?”
• Relevancy
• Passion
• Tenacity
• Stories – authentic stories, tell a story, craft your brand story
• Elevate
• Focus

Lessons Learned

• Find your inspiration and lend a perspective to it to “pay it forward”. Bring inspiration in context with content.
• Promote yourself; no one else will. Something I think designers have issues with. Entrepreneurs often struggle with little self esteem .
• Collaborate with people who complement your strengths

I have already marked my calendar for next year’s event and there is even a possibility that there will be a European version. WooHoo!

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Remember your Trapper Keeper? The middle schooler’s must- have back in the day. It was every girl’s perfect depositary for all her Lisa Frank paraphernalia. As I was working my musings about Design Bloggers Conference ( BTW-Amazing- look for tomorrow’s post) I had a fashion distraction that conjured up all those Trapper Keeper memories for me. The distraction? Jeremy Scott’s sticker corset.

Scott must have had his own personal Lisa Frank moment that resulted in this sticker bustier paired with signature LF star leggings that went down the runway at Bryant Park last month. Scott is known for his eccentric designs bordering on sensory overload. His A/W 2012 collection didn’t let up with metallic techno fabrics, disco pants, rainbow fur, light-up bindi combining for some outrageous looks. My fashion distraction will play out in a scrapbooker’s dream window treatment using a mashup of stickers, papers and embellishments. Design should be fun. Oh and BTW- Lisa Frank is still designing and selling; just in case you’re in the market for a rainbow unicorn dancing with kittens.

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