Newsletter October 2011

Board News – October 2011

 

Letter from our President – Ellen Dunn, ASID

Why do I feel so strongly about ASIDCT ?

It is our professional organization, recognized on a national level.  I can’t stress that enough. Membership in this organization means that you are a committed professional who is passionate about design. Do members of AMA complain and run for the hills when the economy gets rough.  No.  And neither should we.

I could read the list of membership advantages as published by National, but you know what they are.  ASID is the best resource to help you grow your business, build your network and expand your knowledge.  If you sit in your home or office and complain about how little membership benefits you, I’m betting that you do not avail yourself of the programs on both a chapter and a national level meant to assist with your business and personal life.  I’ll bet you haven’t shared a day in the city with a wacky group of students who made you laugh a lot for RWDW.  I’ll bet you haven’t served as a mentor for student competitors in the fashion show. I’ll bet you haven’t joined a committee and helped to put together a wonderful event enjoyed by all.  I’ll bet you haven’t joined a peer group who meets regularly to share successes and help solve the issues you deal with daily.

Designers are fun, with-it people.  One of my dearest friends calls ASID her “dating” service.  This is where I have met and come to love a great group of people.  Where else can you swap stories of the disasters that befall us all……fabric being applied incorrectly, the wrong color of paint mixed by the vendor, the material you specified and/or supplied failing miserably and your being responsible, the discontinued fabric horror.  Only another designer involved in the field can feel your pain and perhaps offer a suggestion to help remedy the problem. Where else can you find people who are willing to drop everything and travel to see a show house or take a house tour or tour an installation of a new corporate facility?

We have a great line-up of programs for this coming year.  Maryann Howell has been working like a crazy person to make the Tag Sale 0n October 29^th a huge success.  And I have no doubt that it will be.  The pricing percentage ratio is structured to give our members an opportunity to recoup some funds they may have sitting in inventory. It also gives us a chance to interact with the public, to make our presence known in the community.  Our IP rep, Doug Kitchen, tells me that we also have 14 industry partners who have signed up to promote their goods and services on that day.

We have scheduled holiday party for Dec 8 in the magnificent home of a member. In addition to the Town Hall meeting in Feb which will feature a CEU opportunity, we are planning another student design competition of a different type which will be unveiled shortly.  The major fundraiser event for the spring will be our house tour of designer homes, “Designer Digs”.  Both of our major fund-raisers for this next year target the public, not our members who are struggling in this rotten economy with the challenges presented by on-line purchasing and HGTV.

In addition to our major events we also offer programs on a monthly basis provided by our industry partners thanks to our chair Betsy Lang.  Jason has instituted a speaker series which I hope we can maintain with offerings a couple of times a year.

So, the bottom line, here comes the pitch.  We need committee members for all the above exciting, fun events.  The more volunteers, the smaller the chores and the better the programs. I hope to hear from many of you, and look forward to working together over the following year.

2011 Chapter Annual Meeting

 

The CT Chapter of ASID had its Fall Meeting at the Grassy Hill Country Club in Orange on Thursday, September 15^th. All who attended enjoyed cocktails and dinner while they welcomed the new Chapter Board.

Jason Landau opened the meeting by saying he enjoyed his term of office with “a group of talented professionals” and Sara Hopkins, Treasurer, reported on the solid financial position of our chapter.

Steve Desloge spoke on the Corporate Contract Design Program he hopes to develop over the coming year and he  thanked Robin London Horn  for organizing a Fall Picnic for Emerging Professionals.

Maryann Howell, our Chapter Tag Sale Chair gave a report on the Designers’ Tag Sale which will be held on Saturday, October 29^th at Christ Church in Greenwich. (photos can be viewed on the Annual Meeting tab under Events)

Betsy Biddle Lange described the ambitious array of CEUs and Evening Programs that will be offered over the next year. We can look forward to events at United House Wrecking, Restoration Hardware, AKDO, and Design Within Reach.

Go Pro: NYC Event

Robin London Horn and Christine Bottacari attended the Go Pro: NYC   Empowering Emerging Professionals Now.  In a debut national event for emerging interior design professionals ASID welcomed nearly 100 up-and-coming designers to Manhattan for a program offering a perfect blend of networking, social and educational events.  A Vimeo video clip and interview with Robin and Christine is here

 

Letter From our IP Rep. to the Board – Douglas Kitchen

Hello, are any IP’s out there ?

I am starting my second year as ASID CT IP Liaison, This is a very difficult job as only about 10% of IP’s return phone calls or respond to e-mail. The ones who do respond are very focused on getting in front of the Interior Designers at ASID.

This year ASID CT is offering all IPs the opportunity to interact with both Designers and the public at the ASID Tag Sale which will be held on October 29^th in Greenwich. It will be the first trade show in Greenwich sponsored by ASID or any type of home remodeling group and for $75 that is an amazing opportunity. I paid $300 for the last 2 ASID trade shows I participated in.

We have 14 tables sold and only 16 more available. There will not be a better chance for years. I am so fired up about this I got my company to sponsor the event.

We have been getting a dismal IP attendance at ASID events, so let’s turn things around with this excellent chance to make you and your business’ presence known.

Chapter News

The ASID Connecticut Chapter is proud to welcome ALL our new members - 

Give them a call, invite them to a meeting and let them know about our exciting events:

Mayson Linn, Industry Partner – Fordham Marble - (203) 348-5088
Gary Catchpole, Industry Partner – GEC Design Group - (203) 329-9262
Mrs. Kaitlyn Smith, Student Member - (860) 461-0363
Ruth-Virginia Burt, Allied Member - (917) 817-3021

 

Events

We are very excited to announce the upcoming ASID CT Chapter Designer Tag Sale being held on Saturday, October 29 at Christ Church in Greenwich.  Maryann Howell, ASID and her committee have been working around the clock to make this a huge success.  Please make sure you tell all your friends – details are listed on the Events page – Tag Sale.

Kindly sponsored by:

 

 

 

 

 

Member News

 

Murphy Brothers Contracting

A recent Murphy Brothers custom home was featured in the October issue of Interiors magazine.

 

A.G. Williams Walks for Breast Cancer

On Sunday, October 2, 2011, Paul Viggiano, Director of Business Administration and Marketing, George Williams, President and CEO, and members of the A.G. Williams Painting Company team raised more than $1,100 through their participation in the 17^th Annual Support Connection Support-A-Walk at FDR State Park in Yorktown, New York. The three-mile walk, attended by over 10,000 participants this year, is held to increase awareness of and generate funds to benefit free support services for people affected by breast and ovarian cancer.

At the A.G. Williams display table, they handed out hundreds of pink Paint It Pink water bottles to walkers and their supporters.  This year A.G. Williams Paint It Pink Campaign donates a percentage of the profits from every paint job sold during the months of October, November and December to the Support Connection