Laguna Design Center Spring Market

I had the privilege of attending this great annual event for interior designers at the Laguna Design Center on Tuesday, March 22nd. The free event is a great way for designers to see what new and innovative products are available and to listen to wonderful guest speakers who spoke throughout the day in the different stores. There were two keynote speakers who spoke in the center courtyard. The morning speaker was Christiane Lemieux, who founded Dwell Studio. Her topic was "Building a Design Business in the Modern Landscape". She discussed the difference between the old economy in which trade shows and traditional marketing were the modes of getting your business known. These are no longer relevant in today's world. In this digital economy, you must build a brand online. Get a URL with your name so people know who you are, work with bloggers and use social media- facebook and twitter.

The next speaker I heard was Eleanor McKay, CEO of Niermann Weeks. Her topic on emerging light bulb standards, especially for chandeliers and sconces. Owners of traditional residential lighting will soon have difficulty finding standard incandescent bulbs, because federal law has mandated phasing out inefficient incandescents beginning in 2012. She discussed the good and not-so-good available alternatives: CFL's, LED's and halogen light bulbs.

Some of the other great speakers were furniture manufacturer Eric Brand discussing "think Globally", Barbara Deckmeyer, Marketing Consultant, Interior Designer, Author of "Boost Business with an Interior Design Blog and her discussion on "Social Media", and the other keynote speaker Suzanne Rheinstein who spoke on "Design Details: A Focus on Fabrics".

And finally, ASID presented a forum based on California Interior Design: The "Endangered" Profession, which discussed assessing the legislative climate, learning the facts and share your concerns.

Overall, it was a fun educational day with yummy food and it was all free!
I highly recommend every design student attend in the future.