The inaugural PREMIER Show in Las Vegas this past May was the birthplace of several lifelong friendships. Throughout the week, designer after designer in our PREMIER X Designer section of the show claimed to love their “neighborhood,” and we could literally see bonds forming among this group of talented artists.
Given that we know a strong sense of community can be a huge benefit to the careers of emerging designers, as a team, we vowed to do what we can to foster these important friendships. It may seem old school, but we started a closed Facebook group so that the designers have a forum to share war stories, exchange information about clients, accounts, vendors and anything else that might come up throughout the year. And at this past JA New York Show, we took advantage of the increased number of people in town and got together for drinks and snacks after the show one day!
Those designers who weren’t showing at either JA New York or NY NOW met up with Liz Kantner and I for a tour through both shows. It quickly became evident that this was a community of fast friends….walking them through the shows was the equivalent of herding cats! They ooh’d and ahh’d over their friends’ booth set ups and new additions to their collections, and that “summer camp” feeling of reunion was palpable! Afterwards, we headed over to Ink 47 where we’d secured a few tables on the outdoor deck. It was in the midst of this magical backdrop where the real catch ups–and high jinx–ensued!
We got to get the download on Tathienne Thiele‘s recent wedding (which, by the way, looked like the most incredible wedding….ever!), we celebrated events in other people’s families that had taken place over the summer, and yes, obviously (I say “obviously” because Leslie Smith from Leslie Paige was there), we played a funny trick on Theresa Kaz.
All in all, everyone had a great time, with designers meeting other designers who hadn’t been in their “neighborhood” at the show, but now have yet another shared experience that we hope will help fuel their creative process!
