Inspired.talk

Kravet and the 2014 Design Bloggers Conference

Earlier this month, a group of more than 300 interior designers and design bloggers from across the country descended on Atlanta for the fourth-annual Design Bloggers Conference. Kravet was a major sponsor at the conference, bringing in keynote presentations from Jeffrey Alan Marks and Candice Olson, two beloved interior designers and TV stars who have collections with Kravet (Jeffrey’s launches this Fall). Jeffrey’s presentation was a relaxed Q&A with Kravet marketing EVP Beth Greene and Candice presented a slideshow of before-and-afters that had the audience gasping with delight.

 Via Cozy Stylish Chic

After her appearance at the Design Bloggers Conference, Candice headed over to ADAC, where she participated in a fun Q&A with HGTV Magazine editor in chief Sara Peterson, moderated by Kravet’s marketing manager Jennifer Powell. Their candid tales of first jobs, embarrassing moments and career advice had the audience in stitches, proving why these two ladies are at the tops of their game.

Photo via @whosevent

In years past Kravet has hosted an event in New York City each Spring called Blogfest, but this year we shook it up a bit and decided to merge the best part of Blogfest (the networking and celebrating!) with the Design Bloggers Conference. HGTV Magazine and Kravet co-hosted an incredible party in our showroom on Tuesday night to close the conference, and we had a blast toasting to our friends, old and new.

The next day, the team at ADAC hosted a “digital” market day, with panel discussions and presentations that addressed important questions about the changing digital landscape as it applies to our industry. Jeffrey Alan Marks and Suzanne Kasler discussed how to get design projects published with Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles editor in chief Elizabeth Ralls in front of a sold-out audience, then sold copies of their books in the Lee Jofa showroom.

 Via @adacatlanta Instagram

Conference attendees generated millions of social media impressions, from tweets and hashtags (#dbc2014 and #kravetblogfest), to photos and videos shared on Instagram, blogs and Facebook. Atlanta was the embodiment of Southern charm, and we were honored to be involved in such a big way. We are always looking for ways to connect with designers through social media, and this particular event was a great collaboration between national companies like ours, design centers like ADAC, top design talent, great event organizers like the folks at Design Sherpa, and of course the Atlanta design community.

Sara Peterson, Candice Olson, Beth Greene and HGTV Magazine publisher Dan Fuchs, photo via HGTV Magazine

Lee Jofa Designer Icons Holiday Book Signing

 

Next week in our New York City showroom, we’re kicking off the holiday shopping season in style with Luxe magazine. We’re hosting a book signing at Lee Jofa in New York City's D&D Building featuring some of the biggest names in interior design. Meet these iconic designers in person, listen to some of their personal accounts and share in a festive holiday toast with designers Anthony Baratta, David Easton, Eric Cohler, Suzanne Kasler, Suzanne Rheinstein and Thomas O’Brien. All will all be on hand to sign copies of his or her book, which will also be for sale. These wonderful books will make great holiday gifts, so bring along your holiday gift list! Click the link below each book title to purchase the book in advance from Amazon.com.

Anthony Baratta All American

David Easton Timeless Elegance: The Houses of David Easton

Eric Cohler Cohler on Design

Suzanne Kasler Inspired Interiors

Suzanne Rheinstein At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past

Thomas O’Brien American Modern

Sip cocktails and stock up on unique and personalized gifts for friends and family, and be sure to grab a few copies for yourself as well. The event will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 4 – 6 p.m. at the D&D Building in Manhattan. If you’d like to attend, please email us [email protected] or call 800.648.5728x2396 to RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Suzanne Kasler Unveils Room at Lee Jofa Showroom

Last week Suzanne Kasler brought a dose of Southern hospitality to New York City when she visited the D&D Building to reveal her signature room at the Lee Jofa showroom. Charming and warm, she had a great time chatting with guests and signing copies of her book, Inspired Interiors. (Ed. note: This book is so beautiful, it should be a staple in any design library.)

Against a backdrop of Suzanne’s signature color, white, the room is bright, fresh and filled with fabrics from her collection with Lee Jofa. The orange spines on the books are a great detail that caught the eye of many design lovers in attendance, as well as the antique Mexican textile framed and hung above the fireplace.

 

Take a look at the photos from her room and listen to Suzanne, in her own words, describe her inspiration for the collection and some of the highlights of her career:

-JP

Check out more photos from the showroom on our Facebook page.

Lee Jofa and Traditional Home Celebrate Heritage Launch at Blogfest 2011

 

To celebrate the launch of the Heritage collection for Lee Jofa, Traditional Home and Lee Jofa invited bloggers from the Blogfest 2011 event to preview six styled vignettes featuring the fabrics each designer chose to recolor for the collection. Designers were in attendance to answer questions and sign copies of Inspired Styles (Assouline) a beautiful book featuring many prominent Kravet and Lee Jofa designers.

The Heritage collection features classic fabrics from the Lee Jofa archive that have been reimagined and reinterpreted by the designers, who sought to update the designs for today’s market. Designers David Easton, Diamond & Baratta, Eric Cohler, Suzanne Kasler, Suzanne Rheinstein and Thomas O’Brien each brought his or her own unique aesthetic to the project, creating a beautiful juxtaposition and a tribute to the past.

 

David Easton selected Gaddesden, a screen adaptation of a Jacobean tree of life block dating from the 1920s, with the intent of adding texture to the background and softening the look for today’s market. “Gaddesden utilized the typical vine pattern current to its era that I have always liked, said Easton. “I wanted to make an older, historic pattern fresh and new and I thought this specific design leant itself to this.”

 

William Diamond and Anthony Baratta of Diamond & Baratta selected Rosebank, which originated in the 1850s during the heyday of Victorian floral design. The handblocked pattern was introduced to Lee Jofa in 1913 and remains in the line to this day as a screen print. Diamond and Baratta love classic floral English chintzes and jumped at the opportunity to recolor this classic print for today’s market.

 

Eric Cohler was inspired by the Treyes Handblock pattern, printed with 20 handblocks, which was first introduced to Lee Jofa in 1963. Inspired by an Indian tree of life design dating back to the 1920s, the original documentary version was on linen union, but Eric Cohler felt that it would be beautifully presented on glazed cotton as a true English country house chintz.

 

Suzanne Kasler chose to reimagine the Shiraz print, a popular multicolored floral inspired by an antique rug design, which was developed by Lee Jofa in 1996. “In reworking the color palette, I continued to go back to the basic pattern and how it translated into two colors,” said Kasler. By tracing the outline of the design and recoloring it with one color on white and natural linen, she transformed the pattern and gave it an entirely new look.

 

Suzanne Rheinstein chose to recolor the classic English documentary floral Clarendon, which was created in the 19^th century when the Victorians delighted in bringing the outdoors in. “One of the things I love in my design work is the chance to use things from the past in ways that are suited for the way we live now,” she said. Rheinstein updated the classic design on linen.

 

Thomas O’Brien chose to work with a favorite handblock, called Nympheus, which dates back to 1915. He added signature elements of deep indigo to the coloration of the classic design. Says O’Brien of his preference for featuring the reverse side of the print, “The rich bleed-through is more abstract on the reverse side, and the pattern is softer. It takes on the feeling of a watercolor.”

These updated and transformed fabrics are now available in Lee Jofa showrooms throughout the country. Thank you to Traditional Home for giving our blogging friends the opportunity to many of their design idols!

Blogfest 2011 Initial Recap - More to Come!

This week we hosted more than 100 interior design bloggers in New York City for the first annual Blogfest 2011. Joining us from 29 states and 5 Canadian provinces, these bloggers brought with them a level of enthusiasm and excitement that made this event an experience for all to remember. Kravet organized the three day event, coordinating travel between venues and getting top licensed designers to host events that showcase our products.

We’d love to share with you some of the highlights of the event. We do plan to host a similar event next year, so stay connected with Kravet on our social media sites to get information for next year’s Blogfest 2012. In the meantime, here are some of the highlights of Blogfest 2011:

From left: Mark Rozzo, Town&Country; Newell Turner, House Beautiful; Dara Caponigro, Veranda; Beth Greene, Kravet

Panel discussion and magazine presentations at Hearst:

House Beautiful, Veranda and Town&Country introduced bloggers to their editors and gave everyone an inside look into their magazines during an afternoon at Hearst Tower.

 

 

ELLE DECOR Modern Life Concept House:

ELLE DECOR opened it’s first-ever show house a day early to host bloggers for a cocktail party and give them the first look into the Modern Life Concept House in West Chelsea.

 

 

Lilly Pulitzer Debut at Lee Jofa:

Bloggers attended a luncheon at Lee Jofa at the NYC showroom where they previewed the Lilly Pulitzer collection and saw the designer room decorated by our merchandising team in all Lilly.

 

 

Barbara Barry presented Indochine at Kravet:

Barbara Barry presented the inspiration for her latest collection for Kravet, called Indochine, and hosted a tea at the Kravet NYC showroom where bloggers got to speak with her one-on-one and snap photos.

 

From left: Ann Maine, Traditional Home; Thomas O'Brien; Suzanne Kasler

Traditional Home and Lee Jofa host Heritage Collection party:

To launch the Heritage collection for Lee Jofa, Traditional Home threw a party for bloggers where they mixed and mingled with Thomas O’Brien, Eric Cohler, Diamond & Baratta, Suzanne Kasler, Suzanne Rheinstein and David Easton. The party featured styled vignettes by each designer where their featured fabric was used.

 

 

Sub Zero and Wolf Wine Down Art Live after-party:

Kitchen brands Sub Zero and Wolf hosted our bloggers at an event in their NYC showroom that featured wine experts and chefs doing tastings and cooking demonstrations for bloggers.

Arch Digest editor-in-chief Margaret Russell hosts bloggers at Conde Nast building:

Following an intimate breakfast at Conde Nast, Architectural Digest EIC Margaret Russell presented her thoughts on blogging, design, and the future of AD to our Blogfest bloggers.

 

 

Studio Tours of Kravet, Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils:

Bloggers took guided tours of our NYC studio space where we do merchandising and product development for all three brands.

 

 
Thom Filicia with Kravet's Beth Greene

Tours of the New York Design Center and Sweet Endings party:

New York Design Center offered guided tours of the building, followed by a cocktail party featuring Kravet license designer Thom Filicia during which we said goodbye to bloggers and concluded our event.

For more on Blogfest, visit www.blogfest2011.com, www.facebook.com/blogfest2011, http://kravet.typepad.com and www.facebook.com/kravetinc.