ASID New England Chapter Magazine: June 2016 by ASID New England Chapter

Design Community ASID NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER MAGAZINE

SPRING 2016 ISSUE 31

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ASID NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER

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New England Chapter | Spring | 2016

NE EDITORIAL STAFF

CHAPTER ADMINISTRATOR

Editors

Andrew Cronin Finn, MSc, MBA

Ryan Tirrell, Allied ASID

Email: administrator@ne.asid.org

Writers Jeff Arcari, Landry & Arcari Rugs & Carpeting Designer Rousseline Rodene

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Featured

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....................................Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter

................................A Winter Afternoon

.. ASID Rhode Island Design Community

11 13 18

.......... Poggenpohl Boston Cooking Event

..................... 2016 ASID NE Awards Gala

............................................... Navy Blue

Featured (contiuned)

20 22 28

............................... What I Wish I Knew

............................ Faces of ASID NE 2015

Design Community magazine is published quarterly for the ASID New England Chapter of the American ..................What Makes Millenials Tick? Society of Interior Designers by DSA Publishing & Design, Inc. Editorial content and the Design Community magazine are controlled and owned by the New England Chapter of ASID. Reproduction of this publication in whole, in part, in any form is strictly prohibited ...................................... Perfect Pairings without the written permission of the New England Chapter of ASID.

President’s Letter D

earest Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the new “Digital Version” of the ASIDNE Chapter Community Magazine! Over the course of our 40-year history, The American Society of Interior Designers has provided a strong voice for the practice. This fortified effort has been the driving force for the expansion and growth of the impact of the Interior Design industry across the country. It has also for many members and professionals opened doors and paved pathways for successful and celebrated careers. As a Society, we are continuously changing the lives of the clients and communities that we reach though our work. Whether you encounter a residential, hospitality, commercial or healthcare designer, educator, industry partner or student this responsibility is key to the success of how interior design impacts the human experience. Take for instance the overall proficiency of a well designed home or perhaps how you have encountered the design in your visit to a doctor’s office. These experiences has been functionally planned to accommodate a specific need or desire of the end user. That overall experi6

ence upon entering the building, the transitional spaces from room to room and even where the light fixtures cast shadows on the wall in the patients waiting room, are all results of a well laid out plan of a professional. More than ever, Interior Designers are using experience-based research and data to make their design decisions each day.

ASID designers are also leading the discovery of evidence-based research in the home, going back to the root of our first positive or negative design experiences. In our society we are seeing an entire generation of individual’s forced from their home environments due to aging. This growing epidemic can be addressed and design solutions can be presented to allow for our families to stay in their homes. Interior designers are educated on material, lighting and functional changes that can enhance the daily needs of an interior space. Comfort, versatility and adaptability are a common thread in the resources that we share with our clients each day. This exciting edition is the final step in our strategic new direction that your Board of Directors begin a little over a year ago and we could not be more excited with how much has changed and grown

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over these past several months. Several of the articles in this issue talk about the impact that ASID is making not only in our region but across the country. I encourage you to take the time to read and see what you each day as you impact the lives around you. There are countless thank you’s that have brought us this far and many more that will follow. I want to Congratulate Ryan Tirrell and the Communications team for this launch! With each issue to follow, exciting things will come from this new platform, including interactive sign ups for events, clickable advertisements and interactive feedback. Stay connected for more in the coming issues!

Design Matters, Eric Haydel, Allied ASID President 2015-2016

A Winter Afternoon

Exploring Back Bay’s Tiffany Mansion

n a Thursday afternoon in January the ASID NE Chapter arranged for a private tour of one of Boston’s hidden gems, the Ayer Mansion. A curious group of designers, students and guests met to take a peek behind the doors of the 350 Commonwealth Avenue five-story building, tucked away amongst a group of brownstones, not far from Massachusetts Avenue. Our guide, Jeanne Pelletier, Preservation Advisor who has been dedicated to the Ayer Mansion for over 30 years, broke down the history of the building along with what living among Boston’s high society was like in the early 1900’s. She introduced us to Frederick Ayer and his family who moved to Boston from Lowell where Frederick was a very successful business tycoon. He would soon announce his presence to his new neighbors, the residents of Boston’s Back Bay community.

The Ayer’s commissioned American artist and designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany, to design an Art Nouveau-influenced mansion. Tiffany, influenced by colors and geometric patterns he had seen on his travels across Africa and Asia, proved to be a perfect candidate for the project. He came with an impressive dossier including his work crafting decorations for Mark Twain’s home and the White House. At first glance, the exterior of the building clearly interrupts the traditional brownstones lining Commonwealth Avenue. It makes a statement with its limestone and granite façade adorned with colorful Mosaic tiles with Moorish influences, which is also echoed throughout the interior. The Mosaic tiles are very pronounced in the mansion’s entry combined with stained glass accents, where the grand hallway features a rounded staircase and an archway of lights. It is here that his wife, Ellen Ayer, gave recitals and theatrical performances with the space offering “a visual feast of color, light and texture”. Known for his “astounding versatility” Tiffany shows us his talents throughout the mansion not only in his designed stone and glass mosaics, but also in his elegant metalwork and beautiful light fixtures. You will also see designed custom furniture, intricate plaster work and of course his well-known stained glass windows. Favrile glass vases are outstanding and his architectural flourishes unexpected.

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After the death of Frederick Ayer and his wife, the mansion sold in 1924 and converted into dentist offices. It sold again to an insurance company who used drop ceilings hiding much of the buildings past. Since the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Bayridge Residence and Cultural Center has been leasing the property using it as a home for women who attend area colleges. Attention given to water damage 15 years ago changed the course of the buildings future. As repairs were made the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history was slowly unveiled. Descendants of the Ayer family and preservationists realized the legacy the mansion holds and formed a committee to raise money to restore it. Using pictures provided by the family the process began and has been ongoing with the exterior restoration almost complete. A very unique, obvious building on Commonwealth Avenue seemed to blend in during the years it changed hands. Named a National Historic Landmark in 2005, it is a rare surviving example of the residential work of designer Louis Comfort Tiffany. The Ayer mansion is8 open New monthly for public tours and offers an annual England Chapter | Spring | 2016 lecture series in addition to other public events.

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RUGS AND CARPETING

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ASID Rhode Island Design Community Ally Maloney

hode Island may be the smallest state, but it’s abundant with design talent! “In fact, Rhode Island has the 3rd largest percentage of creative sector jobs in the country, after New York and California” (designxri.com). The community group was co-founded last year by Ally Maloney of Maloney Interiors and Linda Sbrogna of Sbrogna’s Artistic Promotions. The two are thrilled to be working with ASID New England to establish the groundwork for an interior design community in The Ocean State. The group’s kick-off event held last September included a CEU presentation & networking party. With over fifty designers in attendance, many commented that this community group is exactly what Rhode Island designers need. The purpose of the ASID RI Design Community is to establish local programming for ASID members and to advance the interior design profession in the State through monthly events including CEU classes, networking events, showroom tours, educational seminars, community outreach, and more. The group’s goal is to provide experiences hat build relationships between interior designers, industry partners, and others in the design, architecture & building industries.

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In our ongoing efforts to build upon the design industry in Rhode Island, we hope to achieve a visual presence, and awareness of a design community. We want to establish strong and lasting relationships in this community from RISD, to the sole proprietor starting their career – we are here to support you all. This group will be keeping busy in the upcoming year. Some of their monthly events include participation at the Rhode Island Home Show at the Providence Convention Center in April, a tour of the Griswold Textile Mill in Westerly in June, a CEU presentation at the Newport Art Museum in May, and sponsoring Rhode Island Design Week in September. We hope to see many new faces at our events, please join us!

Poggenpohl Boston Cooking Event As part of Boston Design Week, Poggenpohl Boston hosted an entertaining cooking demonstration with Chef Kurt von Kahle. Guests in attendance were able to experience the cuisine of Chef von Kahle, New England’s leading kitchen appliance consultant. He created culinary delights while using the Gaggenau CX491 full surface induction cooktop and accompanying wall oven in Poggenpohl’s new P’7350 Design by Studio F. A. Porsche Kitchen.

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We don’t build them like they used to…

Photos Eric Roth; Design Leslie Fine Interiors; Cabinets Herrick and White

Nothing like waking up to a view… At FBN our teams are capable of producing remarkable and beautiful work on the 1st floor of your home or the 40th of your building, and we always do!

2016 ASID New England Awards Gala

n March 31, 2016 designers, and industry partners across New England came out to celebrate this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ASID New England Gala Honorees. The Gala was held at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, and Patti Smith served as emcee for the evening, introducing Genella McDonald; Jean Verbridge; Michael J. Lee, and Rose Mary Botti-Salitsky as the 2016 honorees. This year ASID was able to support Community Cooks; an organization that mobilizes individuals, businesses, civic, educational and faith-based groups to prepare home-cooked food for vulnerable populations seeking assistance from human service agencies in the Greater Boston area. It was a remarkable evening that allowed the design community to celebrate distinct individuals, while contributing the community.

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2016 ASID New England Awards Gala

(continued)

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2016 ASID New England Awards Gala (continued)

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2016 ASID New England Awards Gala

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Navy Blue

Jeff Arcari, Owner & Buyer Landry & Arcari Rugs & Carpeting

very year in early January, Landry & Arcari kicks into high gear with a pilgrimage to the world’s largest floor covering exhibition in Hanover, Germany. It is so refreshing to get out of my comfortable Boston bubble and experience firsthand (along with my Salem, Framingham and Back Bay store managers) the new global design and color trends. One of the re-occurring color themes we all picked up on this past trip was the popularity of crisp navy blue and gray colors juxtaposed with a clean contrasting white. Sharing this observation with my team over an equally crisp German pilsner, we were all reminded of recent designer and client requests back home for these very same color combinations. The ubiquity of these new navy blue carpets we were seeing in Germany, paired with requests we were hearing back at home, solidified its position for us as one of the top rug trends of the year.

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It is interesting for me to see a powerful color like navy trending in 2016. Over the past 10 years or so, all signs pointed to “the lighter the better.” Especially in the rug world, as bold and robust reds, blues and greens were replaced with washed out greys, taupes and powder blues, seemingly overnight. I see this current trend as an attempt to modernize a classic look. Institutions like Royal Copenhagen have led the way in revamping archetypal lines, like their prominent porcelain dinnerware. Using dissected designs and scaled patterns, they manage to hold on to their signature navy and ivory colorway, while at the same time shifting towards an overall more accessible aesthetic. So it appears that the rug world has taken a page from Royal Copenhagen’s book. The prominence of navy blue historically in traditional rugs is undisputed, though its presence has weakened at the hand of lighter blues in recent years. This resurgence of navy blue in new rugs not only adds some much needed color boldness to the game, but also brings something classic to contemporary pieces and décor.

Great design is always at your fingertips.

read more about this home by lisa tharp design in our march/april 2016 issue. photograph by michael j. lee

Subscribe to Design New England today. $19.99 for a one-year subscription, designnewengland.com The Magazine of Splendid Homes and Gardens Free on your ipad, iphone, or android

New England Chapter | Spring | 2016

What I Wish I Knew Dane Austin:

wish I knew who my Ideal Client was from the start of my foray into interior design, and that you don’t have to take on every client that comes your way. In the beginning of my career, it was easy to accept each job that was offered. I felt I had to prove myself. I was eager to show everyone that I would do a great job no matter how unrealistic a person’s expectations may have been. Through experience, trial and error, and gut reaction - I’ve learned to trust my instincts. Always operate your business with an Ideal Client Profile in mind. The “client interview” is just as much about whether or not you want to work with a potential client as it is about whether or not that client wants to work with you.

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When meeting for the first time be sure that they pass the test, and that it feels right -- Are they are a good fit, an Ideal Client? Ask revealing questions during the interview: Have you worked with a designer before? What was the experience like? How do you imagine the design process taking place? Why is a redesign important to you? What would a successful experience be? How will you feel when the process is over? What benefits will come out of a new design? It’s a vetting process. If you hear “red flags” and feel like there might be tension down the road, avoid it at all costs. Never take a job just because you need the money as you’ll only lose time and distract yourself from finding the right clients to work with. Instead, choose to work with people you’re compatible with and the experience if far more likely to be very enjoyable for everyone involved. Choose to work with clients who understand the value of your time, the value of your education, and the value of your creativity. After all, this is a relationship based business and part of what you’re selling is the experience. Make it a good one - and the referrals will follow.

What I Wish I Knew (continued)

Jessica Woods:

Looking back on my school experience I wish that hen I graduated college and stepped out into we had even used our classmates as clients once and awhile to get different personalities to design for and the real world with my first real job, I felt help us get used to that. Being in the design field, an very intimidated. They can only teach you open mind is definitely an important trait to have. We so much while you’re in school and there’s no way they can prepare you for every situation. What need to be open to anything the client wants because after all they are the end user and needed to have evI didn’t know when I first started working at Poggenerything they need. pohl was how to deal with different types of clients; they each have their own wants and needs. Every project we designed in school we would make up our own clients; which meant that we could make their wants and needs play to our strengths in design. We were essentially the clients for every project.

When a client comes into the showroom you need to be prepared for whatever personality may come out. There are all different types of people out there, some that know exactly what they want their kitchen to look like and need little to no guidance designing it and some will come in and will and be completely lost with every aspect and detail of their kitchen, which is why we are here to help. In school we don’t really focus on dealing with actual clients; if we don’t like something in our designs we could just change it to be something we do like. A client may be all about symmetry and if one thing is a little off, they will notice and want to fix it; we need to know how to deal with that.

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What Makes Millenials Tick? Robert Bell

he answer, of course, is you.

For years, Baby Boomers were the gravy to the home furnishings retailer’s train. Like clockwork, they’d waltz through your front door every seven years or so—sooner if that big promotion came through or they finally bought that lake house—looking for a sofa or bedroom group. Only now that gravy train is slowing down. Baby Boomers are downsizing. Those 3,500-square-foot homes are now (gasp!)1,800-square-foot townhomes. Even worse, Boomers have grown accustomed to that 16-year-old recliner so there’s no sense in changing things now.

Those same two years saw Baby Boomers’ furniture spending drop 17 percent. MILLENNIAL MYTH: We Don’t Buy Furniture One of the most accepted truisms about we Millennials—easily the most over examined generation in history—is that we don’t want our parents lives of a house and furniture. That we value our free time and don’t want to be burdened with possessions. Except that furniture sales to Millennials has more than doubled—from $11 billion in 2012 to $22 billion last year according to a recent Furniture Today Buy-

Millennials—consumers born between 1980 and 2000—are the demographic every home furnishings store is chasing and with good reason: With almost 80 million of them, they’re the nation’s largest population segment. That $170 billion in annual purchasing power they wield isn’t too shabby either. And they’re only getting bigger. One Accenture study believes Millennials will come into their own by 2020 when their spending in the United States will grow to $1.4 trillion— that’s trillion with a T—annually and represent almost a third of total retail sales. One more thing: Millennials want furniture. They spent more than $27 billion on it last year, according to Furniture Today’s Consumer Buying Trends, compared to $11 billion in 2012. They account for 37 percent of all furniture and bedding purchases. The back-of-napkin math doesn’t lie: That’s a 142-percent increase over two years. 22

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ing Trends report. We may not like mom and dad’s 12-piece dining room group, but we have our own tastes and desires for home furnishings. And we’re willing to pay for it. Marisa Peacock knows the importance of retailers hooking up with Millennials and has spent the past several years playing matchmaker. “All these Millennials represent a huge opportunity for home furnishings retailers because they’re starting families and beginning to settle into homes just like their boomer parents,” says Peacock, whose company, The Strategic Peacock, helps small businesses target Millennials and their disposable income. Her job is not as easy as it may sound. That’s because Millennials don’t walk, talk and buy like Generation Xers or their Boomer parents. They’ve grown up in a world where newspapers, magazines and print advertising are heading the way of Morse 23

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Code. They get much of their entertainment and news from a laptop or tablet. They’ve seen what the Great Recession did to their parents’ retirement plans and are wondering if they’ll ever pay off those monstrous college loans. In other words, the tried-and-true ways of connecting with Boomers the past 40 years won’t work with Millennials. Live Chat feature on Sam’s Furniture’s Website “You have to understand Millennials before you can even begin to connect with them,” says Peacock. “Once you know where they’re coming from, the world they’ve grown up in, you can better engage with them.”

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Continued from p. 23

Home furnishings retailers willing to put in the effort to figure out the habits of the elusive Millennial are starting to reap the rewards. In Texas, Sam’s Furniture concentrated heavily on Internet advertising, hoping to capture Millennials who are glued to their tablets and smartphones. The company went to great lengths and dollars to maximize its search engine optimization. It even hired another employee to answer chat questions from its website. The result? Within a three-year period Sam’s Furniture nearly doubled its revenue. Site visitors can join the Coconis Furniture email list directly from the store’s website. In Ohio, Coconis Furniture took a second look at the way it was spending money on its advertising. For years the store stuck to the traditional mediums of print, radio, television and direct mail. Last year the company dedicated about 15 percent of its budget to digital advertising and email marketing campaigns. Traffic to the store’s website has exploded. Bo Coconis, a buyer and merchandiser who pushed hard for the campaign, is so pleased with the results he’s pushing his father to buy tablets for store employees to expedite checkouts and is thinking of hiring a full-time employee to manage the company’s social media and 24

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answer questions at the store’s online chat. “It’s all about finding out where Millennials are in their lives and meeting them there,” says Coconis, who, at 30 years old, knows a thing or two about his generation. “You can connect with them once you know what makes them tick.”And therein lies the $64,000 question, or in the case of the Millennials’ projected furniture buying power this year, the $35 billion, question: What makes Millennials tick? For starters, no offense Boomers, but they don’t really care for your advice. Older Americans tend to trust the counsel of friends and family members when making a big purchase such as furniture. Most Millennials, on the other hand, don’t want their parents’ or peers’ help. Think back to the Great Recession, soaring unemployment and seemingly daily bailouts. Can you blame them? According to a Harvard Business Review Study, 51 percent of Millennials say they not only trust but also prefer product reviews from people they don’t know. Buying Local On a recent Saturday in Charlotte, N.C., Wendy Davis decided the wobbly legs on the kitchen dinette set she inherited from her grandmother outweighed the Continued on page 25

Continued from p. 24

sentimental memories of the piece. She sold it on Craigs List the night before and had a list of four stores and one big box (Costco) she was going to shop—stores all coming from reviews she found online at Yelp, a website where people can review and recommend restaurants, shops, nightlife and more. “I never even thought about asking friends,” said Davis, a 31-year-old paralegal, who lives in Rock Hill, S.C. “It just seemed easier to go online and look on my own.” City Supply Co. of Charlotte, NC’s Yelp page shows their reviews average 4.5/5 stars. Davis ended up buying a new table and four chairs at City Supply Co. in Charlotte because they had exactly what she was looking for and because of the glowing reviews she read online from complete strangers. Stop right there. We know what you’re thinking: A Millennial actually put down her laptop and smartphone long enough to enter a brick-and-mortar store? While Millennials have earned a reputation for viewing and engaging the world through a digital lens, they still venture outdoors. In fact, members of the digital generation prefer visiting stores to shopping online. “I need to see the chairs, the grain of the table,” says Davis. “You can’t tell something’s quality from a photo on the Internet.” For years Bill Napier, a strategic consultant to several companies in the home furnishings industry has preached that retailers need to see the Internet as their partner rather than their enemy. “Eighty percent of consumers including Millennials want to buy local,” he says. “Sure they’re going to do their homework online, but if you’re competitive on price and can offer a good return policy, Millennials are as smart as any other generation. They’re going to want to do business in your store.”

MILLENNIAL MYTH: We Want to Live in Cities, Not Suburbs We prefer the bright lights of the big city, where they can walk or take the bus, subway, or Uber virtually anywhere they need to go. True. Sort of. The number of us living in midsize cities was 5 percent higher compared with 30 years prior. But not so fast. U.S. Census data from 2014, the latest available, shows that people in their 20s moving out of cities and into suburbs far outnumber those coming the other way. In the long run, the suburbs seem the overwhelming choice for us to settle down. It’s true that a smaller percentage of 20-somethings are moving to the suburbs compared with generations ago, but much of the reason why this is so is because we’re getting married and having children later in life. That dependency on online reviews by Millennials is one reason Napier and others push retailers to come up with a system in which customers leave feedback online be it at Yelp or your store’s Facebook page or Twitter. Napier suggests a follow-up email a week or two after the purchase reminding the customer that if they were pleased with the purchase they could go online and leave a positive review. Of course, don’t forget to include a link to the review sites you want to show up in. “It’s not enough to provide a good product and service and leave it at that,” he says. “Retailers need to be more proactive and prod the customer into getting their name and service out to others.” It’s also not enough for retailers to have a website and expect Millennials to show up at their store, printouts in hand. Peacock and others say Millennials are looking for a smooth transition from a website to a smartphone to your brick-and-mortar store without any hiccups or surprises.

Davis said she did just that in shopping for her kitchen table and chairs, spending about four hours researching online over two weeks before heading out.

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Continued from p. 25

MILLENNIAL MYTH: We Don’t Want to Own Homes Yeah, right. And we all love Justin Beiber. Countless surveys show that the vast majority of us do, in fact, want to own homes. It’s just that, at least up until recently, those monster student loans, a bad job market, the memory of our parents’ home being underwater, and our delayed entry into the world of marriage and parenthood have made homeownership less attractive or impossible. Bloomberg News reported that we Millennials made up 32 percent of home buyers in 2014, up from 28 percent from 2012, making them the largest demographic in the market. Surveys show that 5.2 million renters expect to a buy a home this year, up from 4.2 million in 2014. Guess what we plan on filling up those houses with? It’s not that Millennials are spoiled or possess a sense of entitlement, says Peacock, it’s the world they grew up in. Peacock likes to use a music analogy to compare Millennials to their parents. (Warning: the following paragraph might make you feel old. Very old). “Baby Boomers grew up listening to their music on record players or eight-track tapes and then cassette tapes, and then they switched to CDs and later to iPods,” says Peacock. “Millennials don’t know anything but digital music. So when they walk into a store after viewing something they like on a website they don’t understand why the retailer is handing them a printed piece of paper with the sofa on it. They want to see it on a screen just like they did back at home or in the coffee shop. They leave wondering, ‘Why doesn’t the store have what the website has?’ ” Evan Faller, business development officer for Furniture Wizard, believes one the biggest mistakes retailers can make with Millennials is not ensuring a seamless transition from your website to your store. “If you put your website together and brand it as your store with 50,000 products available and then your store doesn’t match that experience, right off the bat you’ve got a huge disconnect with the Millennial,” he says. “And let’s be honest here, that statement probably goes for any consumer, but it applies even more to the Millennial consumer who’s used to having things a certain, consistent way.” 26

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MILLENNIAL MYTH: We Prefer Uber Over Owning a Car Cars are just not cool. They’re bad for the environment. They’re too expensive. And we Millennials live in a world where socializing online is just as meaningful as socializing in person. Sorry, not buying it. Neither is the car industry, which claims correctly that the economy rather than interest is why fewer Millennials are buying cars. The numbers show that more than three-quarters of us plan on buying or leasing a car over the next five years, and 64 percent of us say we absolutely “love” our cars. Just as home furnishings retailers spent years catering to Baby Boomers through their mediums of choice— print, television, radio and direct mail—it’s time to cater to Millennials, says Napier. “They grew up with video games, the Internet and now smartphones,” he says. “They’re focused on technology and have perfected using it to find everything; Restaurants, clothes, furniture decorating ideas and more. And they take the use of technology further; they read reviews and are highly influenced by them on social media and consumer websites.” No other retailer knows this better than NAHFA member Seth Weisblatt whose store, Sam’s Furniture in Fort Worth, Texas, has been connecting with Millennials and Generation X consumers for years through a committed online presence. How committed? Half of Weisblatt’s advertising budget is invested in search optimizing on the Internet, live chats on his store’s website and targeted email campaigns. Weisblatt says traditional advertising is lost on Millennials. “They’re living lives that are completely different to Boomers and even (Generation X),” he says. “You still need to advertise on all your traditional channels, but if you’re not advertising online, you’re not relevant to them because they’re not going to know anything about you. To them you don’t even exist until you’re online.” Coconis agrees. “I don’t watch TV, I don’t get a newspaper and I rarely listen to the radio,” he says. “The best way to get hold of me is through email. Again, it all comes down to reaching them where they are in their life.” Continued on page 27

Continued from p. 26

Peacock takes that theory one step further, arguing that instead of waiting for Millennials to fall into traditional consumption patterns (“There’s nothing traditional about Millennials,” she says), home furnishings retailers should take the time to understand the complex factors that compel Millennials to spend. Marketing strategies, she says, should be geared to where Millennials values lie, instead of where the status quo (read: Boomers) expects them to be. A good example is the popular (and true) narrative that Millennials are more empathetic to our environment than Boomers or Gen Xers. “That needs to be part of your marketing strategy,” says Peacock. “Millennials who are looking to buy a coffee table might be reluctant if their afraid that it will be obsolete or thrown out when they decide to upgrade if they get married or have a family. It’s (the retailer’s) job to show that that product can be recycled or already was recycled in some fashion. Retailers need to ask themselves if they’re pursuing the wants and needs, sure. But at the same time are they pursuing the Millennial’s values?” Weisblatt offers one more piece of advice about pursuing Millennials: A year or two from now, prepare to throw everything you’ve just read out the window. “Technology is such that everything changes so fast and Millennials are quick to adapt. What you implement today might be obsolete a year from now so be ready to change.” But when it comes to Millennials, they’re worth the pursuit.

MILLENNIAL MYTH: We Have a Different View of Work As Millennials entered the workforce and became a more common presence in offices around the world, the assumption has been that young people supposedly care more about wearing jeans and having flexible work hours more so than did Gen X and Boomers. Young people also want to be more collaborative, demand more feedback, and are less motivated by money than older generations. An IBM study begs to differ. “We discovered that Millennials want many of the same things their older colleagues do,” researchers state. There may be different preferences on smaller issues—like, say, the importance of being able to dress casually on the job—but when it comes to overarching work goals achieved in the long run, Millennials are nearly identical to their more experienced colleagues: They want financial security and seniority just as much as Gen X and Baby Boomers, and all three generations want to work with a diverse group of people.” Robert Bell is the editor of Retailer NOW, the magazine for the Home Furnishings Association. To find out more about the HFA’s benefits for retailers and interior designers, call 800.422.3778.

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New England Chapter | Spring | 2016

Perfect Pairings:

Thinking Outside the Box for the Ultimate Bathroom

On Tuesday, April 5th, CUMAR Marble and Granite and Designer Bath and Salem Plumbing Supply, in partnership with ASID-New England, hosted Perfect Pairings: Thinking Outside the Box for the Ultimate Bathroom as part of Boston Design Week. The well attended event, which took place at the Designer Bath showroom in Beverly, featured a lively discussion on creating the perfect bathroom with panelists Carlo Baraglia, from CUMAR Marble and Granite; Mindy Sevinor-Feinberg from Designer Bath and Salem Plumbing Supply and Eric Haydel, President of ASID – New England. The event also showcased “Perfect Pairings” of wine and cheese – curated by Adam Japko - CEO of Esteem Media, Inc. (New England Home Magazine) and the author of the award-winning blog WineZag.

New England Chapter | Spring | 2016

Faces of ASID NE 2015 Kristen Rivoli:

rom a very young age, Kristen Rivoli has had a passion for design. Always creating and sketching, she designed clothes and shoes as well as redesigned rooms in her parents’ home. Kristen’s love of Fashion and the Art world continue to influence her designs, bringing a fresh and unique inspiration to every project whether it be residential, hospitality or commercial. Her expertise blends Traditional pieces with Mid Century designs or European antiques with Moroccan accents to create one of a kind, livable projects. Kristen’s discerning eye brings together striking, modern refinement and enduring traditional details to showcase each space in a way that reflects not just her style sense but also the client’s vision.

Thank

you

Thank you to the generous support and patronage of our Gala Attendees and Sponsors ASID New England is happy to announce the donation of $2,500.00 to Community Cooks! The donation will aide Community Cooks in their efforts to provide home cooked meals to citizens across the Greater Boston area who struggle with food insecurity.

Rivoli’s work has been featured in publications including New England Home, Boston Common, Boston Home and the Boston Globe magazine among many others. Kristen was named one of Boston’s rising stars in Interior Design by Boston Common and had a Master Bathroom project of distinction featured on HGTV’s I want that Bath! With her warm and engaging personality. Kristen sets the tone for her Clients to enjoy the design process and maintains the attitude that design is fun and stress free, always keeping the priorities of the Client in the forefront. A native of western New York and a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, she currently resides outside of Boston, Massachusetts with her family. She continues to enjoy traveling locally and abroad drawing inspiration from those well as her every day experiences.

New England Chapter | Spring | 2016

Faces of ASID NE 2015 (continued)

Eric Roseff:

ric Roseff received a dual degree in business and art, with a focus on Interior Design.

With more than fifteen years of experience in Design and the Decorative Arts, he established Eric Roseff Designs, a full service interior design firm. He has combined his design skills, strong sense of color, proportion, light and pattern, and his finely trained talents as a decorative artist. His ability to understand and read the needs of his clients has been a wonderful asset to his business.

Eric Roseff Designs is also currently at work on several residences on the island of Nantucket, the W Boston, Wellesley, MA and Greenwich, CT. Eric Roseff Designs is in high demand by Boston area developers and realtors to design alluring model units and interiors in their new construction and renovation projects. A genuine passion for design, unlimited sources of new inspiration and the love of a challenge are the driving forces behind Eric Roseff Designs.

Eric has become known for taking the ordinary and reinventing it. His innovative ideas are often an eclectic mix of pieces, bridging the design line continuum. Eric’s breadth of projects runs the gamut from classic Boston Back Bay and South End brownstones, a Boston boutique hotel, a Manhattan penthouse, a Sun Valley, Idaho ranch, and a waterfront cottage in Maine. Projects in Florida, Montana, Idaho, Connecticut, New York, and California continue to expand Eric’s diversity and creativity. The interior of several homes in Montana’s Yellowstone Club, a residence at the Ritz Carlton, and a Naples, Florida waterfront property are currently receiving Eric’s touch.

New England Chapter | Spring | 2016