Design Camp Atlanta

I’m back!  It’s been a whirlwind of a week.  Today I would love to give you my experience @ the amazing design camp put on by Lori Dennis, (HGTV’s The Real Designing Women) and Kelli Ellis, another top designer (featured on HGTV’s Holiday Design Show and so much more).  Here we are, along with Traci Zeller.  Traci is the one who got me on board, and she’s been such an amazing mentor and friend.  I was delighted to finally meet her in person, and I’m inspired by her sweetness and success she’s enjoying with her business.

I may or may not have also seen some of her fabric designs, which haven’t been released yet. Stay tuned to see a lot more from her!

Sorting through what I want to tell you is the hard part.  I want to share everything, but I could spend a month on posts about the camp.  I have so many big plans for my business now!

If you followed me on Facebook, you got to see some of the fun things that went on.  I am going to use some of those photos, plus you’ll see a few new ones today.

Getting to Atlanta was not as easy as I thought it would be. I had a bit of a rough ride in.  I got stuck in some pretty crazy weather across the country.  In Salt Lake we were delayed (but luckily, just ahead of a nasty snow storm), in Chicago we were delayed even further because of snow, and when we arrived above Atlanta, we had to circle for what seemed like hours before we could land.  As I was being shuttled to my hotel, I was informed that a tornado had touched down earlier.  I did miss the opening night bash, but I was glad to be there safe and sound.

Annie (Annie Vincent Interiors) was my roommate during the event.  We had a lot in common, and I’m so glad to have made such a wonderful new friend! We stayed @ the Hotel Indigo.  The camp’s events took place right across the street at the Fox Theater.  You can see some of the amazing architecture in this picture with me and Annie.  It was the first place “Gone With the Wind” aired.

We kicked off day one learning about trends…the ones still in motion and the ones coming in.  Bill Indursky (founder of  V & M)  helped us all visually see that the eighties are fighting their way back.  Pattern, much of it eccentric, is vying for its time in the spotlight again.  What do you think of his shoes?

I learned from Houzz and so many more.  I would say the highlight of the first day was listening to Barry Dixon.  If you were a creative sitting in that room at that time, you couldn’t help but be thrown into a trance.

His topic was about inspiration; how he received and used it in his interiors.  Maybe it resonated so much because he used his 400 acre farm in Virginia to draw from, and I have my own farm background, but he could have talked all day and I would have happily obliged.  For example, this tin was one his grandmother used for snacks.  He loved it so much, he turned it into a fabric. He weaves clients’ memories into all of his interiors.

There were countless other ways he used the outdoors around him to turn his interiors into amazing spaces.

My favorite saying?

“We as designers get to grow in the best areas of our lives….our senses.”  Isn’t that the truth?  There’s this “wave length”, I like to say, that if you can tune into it, the most amazing things happen.  You might think I’m crazy, but when I can tune into that wave length, it’s almost like you enter another realm.  Knowledge flows faster, you see things from another viewpoint, and your spirit sings.  I felt it while he spoke.  His talk made me want to visit that place more often and take my art/interiors to another level.

Who else?

Without making this blog post too long, I will tell you a few more people that have inspired me. I gained invaluable insights about getting published by Susanna Salk, book creator and frequent guest  of NBC.  She signed a book for me and my girls.

The other speaker that  really inspired me to make some big changes in my business was Kimberley Seldon, designer and author of Business of Design.

Some things made me mad (it’s not fun seeing the major flaws in your business…one you’ve worked so hard on).  Most things made me laugh.  Her wisdom and the sharing of her own mistakes were crazy relevant.  If I succeed, it will be because I made some critical pivots in my business because of her.

A few of the other highlights?

Fresh flower centerpieces….

seeing the beautiful Kravet and Lee Jofa showrooms……

and friends made for a lifetime.

If you are wondering if it’s worth it, don’t wonder anymore.  Just go.

Head on over to the Design Camp website.  Find out the locations for the next event.  Sign up.  Change your business and life!

Now I must be off for the day.  Feel free to send me any questions you might have.  Also, be watching for some major shifts in the coming year……