Retail Design NOW!

Compliments of Interior Design, by Teresa Kruszewski

I've been a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) since 2007 after I passed my NCIDQ exam. Recently, I started volunteering for the organization, and soon after became a co-chair, along with Heather Kane of Pallas Textiles, for the Retail Forum. It's one of ten specialty forums, each focused on a particular market, whose goals are to enhance its members’ professional experience and advocate for better design and greater expertise in the field by planning two events per year offering continuing education units to attendees.

Our inaugural event held on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 was a smashing success! It was an engaging conversation on the changing culture of retail and the built environment with visionaries who are changing the world of retail design. Moderated by Annie Block, Articles Editor at Interior Design, the event featured panelists David Ashen of d-ash design whose recent work with Godiva has gained international acclaim, Faris Al-Shathir and Gregory Sparks of Boffo whose Fashion's Night Out collaborations became the talk of the town, and Diana Revkin, Managing Retail Director at TPG, who shared her work at Eataly. Our host House of Bumble was an amazing venue with catering worthy of the amazing crowd!

To see some of the evening’s highlights, go here.

Alan Dandron & the IIDA New York

Mancini•Duffy Principal Alan Dandron has been a busy fellow. As President of the IIDA New York Chapter beginning in 2010, he took as his theme “The Value of Design,” bringing home the message that design is more than a question of aesthetic choices – it’s a differentiator that can have a positive impact on a client’s bottom line. Events put on by the IIDA New York during Alan’s tenure were almost too many to count, ranging from the 2010 Color Invasion party to the 3rd Annual Sustainable Quilt Auction to IIDA Forum Events certified for both IIDA and AIA CEU credits.

Clearly the work of the New York Chapter with Alan at the helm has paid off – at the IIDA Annual Meeting, held in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art this past June, the New York Chapter was honored with five awards, including Large Chapter of the Year. (You can read more about the event in the IIDA’s newsletter DesignMatters here.) Much more important, this year’s events raised money for all sorts of good causes from the IIDA’s student scholarship fund to the Fiver Children’s Foundation.

The Presidency runs from August to August and so, in July, after a year of hard work, Alan passed the torch to Lance Amato of Conant Architects. During the event, which was hosted by the Kimball Office New York Showroom, Alan addressed the crowd “with grace and humor” – in the words of Jeanette Rodriguez, IIDA writing in officeinsight – and thanked the many corporate partners who provided program support. To read more, see the story in officeinsight (login required) or to see pictures of the event, check out Kimball’s blog and Flickr page.

So hats off to Alan for all his hard work! And hopefully he gets a little vacation.


Past President/Advisor of the IIDA New York Chapter Alan Dandron, IIDA, LEED AP with new President Lance Amato, IIDA, LEED AP at the IIDA Annual Meeting in Chicago (thanks to the IIDA for the use of this image).