Interior designers Sheila Bridges, Lauren Rottet, and Young Huh shared their insights and tips about creating successful projects and design careers at the third annual DesignEDGE industry summit at the fall High Point Market.
Hosted by the Educational Foundation (EF) of IFDA, the International Furnishings and Design Association, the summit titled “Blurring Boundaries: Top Designers Who Defy the Limits of Design…and successfully navigate the crossovers between residential, workplace, hospitality, and product in business” began with a Q&A session with Sheila Bridges, who has designed stylish, high-end residences and offices for prominent entertainers, entrepreneurs, and business professionals, including former President Bill Clinton and his staff, as well as furnishings for manufacturers and national retailers Bed Bath & Beyond and Anthropologie. Bridges shared many valuable tips, including this advice: “If you work for someone else, you help them achieve their dream.”
Young Huh, whose double-height aerie at New York’s Kips Bay Designer Show House this past spring assured her place in the pantheon of great designers, told of her journey from attorney, which satisfied her parent’s expectations, to interior designer, which initially didn’t. She also shared essential Instagram how-to’s, advising attendees to divide up their posts into five categories: Inspiration, Work, Shout-outs, Social, and Personal Insights.
Lauren Rottet, Founding Principal and President of Rottet Studio and an internationally acclaimed architect, interior designer, furniture designer and art curator, provided insights into the worlds of hospitality, office and residential and how they overlap with one another, starting with the idea of the “Social Hub,” first pioneered at the Ace Hotel New York. She also outlined the varying requirements for each – with storytelling being a must for hotels – the varying timelines and how to handle budget with any client. She peered into the future as well, predicting future trends, like “Alone Together” where we want to be connected but alone as well.
