Business of Design Archives

July 27, 2015

Environmentally Conscious, British Luxury Interiors: Clive Christian

Since its founding in 1978 British luxury interior brand Clive Christian has taken pride in using only the most ethical and environmentally friendly methods of manufacturing their elegant cabinetry, paneling, and furniture. Employing the use of bio-mass catalytic converter equipment they achieve zero emissions, zero landfill and channel waste into renewable energy. They have, from the very beginning, stated that “our environment is our children’s environment” and in line with that philosophy only timbers with bark still on, selected exclusively from managed resources, arrive at the company owned factory workshops .

Clive Christian takes pride in maintain the exacting standards of fine British craftsmanship comprising 300 year old techniques such as burr veneering, marquetry, and wood carving. Their skilled artisans participate in a series of apprenticeships to ensure these precious methods are continued through the generations. Cabinets are made with plywood interiors which are veneered to match the chosen exterior finish, while solid timber dovetailed drawers can be lined with a selection of leathers or burr veneer. Their cabinetry, furniture, and paneling is carefully made by hand, in Britain, to truly add to the beauty and luxury of your interior design project.

A very special thank you to Clive Christian for being a sponsor of BOLD Summit 2015!

July 23, 2015

The Very Best in Luxury Fabrics and Wallcoverings: Dedar.

Founded in 1976, the name Dedar is an acronym formed from Design D’Arredemento. The luxury textile company was started by husband and wife team, Nicola Fabrizio, who had a career as a manager of industrially produced Italian design furniture, and Elda who has always fostered a passion for fabrics and carpets. Today along with the constantly expanding team of 100, the company continues to remain a work of passion for the founding family. Dedar operates directly in Italy, France, US, UK, Russia, Germany, and Dubai and select distributors to serve 70 other countries.

The headquarters of the luxury brand is located in the heart of the Italian manufacturing district which has, for centuries, specialized in the production of the most precious silks and fabrics in the world. This has enabled them to experiment, innovate, and create product perfection through relationships with the craftsmen who are most versed in the techniques of producing such excellent fabrics.

Luxurious fabrics from their collection, along with special fabrics created by Dedar, in collaboration with interior designers are featured in prestigious venues around the world, such as the hotel Costes in Paris, the Robuchon in Las Vegas, and the Skygardens in Dubai.

The essence of Dedar’s creative spirit, desire to experiment, and passion for precious qualities is captured in their extensive range of color and texture. Their process of creative development allows ample time for experimentation and errors to ensure the resulting product may become a future classic.

June 11, 2015

BOLD Summit Founder, Julia Molloy of Julia Molloy Inc

Kimberly Grigg of Knotting Hill Interiors had great things to say after last year’s BOLD Summit, including high praise for BOLD Founder Julia Molloy. Julia is the leading operations specialist for the interior design industry and has a wealth of knowledge from design, operations and the technology sector. Prior to purchasing the Business of Design Summit, Julia was a frequent faculty member there with the renowned David Shepherd.

Julia has brilliantly rebranded the conference and again, is leading the design community to an elevated level, through the BOLD Summit. You will find that the conference brings with it 10 years of foundation and strength and is now being polished up and refined to better address the group of high-end designers that have had largely no place to go for truly relevant, high-impact content nor a venue that provides an authentic peer group collaboration and networking experience. The BOLD Summit fills that need in a most eloquent and powerful way.

June 10, 2015

Overcome Your Obstacles!

Do you feel the desire to expand and grow your business but think there are too many challenges keeping you from success? Do you keep saying you’re too busy? We know your time is valuable, which is why we are packing as much information as we can into two days. Are you not even sure where to start? Our industry experts will provide the tools to assess where your company is and what it needs to go further. Have you achieved your goals but now find yourself stagnating? Hear what the Masters have to say and be inspired! This is the time to stop making excuses! Go out and make the changes to become the top level designer you want to be!

June 9, 2015

A Look into the BOLD Summit Agenda: Day 1

BOLD Summit Day 1: External Alignment for Growth

Wondering just what it is you’ll be learning at the BOLD Summit this year? Look no further! Here is a rundown of some of the topics we’ll be covering during the most intense two days of business development you’ve ever seen. Your time is valuable so it has to be high impact!

After an introduction by Julia Molloy, the owner of the BOLD Summit, we’ll start the day with our first BOLD Master, Kelly Hoppen MBE. In a Q&A session with Julia, Kelly will tell us all about the keys to her success and how she grew her business into an international powerhouse.

Next on the list is the founder of the Business of Design Summit, David Shepherd with his hands-on Action Map workshop. David has developed a process that helps the small business owner to clarify goals, focus strategy, and then identify the few critical learning and growth objectives that will effectively achieve those goals. It is progress on the learning and growth objectives that need to be measured, not accounting data. (Yes, he’ll be declaring “the end of accounting!”)

Kim Kuhteubl’s presentation “Tiny Tribe, Big Influence” is going to walk you through the process of identifying your most authentic message and develop a strategy for visibility and branding that will attract more of your ideal clients, make your brand more attractive to the media and align with the lifestyle you are striving for.

After lunch, sit down with our second BOLD Master, Joan Behnke, called “The Billionaire Whisperer” by Forbes magazine. Joan will share the decisions and techniques that have helped her build her business. Later in the day you’ll be able to join her for an intimate roundtable discussion — but sign up now, because Joan’s group is filling up fast!

Following this Q&A session, we will be presenting two panels that will provide all the information you need to get your work published. The first, “Think Like an Editor”, will be moderated by PR professional Barbara Pressman and feature editors from several prestigious interior design magazines. Afterwards, join renowned photographers Laura Hull and Victoria Pearson for “Photos and Points of View” where they will discuss exactly how photographing your work affects your likelihood of being published.

After a snack and sponsor showcase, we’ll head into our first roundtable sessions and portfolio reviews with the aforementioned editors. We’ll end the day with the presentation of our BOLD Masters awards. If you haven’t already signed up for our exclusive BOLD Masters Dinner at the Piazza de Liberace, now is the time to do it! There are only six slots left for this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

May 28, 2015

Release to the Press!

Internationally acclaimed interior designers Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Joan Behnke and London-based powerhouse designer Kelly Hoppen will accept BOLD Masters Awards at the BOLD (Business of Luxury Design) Summit, June 24-26, at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs. This award, sponsored by Baccarat, is bestowed upon design and industry masters who have pioneered new ground, realizing a lifetime of noteworthy projects within a frame of strong business practices.

“The BOLD Summit, the premier luxury design business conference in the United States, is a transformative experience where attendees get to actually learn from and mingle with giants in the field of interior design,” said Julia Molloy, owner of BOLD. Each master will share their wisdom and insights on entrepreneurship and the keys to building a thriving design firm.

In addition to exclusive learning experiences with the BOLD Masters, the BOLD Summit includes a packed agenda of talks by design business consultants and heavyweight media professionals, including design business-strategy experts Keith Granet, Kim Kuhteubl, Crans Baldwin, ASID CEO Randy W. Fiser, and editors of national design publications Interiors, Traditional Home, Robb Report Home & Style, MyDomaine.com, and more.

The event agenda takes the attendees through the key elements of a thriving business. “It is the most intense two days of business development and collaboration in the industry,” says owner, Julia Molloy. “Participants will experience a dynamic and powerful combination of tactical and strategic insights that will shave at least a year off the growth curve. There is nothing out there like this for luxury designers.” Attendees will benefit from an energizing and empowering agenda that includes streamlining workflow, team development, financial and growth strategy, media publishing and building a photographic portfolio. BOLD abounds with networking opportunities where designers can collaborate with each other and partake in intimate roundtable discussions with the BOLD Masters and expert speakers. They also have the benefit of taking home the presentation videos and 15 CEU’s. A detailed list of talks is available at www.BoldSummit.com and can be found in the Dropbox (see link below).

The event will kick off with a lively networking cocktail party sponsored by the publisher of Traditional Home magazine on Wednesday evening. Following a celebration honoring the BOLD Masters late Thursday afternoon, Interiors magazine is hosting an exclusive fundraising dinner at the Liberace home, redesigned by BOLD Speaker Christopher Kennedy, that will be attended by BOLD Masters, speakers, media and attendees who have selected the upgraded BOLD attendance package.

Below are additional details about BOLD 2015 Masters:

Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Martyn Lawrence Bullard is a multi-award-winning interior and product designer, author and television personality. His work has appeared in over 4,000 publications worldwide, and his projects are featured in over 10 coffee table books. Martyn released his own bestselling coffee table book, ‘Live, Love, & Decorate’, with Rizzoli in 2011. Martyn’s A-List clientele include Tommy Hilfiger, Cher, Ellen Pompeo, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Aaron Sorkin’s home and executive offices at Warner Brothers and Paramount Studios, and many others. Although known mainly for his high-end residential design, he has also lent his talent to commercial and hospitality, designing the Colony Palms Hotel and Purple Palms restaurant in Palm Springs, Red O Restaurant for master chef Rick Bayless, Castello Di Santa Eurasia in Umbria and the historic Chateau Gutsch Hotel in Switzerland.

Kelly Hoppen

With 39 years’ experience at the forefront of the industry, publishers and businesses continually seek Kelly’s unparalleled expertise, resulting in the authoring of eight design books to date, product lines and countless commissions. Kelly shares her extensive knowledge in her popular Kelly Hoppen Design School and is currently a “dragon” in the BBC2 series of Dragons Den, helping new entrepreneurs to reach their dreams.

Joan Behnke

Founded in 1999, Joan Behnke & Associates, Inc. is rooted in the deep belief that interior design is both a fine art and a profound opportunity for interior sculptural self-expression. The office’s team of designers has currently completed over 130 high-end residential and commercial projects throughout the world. Notable commercial projects have included five private hotel villas at the famous Costa S’meralda, Hotel Pitrizza and Hotel Romazzino in Porto Cervo, Sardegna, as well as the 350,000-square-foot private hotel, the ‘MGM Mansion,’ in Las Vegas and the new iconic slump-glass building for Alec Gores’ private equity firm in Beverly Hills. Behnke’s extensive residential projects have included many high-profile celebrity clients including two homes for the athlete-model couple Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen. Besides projects gracing the covers and pages of Architectural Digest, Interiors, Traditional Home, Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, Interior Design, Robb Report and Azure, Joan’s work has been selected for three Robb Report’s “Home of the Year” awards as well as Interior Design magazine’s, “Best of the Year” for corporate office design in collaboration with architect, Hagy Belzberg on the 9800 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills project. In 2013, Behnke was named “The Billionaire Whisperer” by Forbes magazine for her work with clients who have appeared on the pages of Forbes “500 list”.

About Molloy Management Group, BOLD Summit Owner

Founded in 2006, Molloy Management Group is the premier operations and luxury-branding specialist for the interior design industry. They are a trusted source for business tools, practices, training and consultation for interior design firms worldwide. Molloy Management is the catalyst that effectively leads firms into becoming more streamlined and more profitable.

About Vanessa Kogevinas | Vanessa K. Productions, BOLD Producer

Vanessa Kogevinas’s career in publishing and management has spanned over sixteen years, with a focus in the interior design industry. She is the founder of Vanessa K. Productions, which produces high-end interior design events including show houses, conferences and social events. Clients include Luxe Interiors + Design, The City of Beverly Hills, The Hollywood Reporter and BOLD (Business of Luxury Design) Summit. Vanessa’s resume also boasts positions with Architectural Digest, Veranda, California Homes and Western Interiors + Design, among others. She has written over 40 features for national design magazines and regularly appears on panels.

May 24, 2015

Becoming Luxury and the Birth of the BOLD Summit

Becoming a luxury interior design firm is not about putting on a facade or charging exorbitant fees. It is about functioning on such a high level that you are able to go beyond the ordinary and sufficient. It is about elevating the focus from mere necessity to that of delight and inspiration. Becoming a luxury design firm is hard-won and not for the faint of heart, because one must become luxury from the inside out.

There are a few steps to creating that special luxury touch and they may not all be apparent to you from the beginning. Ask yourself how you can go the extra step and make each experience memorable and uniquely of your firm. But remember, you don’t have to be alone on this journey!

I work with you to plot out the course in a very tangible way so that you, first of all, have clarity. And I find that — as simple as that sounds — it’s actually hard to come by. It requires outside input and it’s helpful when it comes from your peers and people that have already done it before and are doing it successfully in the current environment.

I developed the Business of Luxury Design Summit to create a sanctuary. Up until the BOLD Summit there was no place to brainstorm and collaborate with peers and get all kinds of information from experts that can really address those needs on your level.

It’s very much a holistic process. Bringing in all of these various experts to nourish this design community seemed right on target with what my mission is and has been for the last decade: to empower the designer and advance this industry.

April 20, 2015

Featured BOLD Designer Kerrie Kelly of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab

I’m loving the recent popularization of this beautiful soft gray color in interior design. It feels both fresh and soothing; such a lovely and versatile neutral that works in any room of a house! This project titled “Gorgeous in Gray” by Kerrie Kelly of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab in Sacramento, California caught my eye and truly epitomizes the versatility of this color. As Kerrie has so masterfully demonstrated, soft gray is also an ideal choice for the exterior of a home. These images make me want to go home and paint something gray. Well done, Kerrie!

Images courtesy of Kerriekelly.com