EJD x WNWN @ NYDC
WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S NEXT RECAP
For the second year in a row, we were invited to the NYDC as an ambassador for What’s New, What’s Next 2024! This year, WNWN invited 150 ambassadors from across the country to partake in a day full of design, and we are so thankful to have been selected again. With a packed schedule from all kinds of participating showrooms and presenters, we were busy bees taking in and learning from the best of the best in the industry. Of course, we can’t go to NYC without exploring our favorite museums and eating at delicious restaurants. Read below to hear all about the panels we sat in on and some of the fun we got into while in the big apple!
Freehand
The Freehand Hotel is where we stayed for our time in New York City, which is located in the Flatiron District, and conveniently close to the NYDC. It was the perfect location with many cute restaurants and cafes around. Not only was the Freehand beautiful and bold, but it holds lots of historical history in architecture and design. It was originally known as the George Washington Hotel where many well known writers and creatives have come to lodge.
This was one of of our favorite panels from the day along with many of the other guests - the Benjamin Moore’s Designer Book Club. This panel was led by Benjamin Reynaert and was super inspiring to hear him go into detail about the metaphorical power that paint and color have on design and go hand in hand. At the end of the panel they had a selection of 4 books participants got to chose to take one home. We selected Oliver Furth’s book - OP! Optimistic Interiors. We are so inspired by his bold and colorful designs we just had to pick it!!
Vibrant Voutsa
We decided to pop into the Voutsa showroom located in the NYDC while we were there, since we don’t have a showroom here in Houston to see all their amazing products in person. We always love getting to visit the Voutsa showroom because we just love all of their fun colors and patterns they have to offer!
Another panel we enjoyed sitting in on was all about kitchens - The Art of Kitchen Designs. We had the pleasure of getting to listen to Joy Young, owner, of Townhouse Kitchens talk about the benefits of hiring a kitchen designer. Doing so helps meet the clients needs while expressing each clients personal style and lifestyles. Jill Cohen, Editor in Chief of Luxe Interiors + Design was also on the panel discussing with Mick De Giulio and Joy Young. They all talked about the impact and power a kitchen design has on the home.
Investing In Photography
We sat down with the Business of Home in the Brown Jordan showroom to listen to designers: Christina Kim, Courtney McLeod, Joe Lucas, and Noz Nozawa talk about photographing your work. Listening to these designers talk about their different experiences with photographers and how they each go about photography for their own businesses was very educational. It was interesting to hear how different designers operate this portion of the job. Some designers do their own photography, while others have been using the same photographer for years!
We loved getting to visit the House of Hackney showroom and chat with our rep Madeleine! Since we don’t have a House of Hackney showroom here in Houston, we had fun exploring the new collection and ordering samples for our library!
Thank you again to the Harbinger showroom for providing the best spot for the Ambassador’s lounge! It was so nice to have a place to grab a snack and take a break for a moment between exploring showrooms and sitting in on panels. The showroom was filled with beautiful patterns, color, boldness, and a touch of relic. It was a beautiful showroom to be able to lounge and relax in!
Felix Roasting Co.
After a long day at WNWN we walked over to Felix Roasting Co. for an afternoon pick-me-up while taking in their remarkable aesthetics! We sat in for awhile while recapping the day and discussing our favorite segments of WNWN. Not too shabby of a place to work!
Sunflower
Before we said our final goodbyes to the city, we sat outside and enjoyed the nice NYC weather one last time before flying back to Houston!
While we were in the area we decided to take a stroll through the Fotografiska Museum of photography, art, and culture. It was so much fun getting to see the different kinds of photography work and the meaning behind them. Our favorite exhibition was the work of photographer Vivian Maier. She captured street style photographs and self portraits. Vivian portrayed a unique style of photography and how she captured moments.
The last museum we check out was the Museum of Modern Art aka the MoMA! We have so much fun checking out all the fun kinds of art work displayed. These were a few pieces that caught our eye and thought were alluring.
Recap
We are so honored to have been asked to be a WNWN Ambassador for the second year in a row. We hope you enjoyed recapping our amazing time and take away some inspiration. Thank you for following along! See you next year, NYC!!