Creative Ways to Build Community
Right here in our backyard, is the idyllic town of Greenwich, Connecticut that is so rich with extraordinary design and home stores, restaurants and luxury retailers, flocked with some of the finest decorators and charming locals and yet somehow nothing had been done to celebrate this!
Thanks to Beth Dempsey, our President and Founder of Images & Details, Inc. “There is always strength in numbers.” says Beth. Something must be done to bring us all together and celebrate the passion that everyone has to offer one another. “The number of design related businesses has grown exponentially, so the idea of forming a group makes good business sense for all involved. The design industry is an inclusive one and they realize that a success for one is success for all.” Many exhilarating months later we transformed this missed opportunity into a dazzling event and our Greenwich Design Districts’ October 2017 Taste and Tour event took form.
Fourteen different shops participated and attracted more than 300 participants throughout the evening. There were book signings, special art events, new product launches, celebrity designer appearances and many more activities within each shop. These relationships ignited conversations that helped create collaborations between designers and consumers.
Not surprised by the results but nonetheless overjoyed, we added another Greenwich Design District (GDD) event to the June calendar, a “Day of Design”. The objective of this event was to highlight the Interior Design community. We wanted the participants to be able to learn, shop and engage with their peers like they did in the Fall. We created a charming hand-drawn map by B. Russell Melzer of Greenwich by B. Russell Melzer to guide people around the design district.
Here the design professionals, influencers, editors and consumers gathered to experience the latest trends in design. The energy that day was vibrant and enriching! Day of Design featured more than 15 talks, lectures, book signings, conversations, meet-and-greets in members’ shops and showrooms. We arranged for attendees to meet some of the design industry’s best editors of the time such as Sophie Donelson, Editor-in-chief of House Beautiful long with Traditional Home’s Style Editor Tori Mellott and Serendipity’s Home Editor, Stephanie Horton. There was a Color Analysis demonstration as well as the opportunity to get behind the scenes to look at some of the coolest lights. Many learned about licensing and the business of design and how One King’s Lane founder designed a collection for the Shade Store. Some attended a stimulating talk on discovering how antiques are being featured in some of the most contemporary spaces.
It was imperative to us to have the event run as smoothly as possible for everyone yet also have the viewers get the most out of it and have FUN. Other than the ads, newsletters, e-blasts, PR out-reach and social media posts, we also created the GDD website (www.greenwichdesigndistrict.com). At the time of the event, the website had already been viewed by more than 600 people. This had provided accessible event information at the fingertips of the participants. Afterward, in the Blog section of the GDD website, different participants and speakers have tips posted on their different fields. It is important to us to have viewers always thinking about the event this way so it can grow for years to come.
We have now just completed our Second Annual Taste and Tour event: “Setting the Scene for Fall”.
On October 17, thirteen different shops participated in the evening! Their doors were opened inviting participants to discover the latest trends in interior design and entertaining. Attendees were encouraged to meet design influencers, view new exhibits, get a book signed, learn about the importance of good lighting, savor local food and cider, admire special designed windows, enjoy music and many more activities within each shop while enjoying their tour of the Greenwich Design District. The more shops each guest visited, the higher chance they had in winning a raffle prize. This was such a great way to see what was new all in one evening!