Merchandise Mart Trip

The busy week continued with a trip up to Chicago touring showrooms at the Merchandise Mart in downtown! Several of us IED students boarded an early train, on our way to the hub of interior design in Illinois.

Our first stop was the IIDA headquarters. Here, we heard a little bit about IIDA and the design industry before getting a tour of their LEED Gold Certified space.

Next, we headed over to izzy+ showroom. We got to try out all their furniture pieces and hear about all the products they have.  izzy+ is a young company (began in 2001) that sells furniture to designers.   http://www.izzyplus.com/

 izzy+ had a great magnetic concept board

 After the tour, they kindly let us take home some samples!

The group at izzy+

After lunch, the group headed on to Kravet for the next showroom tour. Kravet is a home furnishings company that has high end fabrics and finishes for residential design. Their showroom housed countless materials from designers such as Ralph Lauren and Jonathan Adler that can be used for upholstery, drappery, etc.   http://www.kravet.com/

Jonathan Adler collection on display at Kravet

After Kravet, we hopped over to the Maya Romanoff showroom to learn about their incredible wall covering.  We were told several stories behind the hand crafted materials that make up the amazing collection of wall coverings.  Each of the coverings have their own special story of how it is made and who makes them as well as the part of the world they come from.   http://www.mayaromanoff.com/

 Wall coverings on display

Covering called "Bedazzled"

More free samples!

Materials can also be used as counter tops or table tops

Coverings used on light fixture shades

Our last stop of the day was a home furnishings showroom called CAI Designs. They offer luxury accessories and furniture for every taste and lifestyle.  http://www.caidesigns.net/index.asp

At the end of the day, our group dispersed and went our own ways. A few of us stayed back and wandered over to the Trump Tower to see the wonderful architecture and beautiful interior. We were immediately greeted in the hotel lobby where we were told countless facts about the building and Mr. Trump's obsessive love for French limestone and zebrawood and Italian marble. Talk about expensive taste... The man who greeted us in the lobby allowed us to travel up to the 16th floor which is also the first tier of the three tiered building. Here, we were greeted by another kind and helpful man who also gave us numerous facts about the building as well as the surrounding architecture. It was such an unexpected but amazing experience!

IIDC Annual Capital Day

On Wednesday, April 11th a large group of us IED students jumped on a bus and rode down to Springfield for the day. The day began setting up some of our projects in the main corridor of the State Capitol to show off our hard work!

Then the bus took us over to Resource One a few blocks away. This is a furniture showroom in downtown Springfield that doubled as our meeting grounds for the day. Here, we were briefed on the rundown for the day's activities and our lobbyist gave us a few tips. Then we were paired up with a professional designer and headed over to the State Capitol to meet with some legislators to "educate them on the importance of a Practice Act for Registered Interior Designers, otherwise known as the Economic Opportunity Act". While wandering around, attempting to navigate the century old building, we were able to see the amazing architecture that is the State Capitol.

Excuse my lack of photography skills...

After exploring the State Capitol Building and the Stratton Building and talking with legislators, we headed off to lunch then over to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for a special guest speaker and tour. We heard the story of the inspiration and research behind the design of the museum and the path it takes through Lincoln's life from childhood to assassination.
We weren't allowed to take photos once inside each exhibit so here are a few that we were able to snap before entering!

 The Presidential Library

If you haven't seen the museum yet, it is definitely worth the trip down to central Illinois!


After the tour, we headed back to Resource One for the reception. Here, we relaxed and talked with the professional designers and invited the legislators to join!

 

The whole group with Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford!
Such a great experience to meet legislators, professional designers, and networking. If you were unable to make it this year, join us next year!

Monthly Meeting of April

This is has been a very busy month for our IIDA chapter! So much involvement and many events going on in the month of April!

During our monthly meeting, our very own Alyssa Hall's mother Donna Hall came to talk to us and tell us about her business and role as an interior designer in Hinsdale, IL. Donna has over 12 years of experience in interior design and has created her very own residential company, Savvy Interior Design Inc. She told us about some of her best and worst experiences over the years and encouraged us to make the best of the endless possibilities in the design world.

You can read more about Donna Hall, her business, and view her projects at http://www.savvyinteriordesign.com/index.php