Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
High Point Market’s Virtual Showhouse Highlights Diversity
October 6,
2020 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
International Market Centers (IMC) announced today that nine designers with diverse backgrounds, design experiences and global perspectives will participate in its Virtual Showhouse for Fall 2020 High Point Market. The program comes to life in The House that Diversity Built, an Oct. 8 webinar with participating designers discussing the cultural influences and product perspectives that went into the creation of their respective rooms.
“Great design talent crosses cultures, life experiences and perspectives. Through our Fall 2020 High Point Virtual Showhouse we are viewing IMC’s vast High Point resources through the unique view of a group of talented and diverse designers,” said Dorothy Belshaw, chief customer and marketing officer for IMC. “This exploration of different styles, practices and inspirations is especially fitting during this heightened time of social justice and we encourage buyers to use these designs as inspiration as they source at market.”
Participating designers include: Alberthe Buabeng, owner of Albie Knows; Breegan Jane, founder of Breegan Jane Interior Design; Byron Risdon, ASID, owner of Byron Risdon LLC; David Santiago, owner of Casa Santi Interior Design; Don Ricardo Massenburg, founder of DESiGN iNKREDiBLE LLC; Erika Taylor, owner and principal of Taylored Interior Solutions LLC; Evette Rios, interior designer, lifestyle expert and television host; Jeanine Haith, principal and owner of ShowHouse Interiors; and Nile Johnson, principal of Nile Johnson Interior Design. The session will be moderated by Monique Valeris, senior home editor for Good Housekeeping.
“Diversity is an essential component to the fabric of our culture and lives,” Santiago said. “In design, it is the common thread that keeps us all unified so that we are able to celebrate our talents and lift each other up. Diversity is unity and the center of this kaleidoscope of an industry and we must always design it forward!”
“Diversity is a must in the design world and in any other industry! Companies that increase diversity, equity, and inclusion experience better performance and results including higher innovation revenues,” Massenburg said. “The design industry in our country is so heavily focused on one perspective and it is perplexing that such a creative profession is not as diverse as it should be. It is so important that value be placed on the talents, opinions and perspectives of people of color and minority groups. Diverse perspectives should be represented in major publications and in positions of leadership.”
“Diversity in design is something to embrace, not resist, simply because diverse ideas make for a more robust tapestry of inspiration,” Buabeng explained. “As designers, our job is to translate creative ideas into tangible results — whether they’re hiring us to do the design or looking to our content so that they can execute on their own. We do them and the industry a disservice when it is ‘more of the same.’”
Presented in partnership with IMC DesignOnHPMKT, Las Vegas Market and Atlanta Market, the live webinar is viewable from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Registration information is available online at http://www.imchighpointmarket.com/virtual-showhouse. The recorded webinar and related designs will also be live on the IMC High Point Market website in the coming weeks.