2022 Agenda

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

10:30AM - 7:30PM

Registration & Information Desk Hours
Pick up your badge and swag bag at the registration desk at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead hotel

Conference Kick-Off: 1:00PM

Influencer & Brand Track Sessions                                                                                      

Influencer Track Sessions located in Grand  Ballrooms 1 & 2
Brand Track Sessions located in Buckhead Ballroom  

Brand Track Sponsored by:
High Point Market Authority

1:00PM-1:30PM

Influencer Breakout #1:
Mastering TikTok and Reels Trends

TikTok and Instagram Reels have moved the needle skyward on video creation and marketing. These platforms have evolved in terms of functionality and audience engagement during this pandemic era...where video connections dominated in-person conversations.  Learn basic techniques and tips that will launch your video campaigns to new heights.

Kyla Herbes is the founder and creator behind the interior design blog House Of Hipsters where she shares corners of her home, daily doses of interior inspiration, style tips, and inspires her 700k+ followers to do it themselves. Most recently, Kyla was a One Room Challenge Featured Designer, named a Better Homes & Garden Style Maker for the 3 year in a row, and was featured on House Beautiful for her kitchen renovation with Cambria.

When TikTok exploded during the 2020 pandemic, and Kyla went all in on the platform. As a result, she was hired by TikTok to become a Creative Learning Partner, and her account was featured in Furniture, Lighting & Decor Magazine, Yahoo News, Southern Living, and Exhibit A as one to watch in the home decor niche.
 
Prior to starting her blog, she worked as the Creative Director at a boutique ad agency in downtown Chicago. Kyla lives in the the suburbs of Chicago with her husband Thorsten and 2 children.

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Kyla Herbes
Principal, Influencer, and Interior Designer
House of Hipsters

Brand Breakout #1:
Pro Tips on Working with Influencers

Creating mutually beneficial Influencer partnerships has become an essential step in every brand's marketing strategy. The most important part of any collaboration Is making sure the partnership is a correct fit for both parties. This session will cover best practices, finding the correct Influencers for your brand, negotiating adequate and fair compensation, recording campaign analytics, and how to create a lasting relationship in the influencer community.
Key takeaways include:

  • End-goals for an influencer campaign
  • Connecting with potential influencers
  • Identifying intrinsic content values for you
  • Interact with your influencers' posts

Co-Founder and CEO, White Label Studio

Mollie is Co-Founder and CEO of White Label Studio, a boutique marketing agency located In Calhoun Georgia that services 29 clients mainly In the Home and Fashion Industries. After 15 years in corporate America, I was ready for more. I wanted to work with a variety of businesses and help them build marketing strategies with measurable actions that drive results. As a working mom, I wanted to build a company that valued flexibility, family, and a culture of partnership and inclusion. This passion and commitment led me to start White Label Studio in 2017 with a long-time friend and co-worker, Elise Demboski. The company name reflects my upbringing in the wedding industry. Born and raised in a suburb north of Atlanta, I grew up in my family’s growing couture bridal business (ahem, so many white dresses). I also enjoy working out, spending time with my husband and two girls, and caring for our petting zoo (dog, 2 bunnies, 3 turtles, and 2 fish).

Mollie Surratt
Co-Founder and CEO
White Label Studio

2:00PM-2:30PM

Influencer Breakout #2:
Podcasting -Audio Part 1

As new social media platforms proliferated, multiple solutions emerged for moments when text is not enough and video is overkill; social/broadcast audio enter stage right! In this session hear from some Home Design podcasters and their studio producer about their 3 year old effort to expand their already powerful community via audio!

 

Principals, Interior Designers, and Podcasters

Voted one of Atlanta’s Top 20 Residential Interior Designs by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Kandrac & Kole has been featured on HGTV as well as in The New York Times, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Home Magazine and many others as well as participants of the One Room Challenge Spring 2020.  Kandrac & Kole has established a well known reputation for their approachable, dynamic personalities, their signature use of color and pattern and their one of a kind, custom designs.

As industry experts for residential and commercial design, Joann Kandrac & Kelly Kole share upbeat and entertaining narratives regarding their design projects, travels and personal stories via their podcast Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole and national speaking engagements. Joann and Kelly’s love and commitment to the power of interior design also extends towards their charity work throughout the U.S. and Guatemala.

Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole
Principals and Interior Designers, Kandrac & Kole
Podcasters, Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole

 

Brand Breakout #2:
Measuring and Improving Performance on your Influencer Marketing Efforts

Influencer Marketing, like all other marketing activity, can be optimized for performance.  Establishing objectives and employing measurement techniques will lead to performance optimization.

 

FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ULTRAVIOLET

Jennifer Smiga is the creative catalyst behind ultraviolet, a marketing agency specializing in luxury manufacturers, designers, and creative brands. With over a decade of experience representing international companies and influencers, Smiga knows that connecting the right people and telling meaningful stories are the keys to engaging a loyal community. Equal parts visionary and tenacious executor, she has built a team that intimately understands the design ecosystem, empowering them to create custom brand blueprints that make companies stand out. To learn more about marketing at a higher frequency, visit ultravioletagency.com. 

Jennifer Smiga
Founder and Creative Director
ultraviolet agency

2:45PM-3:15PM

Influencer Track Breakout #3:
Content Building For Designers and Influencers

Being strategic and proficient at content creation and storytelling is critical in today's passion economy. Cutting through the noise to build community requires a big-picture strategy. In this session, Nancy will share her expertise of building community through a brand's mission, creating a content strategy, the segmentation of content and how personal narratives can build community and trust.

Actionable takeaways

  • Standing out in the passion economy through content
  • Branding verses storytelling
  • Creating a content strategy
  • Content segmentation across platforms
  • Why content can build community

Media Executive

Nancy Soriano is a media executive with a proven track record in strategizing, creating and guiding content to drive revenue and build customer engagement. She is the former Editorial Director for West Elm and Editor in Chief of Country Living Magazine.

Nancy Soriano
Media Executive

Brand Track Breakout #3:
Working with Influencers for Long-Term Relationships

As brands continue their rapid embrace of influencers and brand ambassadors spreading their product affinities to loyal followings, it has become clear that the most powerful results are realized through long term relationships built on solid agreements. Learn more about how to organize influencers for long term engagements and why.

Long or short term, selecting the right influencers for your brand is paramount. Brand affinity and follower engagement often play into the selection process, but what else? Develop your checklist for influencer search engagement now.

Founder and Creative Director, ultraviolet

As Director of Social Media at ultraviolet, Sarah develops and implements engaging social media campaigns across our client channels. She also has oversight of cross-platform content planning, marketing strategy, management, and execution. Sarah works tirelessly to help clients build online communities, hit their targets, and turn their goals into reality across platforms. Prior to joining UV, she worked with best-in-class brands such as ELOQUII, NARS, MAC Cosmetics, David Yurman, Diane von Furstenberg, and Clé de Peau Beauté.

Outside of ultraviolet, Sarah is a socially connected influencer, has been the star of viral videos, and helped lead an anti-body shaming campaign that earned an apology from O, the Oprah Magazine. As a thought-leader in plus size fashion, her writing has appeared in TIME, CNN, Teen Vogue, Glamour, InStyle, and Lucky. With an approach that is more Role Model than Runway Model, Sarah has built a credible connection with the fashion community as a whole.

Sarah Conley
Director of Social Media
ultraviolet agency

General Sessions:

General Sessions will be held in Grand Ballrooms 1 & 2

All attendees from the Influencer and Brand Tracks are invited to participate.

3:30PM-4:15PM

General Session #1: Pandemic and Post Pandemic Influencer Marketing Era

Like everything else, Influencer Marketing & brand development were impacted by the pandemic. Sensitized marketing proliferated as pandemic-driven changes in human nature and abnormal lifestyle conditions prevailed. Since the first quarter of 2020, the process of building influence online for business outcomes evolved under an organic cloak with shifts that should last long into post pandemic years. Adam will provide a 30-minute overview of the pandemic’s impact on Influencer Marketing for the design industry including:

  • Human Condition
  • Online Audiences
  • Long Term Effects On Influencer Marketing Tactics

CEO and Founder, Esteem Media and Design Influencers Conference

Adam Japko is CEO of Esteem Media and founder of the Design Influencers Conference. Esteem Media is home to leading national and local media brands in the luxury home design, gardening, and fine wine communities; focused on connecting professionals and consumers around their passions and businesses. Design Influencers Conference, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, New England Home, and WineZag leverage events, print media, social media, blogs, and digital marketing… but overall, community connection as the catalyst for their constituents’ commercial success.

Adam Japko Emcee Design Influencer Conference

CEO and Founder, Esteem Media and Design Influencers Conference

Adam Japko is CEO of Esteem Media and founder of the Design Influencers Conference. Esteem Media is home to leading national and local media brands in the luxury home design, gardening, and fine wine communities; focused on connecting professionals and consumers around their passions and businesses. Design Influencers Conference, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, New England Home, and WineZag leverage events, print media, social media, blogs, and digital marketing… but overall, community connection as the catalyst for their constituents’ commercial success.

Adam Japko
Founder and CEO
Esteem Media, Inc
Design Influencers Conference

4:15PM-4:45PM

Networking Break for All Participants

4:45PM-5:30PM

General Session and Opening Keynote: Corey Damen Jenkins

Principal and Interior Designer, Corey Damen Jenkins & Associates

Nationally acclaimed designer Corey Damen Jenkins mixes vivid colors with layered patterns to create architecturally inspired spaces that are polished, inventive and unexpected. Taking cues from the haute couture runway, his projects feature luxurious and refined materials. “My goal is to ensure that my clients’ homes are always classic, livable and without an expiration date,” states the designer. Corey has worked with clients hailing from the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, and his firm maintains a New York City office.

Corey is an inducted member of Architectural Digest's AD100, and in 2020, he was named to ELLE Decor's prestigious A-List. His bold interiors have graced the front covers of House Beautiful, Traditional Home and more. He has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, and Vanity Fair. His first coffee table book, Design Remix: A New Spin On Traditional Rooms (Rizzoli), was released worldwide in March 2021.

Corey has been featured in a number of broadcast opportunities. Televised audiences declared him the winner of HGTV’s competition series Showhouse Showdown, and Corey has appeared as a guest design expert on The Rachael Ray Show and Open HouseTV. In August 2021, Corey made his debut as a MasterClass instructor, with a course on interior design.

Corey has also been the recipient of numerous industry honors including the New York School of Interior Design's Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award, Traditional Home’s New Trad Rising Star of Design Award, Fashion Group International’s Night Of Stars Award For Interior Design and the D&D Building’s Stars On The Rise Award. In 2019, he was invited to design the formal “Ladies Library” for the renowned Kips Bay Decorator Show House New York, and he also participated in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas 2021, for which he designed the formal dining room, titled “A Tent for New Beginnings.”

Corey resides in New York City and is a tireless advocate for many charities, including the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Corey Damen Jenkins
Principal and Interior Designer
Corey Damen Jenkins & Associates

5:30PM - 5:40PM

Special Announcement from Dallas Market Center

5:40PM-7:30PM

Welcome Reception at the Grand Hyatt hotel - all participants invited to attend

7:30PM - 9:30PM

Official After Party- to be announced

Thursday, August 18, 2022

General Sessions

General Sessions will be held in Grand Ballroom.s 1 & 2

All sessions on Monday are General Sessions- all attendees from the Influencer and Brand Tracks are invited to attend.

7:30AM-8:30AM

Coffee with Exhibitors and Sponsors

7:30AM-8:25AM

Pre-Conference Session 1: Mentor Roundtable Q&A with Influencers
LOOKING FOR REAL INPUT FOR YOUR ONLINE STRATEGY? Ask questions of our experienced Design Influencers regarding your website, blog, social channels, strategies, and techniques. 
Space is limited and RSVP required- more info to come.

Pre-Conference Session 2: Maximizing Your High Point Market Potential
This early bird, pre-opening session combines breakfast and learning about one of the most important in-person home furnishings platform available to home furnishings influencers, designers, and brands.  Ashley Grigg, VP Marketing for High Point Market Authority will help you fast track your comfort and upside opportunities at these twice yearly giant gatherings.  HPMA has played a central role, investing countless dollars, time, and initiative to make it a commercial haven for brands and designers.  Get the most out of your market experiences. Join Ashley Grigg, Director of Marketing & Communications with the High Point Market Authority, as she drills down into the various ways an exhibitor can promote their High Point presence, and how the High Point Market Authority can assist. Space is limited and RSVP Required

8:30AM - 9:00AM

Welcome address

Co-Emcee, Founder and CEO, Esteem Media and Design Influencers Conference

Adam Japko is CEO of Esteem Media and founder of the Design Influencers Conference. Esteem Media is home to leading national and local media brands in the luxury home design, gardening, and fine wine communities; focused on connecting professionals and consumers around their passions and businesses. Design Influencers Conference, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, New England Home, and WineZag leverage events, print media, social media, blogs, and digital marketing… but overall, community connection as the catalyst for their constituents’ commercial success.

Adam Japko Emcee Design Influencer Conference

Co-Emcee, Principal, Influencer, and Designer, House of Moriarty, Inc.

Rachel Moriarty aka: The Queen of Color, is the Principal Designer and Creative Director of the multidisciplinary design studio, House of Moriarty, Inc. Since launching her design studio in 2014, she has made her mark in the luxury residential market in San Diego with her colorfully coastal aesthetic. Rachel embodies her personal belief that color adds interest and excitement to the world, and, like a chef seasoning a meal, she sprinkles it liberally to add passion and flavor to each of her projects. Her work has garnered awards, media coverage and global recognition, enabling her to expand her studio to not only interior design clients but also to brands as a licensee, collaborator and global brand ambassador. Recognized as a Changemaker, Rachel is also a Visibility Strategist and Instructor at LuAnn University for designers who want to amplify their personal brand messaging. 

Adam Japko
Co-Emcee
Founder & CEO
Esteem Media, Inc
Design Influencers Conference

Rachel Moriarty
Co-Emcee
Principal and Interior Designer
House of Moriarty, Inc.

 

9:00AM-10:00AM

Keynote: Andrew Davis
Limit Less - How Successful Influencers Increase Revenue, Generate More Leads, and Spread Their Message in a Crowded Marketplace

If we want to grow our business, there's no shortage of advice: you've got to hustle, work hard, create content, buy Facebook ads, post on Instagram, blog, start a podcast, and create a YouTube channel. (Don't forget to do some keyword research first.) They tell us to share our knowledge and to become an expert in our field.

Here's the thing: the world doesn't need another expert.

It turns out that some of the most successful brands in the world don't try to become experts. Instead, they earn more revenue, generate higher quality leads, and build scalable businesses because they've lept from expert to visionary.

In this hilarious, fun, and inspiring hour-long keynote, best-selling author and former television producer Andrew Davis will show you the four simple secrets to getting out of Expertville. You'll learn the three-step process one woman used to leap from struggling expert to $100MM brand in less than a year.

It's time to stop building lists and start building a legacy.

Are you ready to make the leap? It's easier than you think.

Renowned Marketing Influencer and Speaker

Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, Andrew produced for NBC’s Today Show, worked for The Muppets in New York and wrote for Charles Kuralt. He's appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and on NBC and the BBC. Davis has crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands.

Recognized as one of the industry's "Jaw-Dropping Marketing Speakers," Andrew is a mainstay on global marketing influencer lists. Wherever he goes, Andrew Davis puts his infectious enthusiasm and magnetic speaking style to good use teaching business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy.

Some of Andrew's accolades include:
• One of the Top 25 Jaw-dropping Marketing Speakers You Must See -(Along with Gary Vaynerchuck, Seth Godin & Rohit Bhargava)
• Top 20 on Meetings & Conventions Magazine's List of Favorite Speakers-
(Right after President Bill Clinton and Anderson Cooper.)

Andrew Davis
Renowned Marketing Influencer and Speaker

 

10:00AM-10:45AM

Networking Break with Exhibitors and Sponsors

10:45AM-11:30AM

The Truth of Licensed Collections: The Commitment, Timeline, and Potential

Join Libby Langdon as she presents proven tips and tactics toward designing, developing, and promoting product collections based on her own successful licensed home furnishings lines. Having the right foundation, making you an appealing partner to potential manufacturers, target brands and fit, and positioning your pitch. Libby also breaks down her design process; how it starts, how the sample making process goes, different royalty rates depending on the product, legal responsibilities and what it takes to bring a complete collection to market. She also shares her strategies designing for the mass market vs. custom project pieces and offers insight on the sales and promotion the products broadening outreach with your partner in this informative, fast-paced and motivational presentation!

Actionable takeaways include:
• How to know your audience/ consumer/ demographic and their price point
• Peeling back the curtain on what manufacturers are looking for in a licensed collection
• The insider lowdown on where a collection/ designer makes money
• How to be a responsible design partner
• Ideas on where to start the design process
• How involved do you have to be in the sales and promotion of your product

Interior Designer, Author, Product Designer Libby Interiors, Inc.

Libby Langdon is an interior designer, author, product designer and makeover television personality, as well as the creative force behind New York City–based design firm Libby Interiors, Inc. She is known for her “Easy, Elegant, Everyday Style,” as well as her licensed home-furnishing collections, including lighting for Crystorama, rugs for KAS, artwork for Paragon, a complete home collection of upholstery and casegoods for Fairfield Chair, and accessories for A&B Home, which is slated to debut at High Point Market in October 2021. Her interior design work and home products have been featured in leading shelter magazines, including Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, Better Homes and Gardens, and Woman’s Day. Langdon has been a regular design expert on NBC’s TODAY Show, HGTV’s Small Space, Big Style, The View, The Rachael Ray Show, The Early Show and NBC’s Open House. Langdon travels the country presenting her design seminars to consumers, designers and retailers about all things design.

Libby Langdon
Interior Designer, Author, Product Designer
Libby Interiors, Inc.

11:30AM-12:00PM

Email Marketing 101: Why Your Newsletter Matters More Than Ever

Email marketing is a fully optimized tactic that belongs in every campaign focused on community and brand building. Followers on social media are overwhelmed with a constant stream of content curated by algorithms that prioritize engagement and interaction.   Building influence with new audiences is becoming increasingly more challenging.  In this general session you will:

1) gain a better understanding  why email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market your personal and business brands

2) why email marketing generates over 3800% ROI for each $1 spent

3) how to implement an email strategy within your current content marketing efforts

Founder, Saurit Creative

Ericka Saurit has worked with interior design and marketing teams in the home industry for nearly 20 years. She began her career as an interior designer, and transitioned to marketing for the home industry in 2011. As a global brand marketing leader, she has overseen digital product development and brand strategy at Airbnb, created immersive physical and virtual brand experiences for Tag Heuer and Estee Lauder, and worked with top home brands in the US, Europe, and Asia to develop impactful brand messaging and engagement campaigns.

In 2020, she founded Saurit Creative to serve interior designers and home brands with integrated marketing strategy, content creation, social storytelling, and diverse range of digital services.

Ericka Saurit
Founder
Saurit Creative

 

12:00PM-12:15PM

Special Presentation from Our Charitable Organization 

The Oasis Alliance is a DC Metropolitan-based 501(c)(3) organization that brightens the lives of trauma survivors by curating beautiful personalized interior spaces that encourage and accelerate recovery, growth, and mental wellbeing. Utilizing donated furniture, décor, and essential household goods, their mission is to create empowering, inspired spaces that feel safe and reflective of their inhabitants. Volunteer artists, therapists, designers, movers, installers, and other talented contributors form teams to accomplish the mission. While the final curated spaces are beautiful, The Oasis Alliance centers its work around dignity, equity, inclusion, and uplift.

From her days in the Peace Corps to now helping rehabilitate people who have survived trauma through The Oasis Alliance, Danielle’s journey has always been about helping others. Having experienced certain traumas herself, she understands their needs. Today she uses her talent to run The Oasis Alliance⁠, the nonprofit she founded. With the help of her all-volunteer executive team and talented members of the community, her team provides home makeovers for families who have lived in shelters, homeless veterans, teenaged mothers who are pursuing higher education, children who have been abused, and other survivors of trauma. Her dedication and commitment make her a light and resource for those who need it most.

Danielle Woodhouse Johnson
Founder/CEO/Interior Stylist
www.theoasisalliance.org

12:15PM-1:30PM

Lunch for all participants

1:30PM-2:00PM

How to Integrate Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Efforts

One of the biggest challenges in marketing is creating a robust marketing strategy that leverages the strengths of multiple marketing efforts. This presentation will show you several SEO elements that can be used in your social media efforts. We also discuss how your social media efforts can help your SEO efforts.

Session Takeaways:

  • A framework for SEO and Social Media integration
  • Data points to track your combined efforts
  • SEO best practices that launch your Social Media content creation

Founder and CEO, Waymaker SEO

Joshua Monge is a Senior SEO Consultant with a strong background in Operations and Economics. His work history includes On-Premise Staffing Agency Manager, Multi-Family Dwelling Unit Manager, and Director of Economic Development. Joshua has helped hundreds of businesses at every level in these capacities, from small, single-owner operations to large, corporate establishments. He has the unique advantage of working with various businesses at many levels of engagement.

Local community involvement is significant to Joshua. He chairs the Development Committee for the Board of Directors for Eugene Education Foundation (EEF) and helps facilitate educational efforts to bridge the gap between industry and education. He has brought together regional business owners and academic leaders to provide industry tours, student internships, job shadows, and externships for teachers.

Joshua started Waymaker SEO near the beginning of 2020, leveraging his experience to provide a holistic approach to SEO. His book of clients includes a celebrity chef, a social media influencer in home design, several consulting businesses. He works with several agencies to provide enterprise-level support. He specializes in organic approaches so that marketing online is organized and accessible. He seeks to remove the mystery of the worldwide web by giving business owners and managers access to the SEO knowledge and skills they need to manage websites effectively.

Joshua Monge
Strategic & Solutions-Oriented Consultant
Founder and CEO
Waymaker SEO

 

 

 

2:00PM-2:45PM

Influencer Pandemic Pivot

"The Pivot" (as it has come to be known under pandemic conditions) took on different meanings for influencers.  Book writing, new instagram strategies, innovative content forms, new platforms, expanding into or out of Home Design, and more were tested.  This panel of influencers will share their unique strategies and results and why they see it as more than stop gap measures for stemming the Covid tide.  All have successfully advanced their levels of influence and engagement over the last two years.  The panel's members will all share their specific case and answer questions from moderator Rachel Moriarity and the audience.

 

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Rachel Moriarty aka: The Queen of Color, is the Principal Designer and Creative Director of the multidisciplinary design studio, House of Moriarty, Inc. Since launching her design studio in 2014, she has made her mark in the luxury residential market in San Diego with her colorfully coastal aesthetic. Rachel embodies her personal belief that color adds interest and excitement to the world, and, like a chef seasoning a meal, she sprinkles it liberally to add passion and flavor to each of her projects. Her work has garnered awards, media coverage and global recognition, enabling her to expand her studio to not only interior design clients but also to brands as a licensee, collaborator and global brand ambassador. Recognized as a Changemaker, Rachel is also a Visibility Strategist and Instructor at LuAnn University for designers who want to amplify their personal brand messaging. 

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Fashion publicist turned fashion Influencer, Kellie Brown is on a mission to be a trailblazer for inclusivity in the media and beyond. She created her blog, Instagram, and YouTube channel "And I Get Dressed" as a destination for stylish women from all walks of life to see themselves reflected - to highlight style, beauty, travel, and lifestyle beyond perceived “limitations” of ones body type or size. Kellie is famously known for her hashtag #FatAtFashionWeek to disrupt the fashion industry by showcasing no matter your size, you can have a love for fashion and be included in the narrative. Her merch, And I Get Dressed, is all about empowerment, showcasing different bodies in gorgeous stencil work, coining the phrase "Fat Icon", and is a size inclusive clothing and accessories collection to make women feel empowered every time they wear it. Kellie has been featured by O Magazine, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Racheal Ray Show, BBC, Man Repeller, Refinery29, Who What Wear, In Style, CNN and more, and has worked with top brands such as Dove, Nike, and Calvin Klein. Kellie is a New Yorker, currently residing in Los Angeles, and is taking her audience along her new home journey with @aigdhome.

 

Originally from South Africa, Mally Skok is a Palm Beach-based interior design and textile artist. Since launching her successful interior design business after moving to the United States, Mally has built a client base that is enamored by her creative mix of layering the new with the old, and transforming homes into comfortable, colorful living spaces. Mally Skok Design's globally-inspired collection of hand-painted fabric and wallpaper designs is offered in thirteen showrooms in the U.S. and abroad.

It could be the curious curves on a vintage 70s sofa, the soft hand of a sumptuous bouclé textile, the textured finish of a natural stone, or perhaps a bold embroidery detail woven on a well-crafted couture jacket that catches the eye of interior designer Cara Woodhouse. Because for this designer, the journey of inspiration is anything but singular.

Having called Los Angeles, London and now New York home, Cara imparts a distinct global sensibility throughout her New York-based, full-service design firm where she casts her clients as her greatest collaborators. Whether she’s designing a townhouse in London or the West Village, a Central Park West apartment, a Nantucket getaway, a home in Miami, the Playboy offices in Beverly Hills, or a mid century-modern home in West Hollywood, you can always count on a stroke of unexpected artistry balanced by chic earth elements.

In the end, Cara is a firm believer that every interior should render an experience, and as her career flourishes she continues to produce evocative spaces that run the gamut from punchy and whimsical to craft-forward and storied.

Moderator:
Rachel Moriarty
Co-Emcee
Principal and Interior Designer
House of Moriarty, Inc.

 

Kellie Brown
LA-based Content Creator, Lifestyle Influencer;
Founder of Style Community, And I Get Dressed

 

Mally Skok
Palm Beach-based Interior Design and Textile Artist

Cara Woodhouse
Interior Designer and Influencer

2:45PM-3:30PM

Networking with Exhibitors and Sponsors

3:30PM-4:00PM

4 Powerful Legal Tips for Influencers and Brands

As Influencer Marketing takes social media recommendations and opinion leadership to new heights of commerce and messaging, it is important to understand requirements and boundaries that govern these activities. Full disclosure, deceptivity, agreements, and intellectual property are a few of the topics that brands and influencers need to be fluent in. Nic from Legally Hollywood has been paying attention to the burgeoning Influencer Marketing community and has some observations and tips to share

Key Takeaways:
• Legally Protecting Your Content
• Protect Your Image
• Types of Common Influencer Contracts
• Creating a Business Structure to Protect Influencers and Their Businesses

Founder, Legally Hollywood

Nic is an Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Business Attorney. She owns an entertainment law firm in NYC and is founder of Legally Hollywood, which offers affordable entertainment attorney-prepared online legal courses and contract templates. She has recently won the 2020 Super lawyers Rising Star: New York Metro Award (only 2.5% of attorneys in NY Metro receive this distinction). Nic has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry combined as both a  lawyer and a performer. She is a former U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist, print model, and SAG Actress. You’re going to want an entertainment attorney with REAL INFLUENCER EXPERIENCE drafting and discussing contracts and legal concepts with you. She's worked with teams of attorneys on both sides of complex, high-profile influencer deals (some costing 6 figures for one social media post!)

Nic
Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Business Attorney
Founder, Legally Hollywood

4:00PM-4:45PM

Influencer Insight Sessions - to be announced
 

Head of Content Marketing Lead at Later

Taylor Loren is the head of content marketing lead at Later, the #1 Instagram marketing platform. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs grow their business through the power of Instagram marketing, which she does through the popular Later blog and free online Instagram courses. Taylor was  named a LinkedIn Top Voice  of social media marketing and awarded Best Startup Marketing in Canada. You can follow her on Instagram at @taylor.loren 

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4:45PM-5:30PM

Keynote: Jonathan Rachman 

Internationally Renowned Interior Designer

Known for his timeless approach to interior design, internationally recognized interior designer Jonathan Rachman brings the best elements of East and West, classical, old-school, and current to his individually tailored plans for each client and collaborative project on which he embarks. 

Born in Sumatra, Jonathan developed an appreciation of Indonesia’s natural beauty and attention to detail in the craftsmanship of their furniture, textiles, and sculpture. Bringing together his education in Switzerland with his enthusiasm for travel, Jonathan’s exposure to antique and flea markets across the world, helped to define his keen eye for curating collections of textiles, objets d’art, leather goods, and historical treasures.

Jonathan’s most recent accolade includes his much-lauded design installation for the living room of the 2019 San Francisco Decorator’s Showcase, inspired by Houghton Hall and Lady Rose. His work has been published in ELLE Decor, Vogue, The English Home, Travel + Leisure,  Harper’s Bazaar, Dolce, House Beautiful and Luxe among others. Jonathan is also included in Maria Spassov’s book, Celebrity Designers: 50 Interviews on Design, Architecture, and Life as well as Louis Vuitton City Guide. Recently he has been named one of the top America’s Top Designers. 

Besides his collaboration with Ellis Dunn Textiles he is working with a noted light fixture company designing a collection and he is developing his own fragrance and candle line. Lastly, he is working on his coffee table book with Dean Rhys Morgan and will be published in 2022 by Flammarion. His personal memoir "The Garlic Peanut Story" is released in November.

 

Jonathan Rachman
Internationally Renowned Interior Designer
Principal, Jonathan Rachman Design

 

5:30PM-5:40PM

High Point Design Influencers Tour - Spring 2022 Announcement:
Ashley Grigg of High Point Market Authority and Adam Japko

As the Director of Marketing and Communications for the High Point Market Authority, Ashley Grigg manages a wide variety of projects, including media relations, educational programming, social media and digital promotions for the largest home furnishings trade show in the world, High Point Market. With over 13 years of experience in marketing and event management, she has previously worked in event management, association management, corporate fundraising, and business development.

Adam Japko is CEO of Esteem Media and founder of the Design Influencers Conference. Esteem Media is home to leading national and local media brands in the luxury home design, gardening, and fine wine communities; focused on connecting professionals and consumers around their passions and businesses. Design Influencers Conference, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, New England Home, and WineZag leverage events, print media, social media, blogs, and digital marketing… but overall, community connection as the catalyst for their constituents’ commercial success.

Ashley Grigg
Director of Marketing and Communications
High Point Market Authority

5:40PM-7:30PM

7:30PM-9:30PM

Networking Reception at the Grand Hyatt hotel - all participants are invited 

Official After Party - to be announced

Friday, August 19, 2022

Influencer and Brand Track Sessions                                                                                                           

Influencer Track Sessions located in Grand  Ballrooms 1 & 2
Brand Track Sessions located in Buckhead Ballroom

                                                                                             

Brand Track Sponsored by:
High Point Market Authority

7:30AM-8:30AM

Coffee with Exhibitors and Sponsors

7:30AM - 8:25AM

Pre-Conference Session 1: Mentor Roundtable Q&A with Influencers- Overflow sesion
LOOKING FOR REAL INPUT FOR YOUR ONLINE STRATEGY? Ask questions of our experienced Design Influencers regarding your website, blog, social channels, strategies, and techniques.
Space is limited and RSVP required - more info to be announced.

8:30AM-9:00AM

Influencer Breakout #4: Building and Managing Online Communities For Highly Qualified Leads and Faster Sales

Whether you're a large home-related brand or an independent interior designer, learn top tips for building private and/or public online communities on Linked In, Facebook, Instagram and Clubhouse that can help you generate highly qualified leads and faster sales.

Named by Home Furnishing News Magazine as one of the Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home, Leslie Carothers pioneered the use of social media marketing and influencer marketing within the interior design and home furnishings industries. In addition to running her business, Savour Partnership, she is a nationally known keynote speaker, a well known influencer herself in the design space, and has been featured in, and written articles for, numerous design related publications over the years. Her company, Savour Partnership, celebrating its 20th year in business in 2022, has helped many luxury furniture and home decor related brands and interior designers with their digital marketing strategy, execution, social media PR, influencer marketing initiatives, branding, online publication production, social media PR, and website project management. She has a long history of innovating within the digital marketing space.

Her innovations have included: implementing the USA’s first ever furniture product development initiative in the metaverse of Second Life, implementing the USA’s first ever multi-brand influencer marketing program and most recently, in 2020/2021, acting as co-principal in the world’s first virtual designer showhouse influencer marketing initiative - a collaboration between 15 sponsoring brands and 11 interior designers - a showhouse that included both augmented reality and virtual reality components.

Other innovations include being the first agency to offer shoppable digital magazine creation on behalf of brands and designers within the home furnishings and interior design industry. She is currently the editor in chief of Seasonal Living Magazine - a lifestyle magazine that publishes the work of 3 interior designers in each issue - now in its 16th edition.

Most recently, she is the founding advisory partner and an investor in the world’s first international search engine, Ethos Design Collective, that allows consumers to search for vetted luxury designers to hire - a rapidly growing membership collective of the world's top interior designers due to the member benefits and the legal promise in the terms and conditions to never sell products against a designer's images.

Ms. Carothers was also an early adopter of Facebook Groups and Clubhouse. She runs the popular Clubhouse Club, #DesignCoffeeChat, where the furniture and design industry meet every Saturday morning at 9 am CT to talk about what's on their minds, and she also runs the popular Facebook Group, #DesignWealth, for interior designers who are interested in all aspects of designing passive income into their websites.
Often quoted in Forbes, in 2021, she was named by Modenus Media's Design Hounds as a 2021 Changemaker, and in January 2022 as a Top 200 Influencer in Interior Design by Fixr.com. 

In her spare time, she is a long time volunteer board member of the Bienenstock Furniture Library and also writes a colorful and popular lifestyle blog, Design Happy Living, where brands like Thibaut and Global Views have collaborated with her to reach new consumer/designer audiences.

 

Leslie Carothers
CEO, Savour Partnership
Founder, #DesignCoffeeChat, a Clubhouse Club
Owner, Design Happy Living, a lifestyle blog

 

Brand Breakout #4:
to be announced

 

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9:15AM-9:45AM

Influencer Breakout #5:
How to Land Interviews That Will Skyrocket Your Career

Why can’t top designers and PR firms send pitches that actually land press opportunities? It’s because pitch development takes thought, planning, and time. In this presentation you’ll learn why some pitches work and others never see light.

Actionable takeaways:

  • Pitching strategy and timeline
  • How to choose the right press opportunities and know when to pitch the big ones
  • Useable blank template for writing a winning pitch
  • Website review checklist for attracting press opportunities

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Zandra Zuraw is the founder of Little Yellow Couch, an interior design coaching platform for passionate home owners.  She's also the host of the popular podcast, Style Matters, which has logged in over 250 interviews with the most creative people working in the interiors industry.  Within the first year, Style Matters landed on the coveted iTunes' New and Noteworthy list and is now in the top 1% of most downloaded podcasts across all categories, globally.   They are on track to reach 1 million downloads by the 2nd quarter of 2022.  Little Yellow Couch has been featured in many media outlets such as Dominio, Better Homes & Gardens, USA Today, and Podcast Magazine.  Zandra has also been a speaker at several creative business conferences in the US and Canada talking about the business of podcasting and design.  With 25+ years of experience teaching herself how to create beautiful, meaningful homes, she has developed her own step-by-step Slow Style approach to teaching others how to do the same. Along with the podcast, Zandra has also created a monthly membership called "The Slow Style Society", she teaches an online course called "Master The Mix,"  and hosts in-person signature style retreats. 

Zandra Zuraw
Principal and Interior Designer, Little Yellow Couch
Podcaster,  Style Matters

Brand Breakout #5:
Honoring Brand Voice for Influencer and Collaborative Marketing

Jaipur Living's brand formed organically out of the company's operating model. While those operations support the company, they also serve a "cause" for creating commerce and opportunity in under-supported communities.  As an Influence Marketer, Jaipur's goal is to work with like-minded Influencers that project their own voices to their own communities on behalf of Jaipur.  Aligning with the right Influencers, who "get" the Jaipur voice, is key over the long term for great powerful Influencer Marketing.

Takeaways:

  • Determine your brand voice?
  • How to set Influencer Marketing campaign objectives that align with your voice
  • How to find the right Influencers for your voice and retain them over the long term

As Jaipur Living’s Director of Brand and Strategic Partnerships, Sasha Wallace, MBA, does more than just crank out amazing content. With more than 10 years of editorial and inbound marketing experience, she is passionate about creating authentic connections and valuable, business-changing content through compelling storytelling and targeted messaging.

With experience working for brands such as Calvin Klein, Salvatore Ferragamo, Saint Laurent, and Nars Cosmetics, her chameleon-like adaptability is unmatched. Regardless of the occasion—tradeshow, fashion show or a private gala—Sasha has one result in mind: to ignite a feeling that resonates and is rooted in a brand differentiator, with a strategy that drives measurable results.

Currently, Sasha nurtures relationships with top brands and organizations such as ASID, Interior Design Society, NEST, and The Haven List, as well as countless interior designers who seek her insight on marketing trends within the interior design industry.

Sasha holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from LIM College and a BA in Business Administration/Marketing from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Founder and PR Professional

Mary Leigh Howell is a public relations professional with 21 years of experience in agency, corporate and nonprofit environments. Her practice focuses on commercial and residential interiors, and lifestyle accounts in b-to-b and b-to-c industries. She guides promotional strategy, media relations and content for clients including Universal Furniture, Level 4 Designs and Summerfield Farms.

Prior to starting her own practice, she was a founding executive and vice president of RLF Communications, a Greensboro-based public relations, advertising and social media firm. During her tenure, she led the team that introduced a $50,000 bed at the Consumer Electronics Show, an effort that garnered more than 57 million media impressions within six weeks.

Mary Leigh has extensive experience in all aspects of the home furnishings industry from non-profit to supplier to manufacturing and retail. She has worked for brands such as Bassett, Quick-Step, Valdese Weavers, Wrangler, Leggett & Platt and Bob Timberlake. She’s also provided counsel for clients across a range of industries including animal health, hospitality, home building, commercial real estate investment, accounting, highway safety and telecommunication.

Since 1998, she has been involved in Women in the Home Industries Today (WithIt), a international leadership association for women in the home and furnishings industries, where she served as president in 2011. She is a charter member of the WithIt Ambassadors Club and was a 2008 finalist for the WithIt Future Leader award.

Mary Leigh holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from UNC Chapel Hill, and a master's in communication studies from UNC Greensboro, where she taught public speaking. Currently, she is adjunct faculty at Elon University where she teaches public relations writing.

Sasha Wallace
Director of Brand and Strategic Partnerships
Jaipur Living

10:00AM-10:30AM

Influencer Breakout #6: 
Know You + Your Strengths

A session on self-discovery, understanding your strengths, brand messaging, and how to deliver all that to that to the world. This session offers paths to fully comprehending how to embrace the essential elements of your toolbox and create leverage for you, your business, and other brands and businesses that can benefit from association with you.

Takeaways are consolidated in the following areas:

  • Building a Heart Centered Community:
    Communicating authentically through website copy, blogging and social media posts
  • Seeking Opportunities: Get involved in brand partnerships like the ORC, Instagram takeovers, panels, design publications
  • Using What You Have At a High Level:
    Use home content to build a community of loyal followers and to get noticed by publications looking for content. Create a strong brand story or design POV over time.

Influencer, CEO, and Interior Designer Casa Vilora Interiors

Veronica brings over 13 years of expertise as CEO Casa Vilora Interiors. She is a Design Blogger and Influencer, an Interior Design Business Mentor to a community of over 4700 Interior Designers worldwide. Veronica has won many prestigious awards including ASID Ruby Awards, and has been featured in numerous publications including AD. Her design point of view can be summed up as classic maximalism. The spaces she creates are known for their eclectic vibe and masterful use of color, pattern mix and textures. Veronica believes in running a heartcentered, client-centric company and she truly believes that everyone deserves a beautiful, functional and comfortable home. Each space should tell the story of the people who live there and should be their ideal version of luxurious living.

Veronica Solomon
Influencer, CEO, and Interior Designer
Casa Vilora Interiors

Brand Breakout #6:
Creating Content for E-commerce: Best Practices

In today's B2B and DTC landscape, companies are producing content to pull ahead, differentiate and engage. Creating successful e-commerce content is multi-layered and having a big-picture strategy is critical. Cross-functional planning, data and creativity are essential. In this session, Nancy will share her experience of building a content strategy for e-commerce that includes understanding the expectation and ROI, the alignment of content with your marketing funnel and how content can support e-commerce engagement, trust, and conversion.

Actionable takeaways

  • Building a content strategy for e-commerce
  • Content that speaks to customer needs, product uniqueness and marketing objectives
  • Working cross-functionally
  • How tiered content speaks to the marketing funnel

Media Executive

Nancy Soriano is a media executive with a proven track record in strategizing, creating and guiding content to drive revenue and build customer engagement. She is the former Editorial Director for West Elm and Editor in Chief of Country Living Magazine.

Nancy Soriano
Media Executive

10:30AM-11:15AM

Networking Break with Exhibitors and Sponsors

General Sessions:

General  Sessions will be held in Grand  Ballrooms 1 & 2

All attendees from the Influencer and Brand Tracks are invited to participate.

11:15AM-11:45PM

General Session: COCO COZY- Influencer Evolution or Revolution

Whether you know her as Coco or Colette Shelton, she probably entered your world of Design Influence in 2008 with her blog Coco Cozy and never stopped. Along her forward thinking trail from television producer to design influencer she has organized showhouses, produced an Amazon Prime and Roku show, was named to the top 30 influencer list by Forbes, introduced a textile collection, and built tons of influence in the process. Now, with her latest project, CHIRPYEST, Coco has turned her attention to activating other influencers and brands who may or may not appreciate nor benefit from the power of their words and style sensibilities. Coco's mission today is building her already successful shopping platform and peer network to give earning power to anyone who has style! Coco's insightful and sheer energy is always a treat to experience, and even more so now that she has found a way to assist more style icons along their own successful paths.

A Los Angeles native, Colette Shelton, also known as “Coco”, is an entrepreneur, design blogger and home furnishings designer.

Coco stars in and executive produces the COCOCOZY Design House series currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and on Roku. This short form docu-design series chronicles Coco’s renovation of a stately California Spanish style home.

Coco is one of Forbes Magazine’s Top 30 Influencers. COCOCOZY has also been featured in numerous online and print publications including House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Lonny, Domino, Rue and My Domaine.

When Coco began blogging in 2008, she was a television executive at a top network working in marketing. After a friend suggested she start a blog, she decided to write about interior design and style as she had just completed a renovation on her tiny cottage in the Hollywood Hills. She made the time for blogging and designing early in the morning, late nights and weekends for almost 11 years before making COCOCOZY her full time gig!

At the beginning, her goal was simple: provide design and style inspiration with a personal and sometimes humorous approach. e.

A few years after launching the blog, Coco took her passion one step further as she introduced the Cococozy textiles collection to the home furnishings market in 2011. The collection features luxury pillows, throws, bedding, drapery, and rugs all designed by Coco herself and manufactured (all or partially) in the U.S.. Today, Cococozy has also expanded the line to include an assortment of home accessories.

 

Colette Shelton, aka Coco
Entrepreneur, Influencer, and Home Furnishings Designer

11:45PM-12:30PM

General Session:  The Rise of Social Commerce and What It Means for Design Influencers 

Social media platforms are quickly evolving into social commerce platforms. The playing field and tools are changing quickly and there have never been so many opportunities for Design Influencers to grow your own brands and revenues online. Chad will help you understand why social commerce is taking the industry by storm, how to find the right channels and tools, and the best ways to measure the ROI of these programs.

Chad Smith is a seasoned Entrepreneur with proven track record of starting, growing and selling companies in the home furnishings industry.  An effective communicator with strong leadership, decision-making, and negotiation skills.  Skilled in Business Strategy & Development, Sales, Marketing, and Execution and passionate about helping small independent businesses compete against the big guys.

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It could be the curious curves on a vintage 70s sofa, the soft hand of a sumptuous bouclé textile, the textured finish of a natural stone, or perhaps a bold embroidery detail woven on a well-crafted couture jacket that catches the eye of interior designer Cara Woodhouse. Because for this designer, the journey of inspiration is anything but singular. 

Having called Los Angeles, London and now New York home, Cara imparts a distinct global sensibility throughout her New York-based, full-service design firm where she casts her clients as her greatest collaborators. Whether she’s designing a townhouse in London or the West Village, a Central Park West apartment, a Nantucket getaway, a home in Miami, the Playboy offices in Beverly Hills, or a mid century-modern home in West Hollywood, you can always count on a stroke of unexpected artistry balanced by chic earth elements.

In the end, Cara is a firm believer that every interior should render an experience, and as her career flourishes she continues to produce evocative spaces that run the gamut from punchy and whimsical to craft-forward and storied.

Chad Smith
Director of Sales & Marketing
Side Door

Cara Woodhouse
Interior Designer and Influencer

12:30PM-1:15PM

General Session and Closing Keynote: to be announced

 

 

1:30PM


Conference adjourns and closing remarks