2023 Agenda
Tuesday, November 7, 2023- DAllas Market Center
Preliminary Agenda subject to change.
8:00AM - 5:30PM
Registration & Information Desk Hours
Pick up your badge and other materials at the registration desk at the Dallas Market Center
8:00AM- 9:00AM
Coffee and Networking Time
Adam Japko
CEO, Esteem Media, Inc.
Founder, Design Influencers Conference and Design Influencers Leadership Conference
Co-Founder, Luxury Home Design Summit
Adam Japko is CEO of Esteem Media and founder of the Design Influencers Conference and Design Influencers Leadership 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 Conferences, Luxury Home Design Summit, 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.
9:30AM-10:15AM
Keynote Christian Daw: How to Leverage Your Hard-Earned Design Influence to Build Your Business
- Discuss his transition from lawyer to architectural designer
- Outline some of the strategies he used to build online influence
- Share the outcomes of that strategy for his business
Christian Daw
Principal, Influencer, Interior Designer
and Architect
Christian Daw Design
With a passion for beautiful homes and an appreciation for practicality and comfort, Christian Daw runs a successful boutique interior and architectural design firm. In addition to rethinking classic interior design, tailored to today’s homeowner, he creates spaces that are luxurious yet unpretentious
Before his design business, Christian flipped condos, finished law school and embarked on a law career. He’d always designed his own interiors and helped friends with their homes—but it wasn’t until he started an Instagram page to share what inspired him that a new path emerged.
Christian realized that people appreciated his aesthetic and his first clients came from Instagram—they were patrons who invested in him. He was ready to take the leap though he knew he had school debt and no discernible pedigree in design.
His confidence was well-founded. Formed in 2017, his firm now employs six designers and part-time support staff. His approachable affect is evident on Instagram, where he shares his life, work, and inspirations which counts more than 400,000 followers. Christian has projects underway nationwide and internationally as well as in the DC area.
10:15AM- 10:45AM
Refreshment and Networking Break
10:45AM- 11:30AM
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
Principal, Influencer, and Interior Designer
House of Hipsters
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.
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 suburbs of Chicago with her husband Thorsten and 2 children.
11:30AM- 12:15PM
The Secret Tricks of Turning Influence Into Income
Learn behind-the-scenes secrets to leveraging influence for the biggest impact, no matter the size of your audience! Whether you are a designer, shop owner, brand manager, or content creator.
- Ways to get paid for your influence (passive & active)
- How to obtain influencer opportunities & features (magazines, tv, books, podcasts, etc.)
- Curating your portfolio & media kit, then leveraging it for partnerships
- The art of professionalism and why it matters
Ursula Carmona
Home & Garden Style expert, Influencer and Brand Ambassador
Principal, Home Made by Carmona
Ursula is the creative mind behind the DIY and design blog Home Made by Carmona.
Ursula’s expertise and innovative ideas have contributed to noteworthy magazines including Better Homes & Gardens, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, and you can spot her on talk shows such as Rachael Ray, and Hallmark’s Home & Family TV Show. Her design savvy can be seen on-camera as host to HGTV’s Table Wars: The Look For Less digital series, and through her work as a three times featured designer for the One Room Challenge.
She has had the privilege of being an influencer with the High Point Market Design Influencers Tour, chosen for the HGTV Style Set, and a HomeGoods style expert.
Her mission is empowering others to create a home for a life well lived.
12:15- 1:30PM
Lunch and Networking Time
1:30PM-2:15PM
- How to conquer perspective problems and assure straight lines in your photos
- How to master the lighting..both available light and supplemental lighting
- Composition tips for stellar interior shots
- My two favorite editing apps for bringing your design photos to the finishing line.
Linda Holt
Influencer, Interior Designer, and Photographer
Linda Holt Creative
As a former professional photographer Linda is no stranger to merging her creative eye with aesthetic appeal, having worked with more than than 5,000 celebrities, actors and models as one of Boston's top commercial head shot photographers.
After twenty-five years in the business, she closed up her photography studio and enrolled in Design School. Today she uses her skilled photographic eye to help homeowners create a stylish, fresh and relaxed home that is reflective of their unique personality and lifestyle.
Over the past few years Linda put aside her heavy DSLR cameras and now shoots exclusively with her iphone and Samsung phone. She has become an expert in both smartphone photography and smartphone photo editing.
After much encouragement, Linda combined her two passions of interior design and photography in order to help other designers and home professionals master their smartphone photography skills. She is the creator of multiple on-line smartphone photography classes.
Linda is a sought-after speaker, podcast guest and teaches smartphone photography workshops throughout the country, including at High Point Market, Atlanta Market, the Multi Family Social Media Summit, KBIS, the Wallpaper Installers of America and more.
2:15PM - 3:00PM
Choosing The Right Brand Partner & Measuring Your Influencer Marketing Efforts
Strategic alliances are the cornerstone of any savvy interior designer’s marketing plan. Beyond just followers and fanfare, the right brand partner can transform the trajectory of your business. But what makes a powerful partnership? Just as a design requires meticulous planning, so does an influencer marketing match. With clear objectives, astute measurements, and a knack for nurturing relationships, you can create campaigns that resonate with your audience — and the brands you love (and would love to work with). In this presentation we'll take you on a journey through the nuances of selecting the perfect brand partner, and the art of measuring and reporting on your work together. Get ready to craft your playbook for influencer marketing success now!
Jennifer Smiga
CEO, ultraviolet
Jennifer is the creative catalyst behind ultraviolet, a Holmdel, NJ-based digital marketing firm specializing in design, building, home brands, and professionals. With over a decade of experience representing companies and influencers, Smiga knows that connecting the right people and telling meaningful stories are key to engaging a loyal community. She has built a team that intimately understands the design ecosystem, establishing connections across digital platforms that drive client growth and cultivate vibrant communities. She is a regular speaker at industry events and serves on the advisory board of the Interior Design Educators Council Foundation (IDECF). ultravioletagency.com
3:15PM-4:00PM
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
Zandra Zuraw
Principal and Interior Designer, and
Podcaster, Slow Style Home
Zandra is the founder of Slow Style Home, an interior design coaching platform for passionate home owners. She's also the host of the popular podcast, Slow Style Home, which has logged in over 250 interviews with the most creative people working in the interiors industry. Within the first year, Slow Style Home 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 have reached 1 million downloads so far. Little Yellow Couch has been featured in many media outlets such as Domino, 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. She's currently writing a book about her Slow Style approach to design, to be released in Spring 2025 through Gibbs Smith.
4:00PM - 5:30PM
Networking Receptions in Selected Showrooms at DMC
5:30PM
Event adjourns