2025 Agenda

Monday, February 10, 2025

Preliminary schedule for planning your travel.

11:00AM - 6:00PM

Registration & Information Desk Hours
Pick up your badge and other materials at the registration desk at the Meritage Resort

2:00PM- 3:00PM

Sparkling Wine Welcome for All Participants

3:00PM- 3:15PM

Welcome and Introductory Address - Adam Japko

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.

3:15PM -4:00PM

Opening Keynote

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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4:00PM- 4:45PM

Session #2

4:45PM-5:30PM

Shuttles  depart the Meritage hotel to our gala reception venue.

5:30PM - 7:00PM 

Opening Gala Reception

7:00PM - 8:00PM

Shuttles return to the Meritage or dropoff downtown Napa.

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

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.

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