Spreading the word about inclusive design

We did it! Our first inclusive design education event, Design Forward 2024, came and went with much success, interest, and teamwork. Our incredible group of professionals, also parents and guardians to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, spoke their truth, their knowledge and communicated from the heart. Our group of experts included: Shelly Rosenberg/Acorn & Oak, Kristin Bartone/Bartone Interiors, Natalie Castro/Autism Friendly Homes, Greg Barrett/Savant, Tyler Larmee/Spread Communications, Dawn Brinson/A New Day Boutique Communications, Stephanie Antkowiak/The Arc of High Point, Jason Davis/High Tech Network, and Stacey Field/DeLille Home.

This type of educations could not have been possible without grants from Visit High Point and the IFDA Education Foundation. Additionally, we are grateful to our brand partners – Pandora’s Manor, Universal, red egg, Splashworks, ASID, Congdon Yards, Joy Bar Coffee, and High Point Regional Association of REALTORS – who supported us by providing a venue, food, or marketing.  And we got it all on video thanks to Johnny Davis Digital.

For Natalie and Greg, this was their first time to High Point. For Shelly and Kristin, most of their High Point experience had been at Market. Celebrating our two-day three-session success at 98 Asian (complete with a complementary bottle of prosecco and sparkler thanks to owner Tu Sen), the next Design Forward was already being discussed.

The icing on the cake: Jimmy Tomlin, one of our local award winning journalists at the High Point Enterprise, was interested in writing about Design Forward and sharing some of the event’s takeaways. The article appeared in the December 2 edition of the paper and you can read it below.

Also, the day after Design Forward, Kristin Bartone recorded an episode for LuAnn Nigara’s podcast, A Well-Designed Business. It is titled “Pivoting Your Interior Design Business When Life Throws You Curveballs.”