Big things start small.
It’s been a year since I launched Recipe for Press: Designer Edition! And one of the best things to come of the touring and speaking, was a new approach to growing business, not just book sales. Partnering with designers who wanted to deepen their connections in their own design community and inviting editors to join in the events sparked ideas and even more collaborations.
Some of these gatherings, like the Sunset at Southern Studios in Raleigh and the Lunch-and-Learn in the home of Rina Norwood in Charlotte were written about in publications. Other, more intimate get-togethers, a casual dinner on the back patio of designer Sarah Montgomery’s home in Chicago, for example, kindled valuable sharing of different industry perspectives on the changing landscape of communication.
In this new age of communications, business is more closely connected to commerce. But, like a garden, all relationships that grew from these moments need attention and nourishment to thrive.
For me, 2019 is a year to tend them, while seeding a few more. I’m looking forward to an event at Cloth & Kind’s new Ann Arbor shop in March, Schwung Home in early July and with French + French Interiors in Santa Fe in September. This approach sits well with me and my team. Sure, it’s good business, but it also presents opportunities to learn from others, to maximize our outreach efforts and to preserve the special nature of doing things together.
