2022 has been a memorable year for me - as it is the year I’ve celebrated my 20th year in business for myself.

I’ve never done a Year In Review post before, but I decided to do one this year, in honor of that milestone, and because 2022 has been a year filled with wonderful highlights and many fond memories of friends who lifted my spirits when I was so sick in late April and May.

If you’re an interior designer friend of mine reading this, I encourage you to do one for yourself. It’s a beautiful thing to reflect back on all you’ve accomplished - in what has been a stressful year for most of you.

And, if you think this type of post will bore your readers ? It might. But, do it for you. Your readers, the ones who really care about you, will want to celebrate your successes with you and will be inspired by how hard you’ve worked this year.

So now, I invite you to scroll through the images - some of you reading this will be in them (!) - and, if you’re a friend of mine, I’d love for you to help me celebrate my 20th year in business by leaving a comment or sharing this 2022 Highlights post with your friends.

Ready?

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: JANUARY

For many years now, I’ve been attending Lightovation, every January and June, at Dallas Market.

In January 2022, I was hired by Minka Group to speak inside their showroom, to their retail buyers, during Lightovation and to help them launch their new licensed collection with my dear friend, Robin Baron.

Robin’s collection has been an enormous success for Minka Group, and her opportunity for that collaboration came because of her involvement as a designer and sponsor of Seasonal Living’s Virtual Designer Showhouse back in Dec. of 2020.

I wrote all about Robin’s beautiful new collection for Minka Group, here. In January 2023, Robin will be adding additional SKU’s to her lighting collection for Minka Group and I could not be more excited for their success!

Minka Group was also a sponsor of Seasonal Living’s Virtual Designer Showhouse and it was Tim Flannery, Executive Vice President of Sales for Minka Group, that first championed having me speak about digital marketing to all of Lightovation’s attendees, when he was chairman of Lightovation’s Board of Directors.

Lightovation will be held at Dallas Market in 2023 from Tuesday, Jan. 10th - Thursday, Jan. 13th, with select showrooms, including Minka, open for a preview day on Monday, January 9th.

If you’re planning on attending, don’t miss Robin’s beautiful NEW lighting introductions for Minka!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: January, cont’d.

As many reading this will know, my company, Savour Partnership, provided strategic direction and handled all of the outbound marketing activities for the indoor/outdoor furniture brand, Seasonal Living, for 5 years.

This included strategic advice on digital marketing activities, strategic advice on the direction of the business, introductions to potential and future licensees, the writing and production of Seasonal Living’s monthly newsletter, the writing and production of Seasonal Living’s monthly blog, the writing and production of Seasonal Living Magazine, execution on all of Seasonal Living’s social media channels, and being an advocate/influencer for Seasonal Living within various communities of interior designers, online, including my own #designwealthcommunity.

Most rewardingly for me, it included being co-principal of Seasonal Living’s Virtual Designer Showhouse, which debuted in December 2020, a collaboration between 11 nationally known designer/influencers and 15 sponsoring brands. You can read more about the backstory of how it all came to be on this blog post I wrote.

In late 2021, Seasonal Living was nominated for an Arts Award for best indoor/outdoor furniture manufacturer, an award they had won 5 times previously.

Seasonal Living’s owner, Gary Pettitt, was unable to attend the Arts Award ceremony at Dallas Market this past January so he asked if I could accept the award in his place, should Seasonal Living win it again.

And they DID! Walking up on the stage to accept this award on behalf of my past client was a huge highlight of 2022 for me and an incredible way to start the year. And being high fived by Caroline Hipple, President of Norwalk Furniture [ who also won ], before I got to the stage? An indescribably good feeling!!!!

I will be forever grateful for the many opportunities Gary gave my company to implement innovative digital marketing strategies on Seasonal Living’s behalf that worked to enhance the reputation of his brand and his revenue from designers within the interior design community.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: February

I was honored to be invited back again by my long time friend and media/influencer marketing powerhouse, Veronika Eagleson, owner of Modenus Media and Design Hounds, to speak twice in her Design Hounds Lounge at the National Kitchen and Bath Association tradeshow, #KBIS2022, which took place in Orlando, FL.

[ See Veronika’s brand new Design Hounds website, here.]

I loved discussing the metaverse and its implications for kitchen and bath designers with Jaime Derringer, [ unfortunately cut off in the image below ] and Katye McGregor Bennett, who was a terrific moderator.

Jaime is doing amazing things in the metaverse space, including minting her own NFT art, now that she has sold her famous blog, Design Milk. Be watching for lots of great things coming for interior designers in the NFT/metaverse space from Jaime, who has taken a new position as community manager for tonic.xyz.

I will be speaking again in the Design Hounds lounge in January 2023, as well as at the International Surfaces Event, #TISE2023, where I will be a keynote for their Women’s Leadership Conference, taking place the same week in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for more details about both!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: March

Helping my long time client, Sharon L. Sherman, CKD, ASID, NCIDQ, CID, principal of New Jersey based, Thyme and Place Design, succeed in all of her own endeavors was a huge highlight of 2022 for me. Sharon is also celebrating her 20th year in business this year, and is well known as a rockstar kitchen and bath designer, with a focus on wellness, sustainability and energy work with reiki and crystals.

I placed this as a March 2022 highlight, even though working with Sharon is ongoing and has been a joy for the past 2 years.

Sharon has celebrated many highlights of her own in 2022, culminating in being named to Kitchen and Bath Design News Magazine’s Top Innovator 2022 list. I was so thrilled to see this recognition for Sharon!

2022 also saw her named to Kitchen and Bath Magazine’s editorial advisory board. the official publication of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, [ the NKBA ] of which she’s been a member of for many years.

This year also saw Sharon launch her own speaking career, start paid writing for brands, as well as launching additional revenue drivers: an online shop for consumers who want to purchase products similar to those she uses in her own design work, and her own coaching services for interior designers who want to learn how to profitably add kitchen and bath design to their menu of services for their own clients.
I invite you to follow Sharon on IG, here, and to visit her website [and her new shop! ] here.

Sharon will be speaking again at #KBIS2023 as part of their Voices of The Industry Conference as well as at #TISE2023, being held concurrently. If you’re attending, get more information on for Sharon’s talk at KBIS here, and at The International Surfaces Event, here.

Sharon recently wrote this beautiful testimonial for me, about my work on her behalf, which was a definite highlight of this year. Thank you, Sharon!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: April

April brought a highlight of a different kind - a highlight of how important community and friends are in my life.

8 hours before I was to leave for High Point Market, I collapsed at my beauty salon from pain. I passed out and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

I was diagnosed with a severe case of pancreatitis, which had resulted from gallstones passing and getting stuck in my bile ducts. The doctors eventually told me that very few people completely recover and that I was close to dying, although they never told me that at the time, for which I am eternally grateful.

It helped me to have hope that I would recover as I lay there for two weeks, flat on my back in the hospital, with no food at all except liquids. I couldn’t read a book or watch TV. I was on heavy pain meds ++.

But, my spirits were kept lifted because of the enormous support I received from my online friends and the many bouquets of flowers I received. Knowing that people I’ve never met in real life, yet with whom I communicate everyday online, felt close enough to me to keep me company 24/7 via my phone, was a genuine highlight of 2022 for me. It showed me the real strength of online communities and the genuine friendships that are able to be formed that way, over time.

For all of you reading this from my #designwealthcommunity, who helped me navigate this health crisis, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am SO VERY grateful.

And I’m also SO SO grateful to the great care and support I received from the nurses, doctors and chaplains at Houston Methodist Hospital, who healed me with their ministrations to my spirit in times of pain, uncertainty and mental duress.

Lastly, I’m so grateful to all of my real life friends for sending me the video from the Design Hounds trip to Napa Valley. I had been invited to go on this, but wasn’t able to, since I was still recovering, and it meant the world to me to know everyone there was thinking of me.

Thank you, Veronika, for arranging it!! What a beautiful gesture.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: May

May’s highlight was definitely the fact I had the ability and stamina to be able to work again, and to start getting out to local events to see my friends in person. What a relief it was to feel healthy, once more!

I also took some time, during recovery, to pick up my love of watercolor painting again. I’m a rank amateur, but I love to play and it relaxes me.

I want to give a special shout out to my local friend, interior designer Ilse Benard, [ on the far right in the pic below ] who went grocery shopping for me, and then came over the first day I got home from the hospital and cooked my favorite healthy casserole recipe for me in my own oven, so I would have enough to eat, since I was just starting to be able to eat again.

Last year, Ilse helped me with a decorating refresh in my home, and recently, I wrote a 5 star Google Review for her about that, which you can see here.

Have you written Google Reviews yet for the businesses who have served you well this year? It’s such a gift for any small business to receive a 5 star Google Review with a detailed comment.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: June

Another very good friend, Woodlands, TX based interior designer, Carla Aston, drove us up to Dallas Market for Lightovation and Dallas Market’s Total Home and Gift Show. Again, I was so grateful as I was in the very last stages of complete recovery of my stamina.

We had such a good time there. Carla took a ton of pictures of the gorgeous lighting for her fabulous blog, Designed by Carla Aston, which you can see here.

While there, we were treated to such an exciting dinner, high above the city of Dallas at the Monarch restaurant, unexpectedly, by our mutual friend and one of my clients this year, Arkansas based interior designer Lori Carpenter, shown with me in the pic on the far left.

While waiting for Lori to arrive, I snapped the pic shown here of Carla.

Lori is so much fun. If you ever get the opportunity to hang out with her, don’t miss it! Follow Lori over on IG, here.

I wrapped up our trip with a 1 on 1 breakfast with Laura Van Zeyl, one of the most fabulous women I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Laura is someone I mentored a bit early in her career, who has since become a close friend and an ardent supporter and advocate for my work.

Laura is now in charge of Lightovation for Dallas Market. Follow her on IG, if you’re not already, here.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: July

July’s highlight was being hired by Laura Umansky, the CEO of nationally known design firm, Laura U Design Collective, to help her grow and manage her private online community for her 2nd business, Design Dash.

Laura employs 26 people at Laura U Design Collective, and launched Design Dash to help other creative entrepreneurs/interior designers learn how to scale their businesses UP for maximum profitability and productivity.

Laura has many exciting workshops planned for her community in 2023, starting with January’s VISIONING workshop for 10 attendees.

You can read all about it on Laura’s website for Design Dash, here. Don’t miss subscribing to her excellent Design Dash blog, too, while there. The articles are SO useful to interior designers!

In addition, if you’re a full time professional working interior designer, you can Request To Join Laura’s private Facebook community [ that I am helped her to admin ], here. Follow Design Dash on IG, here, to stay up to date on all Laura has planned for you.

I am grateful for great clients like Laura, and I look forward to continuing to work with Laura and Design Dash in 2023.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: August

It’s always a highlight when an editor of a well known trade magazine like Furniture, Lighting and Decor invites me to be interviewed for an article that I know will help their readers with some aspect of digital marketing.

I was also so happy that the editor in chief, Diane Falvey, included the thoughts of Sharon L. Sherman, too, alongside good industry friends like Jason Phillips.

To read the entire article, click here.

Diane: if you see this: thank you!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: September

September’s highlight was being asked to be the keynote speaker at Furniture Today Magazine’s new conference, #TheInnovationEvent, where I presented to furniture manufacturers and retailers on the metaverse, and the financial and brand awareness opportunities metaverse activations offer this segment of the stakeholder chain.

The conference was held in Winston-Salem, NC, and I loved seeing many industry friends I hadn’t seen for a long time [ like Ray Allegrezza, past EIC of Furniture Today ] as well as meeting new people I hadn’t met before, who are interested in the metaverse and its possibilities. It was great to have executives attending from companies like Ethan Allen, FurnitureLand South, Sunbrella, Aico, etc.

Afterwards, an article appeared in several of the Bridgewater Media publications, including Designers Today, Gifts and Decorative Accessories and Furniture Today, summarizing key takeaways from my talk. See the article here.

In October a different but related article appeared in Bridgetower Media publication, Home Accents Today, here, where I was interviewed by EIC, Allison Zisko.

While in Winston-Salem, I stayed with my long time friends, Kim and Chan Shaver, who offered me the warmest hospitality [ and delicious home cooked meals] at their beautiful home in Jamestown, NC. Kim and I have worked together on several different projects over the many years we’ve known each other, and it was so great to re-connect in person again.

Kim and Chan: if you see this > thank you so very much. I will never forget the coffee and breakfast tray you had waiting for me each morning!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS, September, cont’d.

In September, I was also thrilled to be asked to speak again at Adam Japko’s Design Influencers Conference, held in Atlanta. This time, I was asked to speak about the power of online communities for business development.

The image you see below, with all of the beautiful faces, are of interior designers who are members of my Facebook community, who gave me their permission to use their headshots for this presentation.

This private B2B community I have for interior designers, the #designwealthcommunity, has been an integral part of my own business’ success over the past 5.5 years now, and it was a joy to be able to share my top tips for all in attendance.

Afterwards, MS based interior designer, Alisa Tarver Berry, came up to me to share how almost all of her luxury design clients come to her from her own B2C private Facebook community. It was great to hear how well this strategy is working for Alisa, who’s now a member of #DesignWealth, too.

[ If you’re an interior designer reading this, who is not yet a member of Design Wealth, but would like to be, please send me a Request To Join, here. Please make sure to answer the 3 membership questions you will be asked, or else I cannot review your Request To Join. Thank you! ]

The Design Influencers Conference is a fabulous event I’ve attended every year for the past 10 years, except one, and where I’ve met and formed the relationships with so many of those who have been instrumental in my work and career over these past 10 years.

At this conference, Adam announced that there will not be a Design Influencers Conference in 2023, but that it will come back in another form in 2024.

Adam: if you see this > thank you for being such a force for education and connection within our industry. I am so grateful to you and Luba for all the work you have both put into making this the premier event for designers seeking to learn about all things digital marketing and influencer marketing.

Read more about the Design Influencers Conference, here.

In getting ready for this speaking engagement on the power of online communities, I interviewed 8 of the design leaders in my community on Zoom, and then wrote blog posts after each one, summarizing the top takeaways they shared.

These design leaders shared so much good information about their respective areas of expertise, and each blog post is full of invaluable information for you. They are all linked to on this post I wrote, here, along with more of the backstory on #MeetTheMembers.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: October

Moderating and speaking with my dear pal and former client, Laura Muller, principal of Los Angeles based, Four Point Design Build, in our talk at Universal Furniture’s Learning Center as part of their Speaker Series during Fall High Point Market was definitely another 2022 highlight for me.

It didn’t come without its mishaps, however, as you will hear if you listen to our presentation, here, on Universal Furniture’s YouTube channel.

Laura gifted me with a gorgeous candle from her new online shop, and I invite you to visit it, here, if you need a gift for a client, friend or simply for yourself. The packaging was so perfectly on brand for Laura’s clean, fresh, modern aesthetic.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: October, cont’d.

While in North Carolina for Fall High Point Market, I was invited to attend a private Day Of The Dead party, held at the Greensboro home of Alejandra Ochoa de Thompson and her husband, Clifford Thompson. Alejandra is the founder and Clifford is the CEO of Thompson Traders, a company beloved by designers from coast to coast as purveyors of stunning, customizable copper sinks, vanities, tubs and range hoods.

The depth of hospitality shown to every guest and the level of exquisite detail [ are you seeing that menu, a swag gift for all of us to take as a memory - created for this event by famed NYC based calligrapher, Bernard Maisner?] in all aspects of this party was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.

If you are ever invited, say Yes, and cancel everything else you may have planned!

I have shared many other pictures of this event on my IG feed and on Facebook, but no picture could ever do justice to the many facets of this party that made it so very special, not the least of which was all the celebratory and traditional food , prepared for about 40 of us by Alejandra Ochoa de Thompson herself, in her own kitchen, and served to us by her children, part of Thompson’s senior executive team.

Follow Thompson Traders on IG, here and be listening for an exciting announcement from them in the first quarter of 2023.

Thompson family: if you see this: thank you so very much for sharing your home with me, with all of us that were blessed to be there to celebrate your loved ones with you who have passed on, during this very special evening.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: November

My client, Laura Umansky, owner of Design Dash, invited me to be her workshop guest on the topic of “Marketing - The Not So Basics*. Laura’s COO, Melissa Grove, and I had a great turnout for it, and it was a lot of fun to see everyone and give the interior designers who were able to attend it some smart marketing tips to help them in their businesses.

If you were an interior designer who attended it, and you’re seeing this: thank you for coming and giving us your time. We appreciated it!

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: November, cont’d.

The home remodeling cost site, FIXR, selected me to be honored in this list composed of a prestigious group of interior designers, the only non-designer included.

Being an interior designer many years ago myself, [ for 16 years of my life ], having my thoughts included in Fixr’s 2023 Paint and Color Trend Report was a fun flashback moment for me.

This is an excellent report, full of useful statistics and insights for designers and design lovers alike.

See it here.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: November, cont’d.

All year long, as you probably realize by now if you’ve read through these highlights, I’ve been talking about and speaking on the concept of the metaverse and the possibilities metaverse activations represent for connection, creativity and commerce for retailers, manufacturers and interior designers.

I also started to deliver a series of paid workshops, geared towards helping more interior designers understand and visualize what these 3D immersive worlds look like, and how they can take advantage of them for their businesses, in partnership with Annilee Waterman, who built Seasonal Living’s Virtual Designer Showhouse.

Our second November workshop was well attended, a lot of fun, and we look forward to continuing these in 2023.

By the way, in case you think my interest in the metaverse is new, and only due to it being an of the moment topic, that’s not the case.

Back in 2008, I held the first product development experiment for the furniture industry, in the virtual world of Second Life, in collaboration with Sligh Furniture, which I wrote about for Furniture Today’s blog, here.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: December

Being nominated for, [ and thank you to whomever nominated me! ] and then winning Designers Today Magazine’s Readers Rankings award for 2022’s Best PR/Advertising Agency was an incredible way to cap off this year.

I was SO thrilled to win this, and am incredibly grateful to all of you/those who voted for me/for Savour Partnership during the voting period. And I am most grateful to Designers Today for the national visibility opportunity winning this award has brought to Savour Partnership.

To see all of the other winners in various categories, check out the 2022 Readers Rankings Awards in the current issue of Designers Today, here.

[ A note: Savour Partnership does offer digital PR services to clients, but SP is not a traditional advertising agency - meaning we don’t place ads [ digital or print ] for clients. Savour Partnership is a digital marketing agency offering a broad range of digital strategy and execution services to clients. For more about my company’s services, please click here. ]

2022 HIGHLIGHTS: December, cont’d.

As i prepare to end this very long post, I want to thank all of my other 2022 clients, [ in addition to Laura and Sharon mentioned earlier, whom I work with every month ] who hired me this year to work with them over a period of a few months or to have a 1/x consult with them on a variety of projects related to digital strategies for new client acquisition/national brand collaboration opportunities/24/7 revenue generation strategies, digital PR, digital execution, #HPMKT private introduction tours, etc.

I Invite you to follow each of them now on IG:

L to R, clockwise:

https://instagram.com/styleberrycreativeinteriors [ Shawna ]
https://instagram.com/litani_home [ Cindy ]
https://instagram.com/thrivewellbydesign as well as https://instagram.com/juliemontgomeryathome
https://instagram.com/lushinteriordesignllc [ Emilie ]
https://instagram.com/lagnappe.interiors [ Tiffany ]
https://instagram.com/seainteriordesign [ Rebecca ]
https://instagram.com/merriinteriors [ Meredith ]
https://instagram.com/loricarpenterdesigns

Thank you, one and all. I am very grateful for your business, and I wish you each every success in 2023.

[ A note: I will be working more in depth with Tiffany, starting in 2023. Tiffany and I have worked on various projects together for over 5 years now and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to work with the #1 luxury designer in the US Virgin Islands more closely in 2023. Thank you, Tiffany. Watch for her as she attends #KBIS2023 as part of the prestigious influencer marketing trip: #DesignHoundsKBIS ]

IN CONCLUSION:

If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading all the way through. I know this is a very, very long post, but I wanted to remember this year.

And not only because it’s my 20th year in business, but because it’s possible, in 20 more years, I will lose my memory, as my 92 year old Mom is currently losing hers. If that happens, I would like someone to read this back to me, to remind me of who I once was.

Without each other, and being there for each other, we can’t accomplish anything worthwhile. And I could never have accomplished all I’ve done this year, and all that’s happened over the past 20 years, without the community of friends and clients that I’m blessed to have surrounding and supporting me through life’s ups and downs.

As we all enter 2023, please remember: the only thing that REALLY matters in the end is touching those close to you and making their lives better in some small way. Thank you for doing that for me in 2022.

Leslie

IG: https://instagram.com/lesliemcarothers
LI: https://linkedin.com/in/lesliecarothers

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