a day full of treats...

This year was our first time attending...



We were excited! We started our day off by participating in one of the Industry Only seminars - NKBA Understanding the Guidelines for Kitchen and Bathroom Design. It was terrific. The speaker, Al Pattison, was thorough and fun. It was a great review for us kitchen designers.

After attending the seminar, we took a break for a tasty treat near by at Giovane...

Re-fuelled, we had lots of time before the general public was being let in to take in all of the product treats...

By mid-afternoon, it was time for a brain treat with a talk by Karim Rashid about the world of design being shaped by new social behaviours/languages/materials/technologies/needs/desires...

His talk was interesting and thought provoking. It sounds like he lives in a beautiful and frustrating world, and I'd be scared to work for him. Even so, I really enjoyed listening to him. We watched his talk with Lori Steeves and Liana Sipelis.

+ http://www.simplyhomedecorating.com/
+ http://www.lianasipelis.com/

I also attended Sarah Richardson's talk in the evening. It was fun and was very interesting to hear a bit about her journey so far as a designer. The advice she had to give was pretty much at odds to what we'd learned from Kimberley Seldon's Business of Design seminar series. That particular aspect of her talk definitely provided some food for thought.

All in all it was a fantastic experience. The new Convention Centre is a terrific venue. The number and quality of booths was pitch-perfect. The seminars and talks offered covered a range of topics. We will absolutely plan to attend again next year.

Did you go this year? What was your favourite booth or product?

For more on the products/companies pictured above...

+ http://www.associatedplastics.com/

+ http://www.savagewoodworking.ca/

+ http://www.callgaris.it/

+ http://informinteriors.com/

There were even more special visual treats that caught our eyes in the form of various textures...



The visuals were absolutely fantastic overall and the vast majority of booths had a great deal of captivating sights.

Special nods to...

+ http://www.rentfluff.com/

+ http://www.bowermans.ca/

+ http://www.eighteenkarat.com/

+ http://www.mubi.ca/

+ http://www.luprints.com/

+ http://www.preforma.de/

And keep your eyes peeled for Mint Interiors (also pictured above) - opening soon in Vancouver...

+ http://www.mintinteriors.ca/

Hope to see you there next year for many more delicious treats at IDSwest 2011!

Take care,
Lisa (for the Dome Design Team)

+ just to add that my favorite feature was a full-scale modular home by Preform Construction.  I have started saving up for one already!
http://preformconstruction.com/

....and I would just like to leave you with this inspiring quote by Karim Rashid:
"New, not for the sake of new, but in order to evolve"


Get inspired!
Ivana