HELLO

Top down: Plaid surrender — this was taken for you, Rich Schell ; Clubhouse group leader Leslie Carothers will be launching the blog www.designhappyliving.com later this spring; interior designer Meg Rodgers shows us her Philadelphia offi ce on page 50.

DEAR READER

Within 15 hours of closing this issue, I will be getting my fi rst dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and then promptly heading down to Florida to see my parents, my kids, friends and of course, designers — I’ve got a few L’s top of mind like Lisa, Lillian, and Lorna. Plus I will go to the Kips Bay Palm Beach showhouse!

I am craving diff erent scenery. I am fi ne with the isolation until I’m not, remembering when hugs were not life-threatening. Zoom has been my salvation, my preferred method for all communication. And now there’s Clubhouse, the new invite-only iPhone (Android coming soon) networking app. Are you on yet?

I like Clubhouse’s open playing fi eld — once you’re in — and its immediacy. The moment you see a discussion topic or person you are interested in, you can jump right into that conversation. One night about 10:30, Lisa Mende was on simply trying to “fi gure Clubhouse out.” I saw her face pop up and joined her. Jennifer Stoner followed and a handful of other designers did, too, and we got talking about markets, lead times, and more. Of course, part of me was like, “It’s the end of the day, why are we all still attached to our phones,” but it was spontaneous and casual, and the thought of everyone in pajamas was pleasing.

Clubhouse is reminding us about the benefi ts of listening, using one’s voice and speaking up. That you have to raise your hand and be brought up to speak — there’s a certain level of decorum. I am interested to see how it will all morph.

One of the weekly clubs I have joined is Leslie Carothers’ Saturday 9 a.m. CST Design Coff ee Chat. Leslie, CEO of Savour Partnership and all-around champion of the industry, has scheduled this informal no-set-agenda gathering for the interior design community to meet at the end of the work week to share what’s on their minds.

Leslie has quickly become a Clubhouse ace. She fi nds the app to be an intimate and serendipitous way to meet people from all over the world. “It doesn’t require you to create content ahead of time, it doesn’t require you to dress up, it doesn’t require you to look a certain way or have a certain kind of home,” she explains. “It simply requires you to listen and/or have something interesting to add to the conversation that adds value or knowledge to others.”

Adding value is always a priority with every story, issue, webinar and Designer Experience (the next one is May 25). To open your eyes, mind and heart — not necessarily all three at once — is our responsibility and to do that, of course, we need to keep my eyes, mind and heart open too. It goes both ways, right?

Geez, I’ve been doing this job away from you for far too long. Hope to see you soon along the path — and if you need an invite to Clubhouse, let me know.

JANE DAGMI