Welcome Gorder Genevieve as our keynote speaker!

Genevieve Gorder’s soulful style and genuine enthusiasm have made her one of America’s favorite interior designers for many years. She is the founder and director of the Genevieve Gorder brand, a television host and producer, home product designer, and global ambassador for home and human rights.

Genevieve has appeared and been featured in over 20 lifestyle shows around the world. Currently, you can find her on Netflix, HGTV, Sony Channel Asia, The Design Network and as a regular contributor on The Rachael Ray Show.

A two-time Emmy nominee and regular design host at the White House, Genevieve has built multiple lifestyle collections for the home, including a full line of furniture and décor for children with partner The Land of Nod. She designs for a diverse group of clients and companies and has guided many hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, cities and private clients toward their design fantasies.

When she isn’t working, she travels the world with Oxfam as a Sister on the Planet, using her influence to fight global poverty, hunger and injustice with a particular focus on home and empowering women and girls worldwide.

Genevieve will discuss the keys to her success as a designer and TV personality, her thoughts on what’s new and exciting in window coverings, and what it takes to be successful as a person and business owner.

IWCE Featured Speakers

Meet the speakers for our daylong workshop series, which will cover 20+ topics designed to update you on current trends, boost your creativity and grow your business.

Lori Paranjape is the featured speaker for Friday's Lunch and Learn Session

Mastering Social Media and Growing Your Design Business

Lori Paranjape—whose work has appeared in People, HGTV Magazine, Domino and many other national publications—is one of the brightest stars in Nashville’s creative constellation. Her eponymous firm, Mrs. Paranjape Design + Interiors, which began in 2008, specializes in luxury residential and new construction projects. Lori adapts her signature “New Classic” aesthetic—a super clean, modernized, fresh twist on traditional design—in unexpected ways while fulfilling the unique needs of each client. Affectionately known as @mrsparanjape by her Instagram followers, Lori’s work is covered frequently by design blogs and editorial outlets. She is a sought-after collaborator with leading lifestyle brands, and speaks regularly at prestigious industry panels, design markets and events. Lori recently launched her first collection in home décor, The Mrs. Paranjape Papers, a wallpaper line with the lifestyle brand Mitchell Black.

Hear more from Lori at From Nashville to National Notoriety: A Lively Panel Discussion with Star Designers Lori Paranjape, Eric Ross & Laura Thurman on Friday, March 8.

Claire Jefford began her award-winning interior decorating firm in 2011 and has also been an interior design business coach since 2016. An accomplished public speaker, Claire enjoys openly sharing decorating tips, design advice and proven strategies for running a business. In her workshop, Make Money by Managing Client Expectations., she will discuss ways to ensure that projects run smoothly and you can actually bill for all of your time. Claire will also team up with superstar workroom owner, public speaker and podcast host LuAnn Nigara for a session on Influencer Marketing, one of the hottest trends in the modern-day marketing landscape.

OD McKewan is a master of motorization and a leader in the motorized window coverings field. He has over a decade of hands-on experience with motorized window coverings, including fabrication, installation and selling. OD will be offering something for everyone at IWCE. In addition to a super session called Mastering Motorization and the beginner’s workshop Introduction to Motorization he is presenting the WFCP Full Day Motorization Certification class. Earn your motorization certification LIVE at IWCE!

LuAnn Nigara is the co-owner of Window Works NJ, a specialty custom window treatment and awning retailer in Livingston, NJ. She is also a best-selling author, business coach and the engaging host of the design industry’s No. 1 podcast, A Well-Designed Business. LuAnn’s workshop The Art of High-End Ticket Sales will help workroom owners learn the tricky yet rewarding art of pitching customers on expensive projects that bring in a tidy profit. It will be followed by What You Do When They Say No – Closing the Sale, an engaging discussion of sales techniques.

Vince Nigara is the other half of the successful team at Window Works NJ. In addition to helping co-found Window Works, Vince is a skilled and successful entrepreneur who has owned two health clubs and has a background in accounting, finance and management. His session, Increase Profitability — Knowing Your Numbers, will provide concrete strategies for increasing profitability and lowering expenses. If you are serious about making money—and lots of it!—this is the presentation to attend.

Madeleine MacRae is the CEO, founder and chief innovator at MM MacRae, a national learning, coaching and consulting firm focused on the development and growth of people and companies serving the home professionals industry. Madeleine has more than 13 years of firsthand experience at the tables of some of the best businesses in the industry – from huge to tiny, corporate to family-run, manufacturer to retail dealer. Not only does she know what it really takes to be at the top of your game, she teaches her clients exactly how to do it! Madeleine’s workshops will include Hiring Simplified and

Making More Money with Existing Leads.

Window Fashion VISION columnist Roger Magalhaes is the founder and owner of Shades IN Place, Inc. He is certified as a professional installer by the Custom Home Furnishing Academy, Lutron, Hunter Douglas, Somfy and Norman Shutters. He is also an active member of the WCAA. The A Team: Why Paying a Professional Installer Makes You Money will explore how paying a professional installer will reap dividends for your business for years to come. In Installation — Tricks of the Trade, Roger will share what he’s learned over his twelve years of measuring and installing window coverings, including sharing his mistakes so you won’t make the same ones.

Jana Platina Phipps (aka Trim Queen) is a trimmings expert known for her refined vision in the use of embellishment in home décor, fashion and DIY. She customizes private label trim programs and uses her blog and social media to chronicle how she and the design community use trimmings creatively. Jana will chair a panel of hot Nashville designers Lori Paranjape, Eric Ross and Laura Thurman in the workshop From Nashville to National Notoriety. Additional workshops by Jana are Trending Embellishments and Translating Fashion Into Design.

Jill Scully with Impressive Windows & Interiors, LLC has worked as an interior designer, drapery workroom owner and upholsterer for over 20 years. After opening her retail storefront in 2015, she recognized the need for access to a broader range of products and services for her peers, so she founded My Designer Concierge, a buying group for the soft furnishing industry. Jill will present the WFCP Window Fashion Design Certification in this full-day class. She will also team up with Ann Johnson of Sew Easy Windows for a super session on 75 Workroom Secrets in 75 Minutes and a workshop called Define, Design and Grow Your Business.

Window Fashion VISION columnist Welton Hong is the founder of Ring Ring Marketing and a leading expert in creating case generation from online to the phone line. He literally wrote the book on digital marketing for window coverings professionals with the title “Making Your Phone Ring with Internet Marketing for Window Covering Companies.” Welton will speak on a number of hot topics in Five Online Basics You Need to Know, A Website Is Not Enough (which will cover issues such as SEO, SEM and user experience) and It’s a Mobile World (which will share what you need to know about marketing to today’s on-the-go consumers).

Cheryl Meiklejohn is the longtime owner and manager of Rainbow Draperies Ltd., a professional drapery workroom and designer fabric studio in Edmonton, Alberta. She will bring her passion for teaching designers and decorators about drapery requirements to a series of Details Behind the Design workshops on Fabric Selection and Hardware Selection. She will also teach a super session on Mastering Window Fashion.