Universal Furniture’s in-person learning events return this October, featuring celebrities like Miranda Kerr and Danny Seo plus industry heavy hitters Gail Dolby, Melissa Galt and Erinn Valencich. And back by popular demand is the Universal To the Trade Designer’s Lounge complete with Beauty Bar.
The company’s showroom and high-tech Learning Center are hosting multiple events Friday, October 15 through Tuesday, October 19. Come experience one of designers’ favorite stops at Market. Here’s what’s on the calendar for October.
Friday, October 15
Universal To The Trade Designer’s Lounge
- Event Name: Universal to the Trade Designer’s Lounge
- Date: October 15-19
- Time: 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Relax and recharge in Universal’s 2,000 sq. ft. designers-only Workspace. Charge your devices and take advantage of free wi-fi. Need a hair touchup? Sign up for an appointment at the Beauty Bar. First 500 guests to check-in will receive a special RUE gift bag with fab beauty brands to help you get through the week.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Design Harmony: Science in Design Summit
- Event Name: Design Harmony: Science in Design Summit
- Date: Friday, October 15
- Time: 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: You improve the health of your clients through the beauty and design you create. Are you getting credit for it? The Science in Design Summit provides a deeper understanding of how you impact the health of clients and offers insight on ways to incorporate your new-found knowledge in your product selections and services. This is the home furnishings industry’s first effort to bring the industry face-to-face with science, and how design improves emotional and mental health.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Saturday, October 16
Melissa Galt
- Event Name: How to Leverage Flat Fees; The Fast Track to Better Clients & Bigger Profits
- Date: Saturday, October 16
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Get the inside scoop on calculating the right rates for higher revenues and ideal clients. Join interior design business coach and marketing consultant, Melissa Galt, for proven processes and smart strategies that deliver rich results. You’ll take away an Action Blueprint to make implementation simple and effective. With every project you’ll feel more confident, no longer leaving profit on the table.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Miranda Kerr
- Event Name: How Life in Paris Shaped the Making of Tranquility w/ Miranda Kerr
- Date: Saturday, October 16
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Paris. Is there anywhere more romantic? Join Miranda Kerr as she talks with veteran magazine editor Carisha Swanson and learn how her time living in Paris influenced Tranquility, her new collection for Universal Furniture.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Sunday, October 17
5 Minutes with Rue Magazine
- Event name: 5 Minutes with Rue
- Date: October 17-18
- Time: 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture’s Designers Lounge inside the Universal Furniture showroom at 101 S. Hamilton St. in High Point. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Universal Furniture is partnering with RUE Magazine this October for “5 Minutes with RUE,” a chance for interior designers to spend 5 minutes with RUE Editorial Director Kelli Lamb. Pitch your designs and ideas for the chance to be featured in RUE Magazine!
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Gail Doby
- Event Name: What You Think the Problem Is, Often Isn't Your Real Problem
- Date: Sunday, October 17
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Recognizing business pitfalls is often more difficult than you think. Hear from business transformation coach and consultant, Gail Doby along with leading designers Cody Beal, Ginger Curtis and Glenna Stone, to identify the true pitfalls and how to alleviate them once and for all. Moderated by Diane Falvey, editor-in-chief, Furniture, Lighting and Decor.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Get Your Story Straight!
- Event Name: Get Your Story Straight! A simple framework for creating killer content for your brand
- Date: Sunday, October 17
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Join industry insiders Ericka Saurit and Ginna Christensen for a two-part event during HPMKT guaranteed to give you the insight you need to tell the type of stories about your brand that motivate people to lean in and learn more. Attendees will learn a step-by-step approach to creating a clear and unique message for their brand, the fundamentals of brand content creation, and a fresh look at social storytelling strategies. Immediately following the presentation, join Ginna and Ericka for a one-on-one Brand Assessment to review your current brand messaging approach from the point of view of a business leadership coach and digital marketing expert.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Danny Seo
- Event Name: How To Build a Global Brand
- Date: Sunday, October 17
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Designer, TV host, Editor and Publisher Danny Seo has done it all. “Naturally, Danny Seo” is his popular Emmy Award-winning NBC TV show, a magazine with 3.2 million readers and it’s licensed on eco-friendly home products sold worldwide (50 million units sold to date). He appears regularly on TV shows like “Today,” “Live with Kelly & Ryan” and “The Drew Barrymore Show” and promotes his wares on QVC. And he most recently acquired the home design media brand “RUE” and turned it into a successful magazine and design book with Random House (Spring 2022). Join Danny with RUE’s co-Principal and Editorial Director Kelli Lamb where he’ll share a totally honest and blunt conversation on what it takes to turn your personal vision into a global brand.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Monday, October 18
Building a Supportive Design Community
- Event Name: Building a Supportive Design Community
- Date: Monday, October 18
- Time: 10 a.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Join Business of Home Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Petersen as she talks with interior designers Iantha Carley, Lucy Penfield, Genevieve Trousdale and Charmaine Wynter about the ways they have created their own supportive interior design communities. Hear how their creative ideas and activities--whether online, on social media or in real life--have benefitted themselves and their colleagues. Discover ideas you can take and implement in your own community.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Top Designers' Ingredients for Success in a Diverse World
- Event Name: Top Designers' Ingredients for Success in a Diverse World
- Date: Monday, October 18
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Chris Goddard, Founder and Principal at Goddard Design Group will host the panel focused on diversity within the world of designers and clients. Goddard will touch on such topics as which marketing tools have been the most valuable in building these designers’ brands, the role of referrals in growing a business, and how these designers built diverse client bases, etc. This panel promises to provide designers with informative and unique ways to think ‘outside the box’ while creating impressive brands. Panelists include Laura Hodges, Dennese Guadeloupe Rojas and Victoria Sanchez
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
Erinn Valencich
- Event Name: Unlocking New Revenue Streams in Your Design Firm
- Date: Monday, October 18
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Location: Universal Furniture Showroom, 101 S. Hamilton St. (Shuttle Stop 15) Red Line
- Description: Looking for ways to leverage your taste and style-status to create auxiliary streams of income from design? Join Erinn Valencich, CEO of StyleRow, founder of Erinn V Design Group, and ERINN V. furniture as she discusses how businesses can be more effective and profitable, especially when targeting the millennial mindset and leveraging social media, and new ways of working to unlock more profitability in your projects.
- RSVP: www.UniversalFurniture.com/marketevents
