On Thursday October 11, Dering Hall Chairman of Editorial and Strategic Initiatives, Michael Boodro, hosted a discussion in the Vaughn Showroom at D+D Fall Market between distinguished designers Bennett Leifer, Amy Lau, and Glenn Gissler.

The panel began with a discussion on the use of social platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest in the planning phase. Clients use these platforms to find design inspiration, source products they want to purchase, and even to validate designers they want to work with. As Amy points out, clients often see beautiful imagery and want to recreate some aspects of the design but are often surprised to find out all of the processes involved. Receiving inspirational imagery can be extremely helpful for designers to guide the conversation and figuring out the best way to move forward.   

With luxury goods and services available online at everyone’s fingertips, the designers also spoke about how they use the digital marketplace to their advantage. These days, clients are able to source products on their own, and designers have been adapting to the changing landscape. Bennett describes how receiving samples from makers can really help to show clients exactly what they will be getting. The designers also spoke about the importance of showing scale on websites, so that designers can plan accordingly in terms of space. Buyer beware: Glenn also pointed out that even with showing the scale, it still may not be as accurate as you think it is.  

This panel was the second Dering Hall event at this year’s D+D Fall Market. If you are interested in future Dering Hall events, please sign up for our newsletter here.