The Pulp Design Studios girls are back from High Point Market and trying to absorb and pull together all the great info, vendors, and friends we picked up along the way! If you recall, we attended High Point as DecorMentor Market Ambassadors (also as Interior Designers, of course). But, I have to tell you… High Point far exceeded all of our expectations and was the most productive trade show we’ve been to in our entire careers!

Let’s recap our top reasons for attending so we can show you how High Point Market met & exceeded our expectations!

1. To spot the latest TRENDS so we can bring the latest & greatest to our clients.

We’ll share more on our favorite trend in the coming weeks on the DecorMentor site. Stay tuned! But, in the meantime, how hot is this brass peacock? [photo by PULP design studios at the Jonathan Adler Showroom] 

2. Form lasting CONNECTIONS with other designers to build camaraderie.

The relationships we formed on a personal & professional level were quite possibly one of the best things about market. We all shared information about our business & the industry at the ELEVATE launch party. If you want to join in the give/get process of sharing & gaining industry knowledge for your business, sign up on the sidebar on DecorMentor’s site. Be the first to be a part when the ELEVATE site launches! [photo by Bruce Barone]

3. build face-to-face relationships with VENDORS for the best possible service.

Meeting some of our reps and talking terms with them were some of the best things we could have done. Better service & pricing for us, means our clients get to reap the benefits. [photo by PULP design studios at the Christopher Guy Showroom]

4. See new PRODUCT in person so we bring the best in quality back to our clients.

Seeing product in person is priceless for us since our clients trust us to bring them the best in quality! Showrooms in Dallas & Seattle are limited and to be able to inspect the quality is invaluable for us. [photo by PULP design studios at the Christopher Guy Showroom]

5. A one-stop-shop for SEMINARS to maintain our interior design certification requirements.

One of the best seminars, among many, was the Branded! panel with Debbie Green, Lisa Ferguson, & Tobi Fairley. Getting information you can use and apply is really incredible. [photo taken with iPad]

The PERKS!!

Attending High Point Market came with so many perks and opportunities (some that we can’t yet discuss – exciting!). But, here are some of the other bonuses we got while attending High Point Market…

1. The parties! 

Where else can you be in the same room as Margaret Russell, Thomas O’Brien, Thom Filicia, Bunny Williams, and more? Rubbing elbows with some of the best in the industry was quite inspiring! [photo using instagram of Architectural Digest Party]

2. Queen for a Day!

I won the Queen for a Day service from GFW Shuttles & High Point Market, simply by watching their discovery video before market. Be sure to get on the High Point Market email list to be in the know about opportunities & news. You can also follow along on Twitter: @HPMarketNews. [photo by PULP design studios]

3. The Swag!

The best part!! Carolina and I were sent some amazing jewelry to wear at the ELEVATE party. Carolina is wearing a gorgeous Layla Grayce necklace that’s perfectly understated & I’m wearing a stunning piece by Nina Nguyen! We can’t thank them enough for sending our gorgeous necklaces! They have quickly become pieces in our daily wardrobe. See what the rest of the DecorMentor ladies were wearing on Jenn Brouwer’s blog. [photo by Bruce Barone]

So… I think it goes without saying… We’ll be back to High Point! I think you’ll see the benefits of what we’ve learned and found here on the blog and in our client projects!

We’re really missed hanging out around here on the blog…. But, we’ve been a little busy the past several weeks! I just wanted to stop in to tell you a bit of what we have going on in case you’re missing us, too.

Here’s 8 newsworthy things we’ve had going on:

1. Carolina came to visit the PULP Seattle office! We had a blast! Here we are eating in the famous Pike Place Market (completely ragged from a long day’s work, mind you!).

2. While Carolina was here, we managed to squeeze in a shoot with Seattle Met Magazine that’s due out in May!

3. We shared 7 Concepts for Creating a Dramatic Interior over on DecorMentor.

4. Speaking of DecorMentor, who will be at High Point Market? We’ll be there next week kicking off the ELEVATE wall!

5. Hop on over to Smmidge, where Beth did an interview & offered a sweet little PULP deal to Smmidge readers

6. HGTV deemed PULP’s work some of the most pin-worthy in their latest email!

7. Hello, Splendor is undergoing a major re-design that you’re sure to love! We’ve hired one of our friends & favorite bloggers! Just wait…. it’s going to be a good one!

8. The PULP girls are planning another blogger social for August in Dallas! We’re looking for sponsors & want to hear from the bloggers who attended the last blogger social! What did you love? What did you hate? What did you want more of?? This year it’s all PULP throwing the bash, so we have complete control over making sure it’s what you want! Want to sponsor or sound off?? email me….  hellosplendor [at] pulpdesignstudios [dot] com

This year we are, of course, attending High Point Market as designers seeking incredible product for our clients. But, this year PULP Design Studios has teamed up with Decor Mentor and High Point Market as Market Ambassadors to help spread the word on why it’s important, as designers, to attend! And, here’s why…

Now that we’ve hopefully convinced you to go, come see us & the other Decor Mentors at the Decor Mentor ELEVATE wall kick-off party and connect with other like-minded designers.

Decor Mentor ELEVATE Kick-off Party

When: Saturday April 21st 4 PM – 5 PM // Where: 220 Elm, 3rd Floor Balcony

What is ELEVATE?

ELEVATE is an interactive wall for interior design pros to exchange ideas, encouragement and expertise, sponsored by High Point Market and 220 Elm. You can take your business to new heights by connecting with your peers to exchange what you know for what you don’t by posting your business cards on the Decor Mentor ELEVATE Wall!

The Decor Mentor wall – designed by Decor Mentor founder Lisa Ferguson – will be available for interior design pros to use continually throughout Market, April 21-26.

If you’re planning on being there, be sure to tweet us at @PULPdesigns! We’d love to connect! 

So, who’s going??

illustration by jan avendano

Today marks a very special day for Carolina & I. Five years ago two best friends formed a legal partnership… a little interior design company we like to call Pulp Design Studios.

Five years ago today, we both worked for a commercial design firm that we were both really unhappy at and we decided to make a choice to ready ourselves for something bigger and better. Rather than diving head first, we took small steps. We formed a legal business, took on interior design clients ‘on the side’, and more than anything gave ourselves a sense of empowerment and hope that one day we would design the way we wanted to design…. run our business the way we thought a business should be run… and work to achieve a sense of self-fulfillment that we simply weren’t finding under the wings of others.

Though we’ve had clients throughout the past five years, it was really just last year we both made the jump to focusing on our business full-time. In the past year and a half Pulp Design Studios has exceeded our wildest expectations. We have clients all over the country, from East Coast to West Coast and even beyond the 48 states. We have two design studios, in Dallas & Seattle. We have an amazing staff of great designers & friends. We have received some amazing accolades from publications and industry people that we admire. And, all of it started by planting a seed and cautiously building up to our dreams (followed by a lot of hard work, of course!).

I am so proud of our company, our clients, and the relationships we’ve built (which includes you who are reading this since you’ve watched it all unfold on this little blog over the past couple of years). And, I am so proud to have built it with my best friend (and, pretty proud that we actually still love each other!). I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of pride and humility as I sit here typing this blog post and think back to where we started.

Sometimes it doesn’t have to be all or nothing when you want something better for yourself.

It’s truly amazing what can happen when you just take that one small first step…

…….. Happy 5 Years, Pulp Design Studios! ……..