14 Jul Get Inspired With My 7 Networking Tips And Designer Michelle Workman’s FACET Collection for French Heritage

Well, I lied. Sort of. I said last month I would take some time off and it would be my last blog post for the summer. But I HAD to share my exciting June trip to Dallas Market’s Total Home & Gift Show seeing Michelle Workman’s new FACET Collection for French Heritage.

Not to mention the Grand Opening of the NEW “Interior Home + Design Center” with Robin Baron’s new collection and showroom and hearing the amazing “3-Diva’s of Design” Panel discussion (more on Robin and the 3-Divas in a future post). I’ve also got some exciting sponsored posts coming up in July and August so please stay tuned and sign up for my blog on the side bar.

It was incredibly inspiring to spend two full days in Dallas and I want to share how you too can network and get inspired. Below I cover 7 Essential Networking Tips I have learned over the last 13 years in business and the importance of meeting other artists or designers in your field.

While at Dallas Market, very unexpectedly, I ran into nationally-renowned interior designer Michelle Workman. She had just “officially” launched her hew collection with an Art Deco-themed Big Reveal Party (Oh, how fun that looked!) in April 2017 at High Point Market in North Carolina. Click HERE for a fun video by Editor-at-Large at High Point Market.

I thought surely I’d never get to meet Michelle or see her beautiful designs in person because I do not attend High Point. But here she was in Dallas debuting her NEW FACET collection for French Heritage at the Lloyd Humphries Showroom, which happened to be on the same floor where I was showing my NEW Linen and Wood Series at the NEW Peninsula Home Collection showroom.

You bet I made a point of going to see her that afternoon, and I’m so glad I did!

But first I’d like to share my 7 Essential Networking Tips that I’ve learned in 13 years of running my own small business. These essential tips actually helped me connect with several designers I wanted to meet in Dallas. Networking is so very important to artists and designers to get your work out there, to see other’s work, and to continue to be inspired by new artwork and products. Try these networking tips and see if it helps your small business.

1. Get out of your studio:  Whether you’re a painter or a product designer, we often spend hours in our studio creating, or being on the computer keeping up with our clients, blogging, social media and more.  There’s a lot to do to run a small business, so it can be isolating. Get out there, see new art and products, and meet people!

 2. Attend art exhibitions, trade shows, association meetings, maybe even an online course: If you’re just starting out, join a local chapter of interior designers or an artists group. Last year I took an online course Art Career Success System and now have a network of about 10 fellow artists/entrepreneurs that I talk to once a month. You’d be surprised how connected fashion, design and art are and how much support you can get by sharing with others. I have a couple dear friends in Austin I “Talk Shop” with (a jewelry designer, hat designer, and an interior designer). I apply to art exhibitions, most recently did the West Austin Studio Tour meeting many new artists, and I attend Dallas market twice a year to show my work and connect with interior designers. I even attended a blogging tour in Dallas, so keep an eye open for opportunities like that.

3. Join a private Facebook group:  I’m a member of the Facebook group Interior Designer Community created by Laurie Leizure, and I owe much of my relationships, with interior designers and architects across the world whom I know online and now #IRL (in real life), to that wonderful Facebook Community. Thank you Laurie! I also am on the Art Career Success System’s private Facebook Group too which is immensely helpful.

4. Stay on top of what’s happening in your industry, and industries that overlap, via Social Media, blogs and newsletters:  Whether it’s the latest color trend, a new furniture line debuting, or a new art exhibition coming up, it pays to be in the know.  I subscribe to many design/art/fashion blogs/newsletters. If I had not reached out to James Swan of Million Dollar Decorating podcasts on Facebook, who I’d meet for the first time #IRL in Dallas, I would have totally missed out on the inspiring “3-Diva Design” panel he so eloquently moderated (more on that next week) AND meeting Michelle Workman. James shared with me the press release about the grand opening of the new Interior Home + Design Center, so I hastily readjusted my schedule to attend Dallas one day earlier in order to not miss these important events.

5. Listen to Podcasts: I learn so much about the industry and a wide array of interior designers by listening to James Swans’ wonderful, informative and inspiring Million Dollar Decorating podcasts.  Listen to his interview with Michelle Workman right here.  (Be sure to catch my next post about the “3-Diva Design” panel that James moderated.)

6. Attend Book Signings:  Interior Designers and artists publish inspiring books, so be sure to start collecting them. At Vegas Market last year I stocked up on books by Thomas Pheasant, Julianne Taylor, and Christopher Kennedy. Each very different takes on interior design, but incredibly inspiring. In Dallas I attended the book signing of Wanderlust by interior designer Michelle Nussbaumer, and it’s my go-to book for inspiration this summer. Art and Design books allow you time to unplug and think about your own business and how you want to grow it. Remember, these designers are all entrepreneurs too and have much to offer. Take it from me, they WILL inspire you and your passion!

7. Connect the Dots: There are a lot of moving parts in any industry. Lots of people, places, products, art exhibitions, trade shows, you name it.  Try to stay informed by signing up for people’s newsletters (sign up for my quarterly one right here). Be active on social media a few times a day so you can see who knows who and how and where you might meet a designer or artist you’d like to know, or learn from, in person.

Now, what you’ve been waiting for – Inspiration from Interior Designer Michelle Workman with her brand NEW Facet Collection for French Heritage.

One important caveat: If I hadn’t done a lot of the 7 Essential Networking Tips above, I might have missed meeting Michelle entirely and never had the opportunity to connect with her personally and see her amazing NEW Art Deco-inspired home furnishings.

Remember, seeing and talking in person will always outweigh Social Media any day!

 

Meeting Michelle and seeing the FACET Collection for French Heritage in person was remarkable!

Remember, she had told me that she’d be up in the Lloyd Humphries & Associates showroom. So I scooted over there without my phone because it needed to be charged, and walked into the image you see below, the charming and elegant Michelle Workman perched in her Hanky Panky Slipper Chair in fuchsia below.  But Eeeh Gods, NO phone to take photos and I’m seeing her collection for the first time?? I picked up a Cosmopolitan Cocktail on my way to the showroom (Yes, there seems to be cocktails on every floor at Dallas market!) and handed it to her with “Here, hold this….can I use your phone to take a photo?”. What a sport she was posing for me for a photo with HER phone! We instantly hit it off chatting about her furniture line and inspiration.

I also met Henessy Wayser, the owner of the furniture manufacturing company, French Heritage, for whom Michelle had designed the FACET Collection. We three had a lovely time talking about each piece of furniture and her inspiration, and then delving into talking about vintage textiles and brooches too. It was great fun having time to visit with them. So I promised I’d be back with phone in hand to take photos for my blog. And I surely did!

So now let me introduce you to a few of Michelle Workman’s special pieces, from her FACET Collection for French Heritage, that caught my attention and which Henessy so aptly described. The piece below is The Martini Nightstand in vanilla lacquer. What an excellent name…in fact I love that about Michelle’s FACET Collection, the unique names which pull you into the Art Deco time period.

Below is a detail of the Martini Nightstand which Henessy pointed out to me that the brass is not painted on, but is hand cut inlay brass frond directly into the wood. I love how the leaves of the frond mimics graphic motifs of the Art Deco period but also adds a more contemporary feel as well. The hand cut inlay, on different parts of the nightstand evokes movement which make this piece very exciting!  It comes in midnight blue as well, which is one of my favorite colors!

Next up is one of my favorite pieces, the sophisticated High Ball Bar. Think old Hollywood Glam 1940’s classic movie with Katherine Hepburn in a silk nightgown just having one more night cap before she retires for the evening.  I saw a very cute Instagram video of Michelle opening and closing the cabinet doors, showing the mirrored walls and glass shelving.

With solid brass trim and custom hardware, what I love most about this piece is the incredible oak burl wood and the large round handle, which makes me think of the steering wheels of a Rolls Royce pulling up to a glamorous hotel like with Greta Garbo in the movie Grand Hotel. And if you follow my blog, you know how much I LOVE wood!!

But look carefully and you’ll also notice the slight angles on the legs.

It’s details like this and of the solid brass running across the front of the piece in subtle Art Deco stripes, that set’s Michelle’s work apart from others.

The Facet Collection is truly a one-of-a-kind Collection, although each piece can be ordered To-the-Trade (or through your Interior Designer) in many different finishes. This one also comes in blue, but the oak burl wood is absolutely stunning and my fave.

Below this lovely gilded framed portrait of a Parisian woman harking back to the age of Hollywood Glam is one of Michelle’s stellar pieces, the Mint Julep Chest. it is beyond stunning with its French curves, lacquer trim and custom hardware. I first laid eyes on this piece in the photo below on Social Media, and was smitten from the get go!

Above is the classic all around girly glamorous Hanky Panky Slipper Chair in a brilliant fuchsia. Michelle sure knows how to come up with sexy creative names! Also in this photo is a peek of the myriad of angles of light zebra wood on the luxurious finished Sazerac Desk (details of wood below) and the side table, Mimossa Drink Table, in midnight blue.

Below is where Michelle’s FACET Collection for French Heritage really demonstrates the depths she went to in her designs to create unique shapes, finishes and amazing textures with exotic woods like in the Mai Tai Cascading Entry Table. Mahogany wood literally cascades down the sides in multiple layers, topped off with gold leaf tabletop and base. It’s a real showstopper in its unique formation!

Below is some of the angles and solid brass hardware on the curvaceous Kir Royale Cabinet, and the corner of the beautiful Rosewood top used for the Gin Rickey Side Table.

Although a tad blurry (my apologies), I couldn’t help notice the amount of detail work and different textures from hand etched brass and copper Art Deco motifs on the Gibson Side Table, which is in the shape of a hat box.

The Negroni Sofa Table in Ebony below is simply magnificent in size (6 feet long) and detail. It is covered with hand inlaid brass Art Deco-inspired lines and curls. Simply gorgeous!

The final piece I photographed of the FACET Collection for French Heritage is the Tuxedo Nightstand which is so versatile it can be used in a bedroom, living or dining room with it’s hand cast solid brass hardware. Incredibly striking in person!

This my friends is not furniture you find anywhere. Michelle Workman’s FACET Collection for French Heritage is:

• a well thought out,
• Art Deco-inspired,
• superbly executed, and
• expertly handcrafted Collection.  

Michelle Workman and Henessy Wayser have much to be proud of with this collaboration….it’s simply exquisite!! Congratulations!!!

To wrap up my post, I not only met Michelle and Henessy, seeing many pieces of the incredibly inspiring 45-piece FACET collection, but enjoyed having time to truly visit with both of these fabulously talented women.

Below is an adorable pic of these two delightful beauties – thank you for a wonderful day! Be sure to follow both Michelle Workman Interiors and French Heritage on Social Media. Insta: @interioricon @frenchheritage Twitter: @interioricon French_Heritage

And below that is a photo of our whole entourage, after we picked up Ryan Ranzino of Crystorama and met up with friends Leslie Carothers and Laura Van Zeyl at Lightovation. What a fantastic way to end my 2-day whirlwind Dallas trip with new and old friends!

Fabulous FACET Furniture + Fabulous Friends = Fabulous Fun!  Till next time, hope you’re having a fabulous summer! XO PG

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post. All images and views are my own, except where noted. There’s much more to find online about the release of the FACET Collection for French Heritage. Click HERE for a fun video by Editor-at-Large at High Point Market.