Safemark was thrilled to be a part of the inaugural HIConnect Show in Nashville, Tennessee. The HIConnect mock rooms (vignettes) were a unique opportunity for designers to display their creative talents. The vignettes also served as the perfect showcase for Safemark’s hotel safes.
As a recap of the HiConnect Trade Show, we have a short Q&A series with interior design firms Design Force, who co-created the vignettes.
Q: What has been your experience in preparing for this event?
JMcG: For us it was a very positive experience, being able to showcase our abilities and working with the vendors, with everybody staying focused. Timing was very challenging so it was very much a team effort and it really made us appreciate how much we rely on each other. We learned an important lesson, without our suppliers, without good design, without commitment we wouldn’t make it.
RF: We had just three months to prepare. The challenges we faced were all about timing. We forged relationships with all involved in the process that may not have happened in any other situation. And that is good for our industry.
Q: How did you choose your vendors?
JMcG: We submitted a list of vendors and it was a 50/50 chance of getting the ones that we wanted. In the end we were paired with some vendors that we’d never used before. It took us out of our comfort zone and nine times out of ten it was a very positive experience.
Q: How was working with new vendors?
JMcG: It kind of pushed us to the limit both on the manufacturing side and on the design. I liked the idea of working with manufacturers that I haven’t worked with before because familiarity is safe. So working with new vendors made me think through the process more, and certainly hold them and myself to higher expectations.
RF: This was really a learning experience where we were pushed to different levels of challenge. It brought the raw talent and emotions that breeds very good design: because design is passion.
We are so pleased with our vignette and so pleased with the people we have worked with. We couldn’t be more happy with the experience and the end result.
Q: Would you do it again?
RF: Yes. It showcases everybody so well in a very visual way. Not everybody is visionary. A developer might not be a visionary person that can mentally piece these things together from other shows where you see a bit of fabric on one stand and furniture on another. But when they see it in real life, like on our vignette, they know it’s going to sell and that excites them and also excites us. It’s a full package.
Q: What do you think the owners are getting from this event?
RF: Developers go from vignette to vignette and get a different emotional feeling when they walk into each room. They get an opportunity to see that design makes a difference. It is hard to sell that to purely budget focused people as it’s an intangible service.
Q: Apart from design, what else does your firm bring to the table?
JMcG: The decisions we make today have to be valid seven years from now. You don’t have that three-year turnaround anymore. Being put through the trenches like everybody else in this economic downturn has given us an understanding where owners want to be in the future. Changes and upgrades are not going to happen quickly and the decisions that we make now not only have to be strategic, but smart.
