Recap of a special lunch at the stunning Hearst Publishing headquarters in NYC honoring the next wave of young designers featured in House Beautiful magazine

A beautiful place to dine overlooking the gorgeous NYC skyline...the 44th floor of the swanky 
Hearst Tower

on West 57th Street 

lunch, beautiful views, talented designers, and delicious food & company was all part of yesterday's celebration at Hearst Design Group honoring new designers featured in 
House Beautiful magazine's Next Wave column.

House Beautiful magazine has long been my favorite shelter magazine.  It has withstood the test of time by continually bringing readers fresh views of many of the country's talents.  I enjoy the Next Wave column which has profiled up-and-coming designers since the 1980s.  This long history of celebrating  new designers is a testament to Hearst's commitment to supporting the industry.  This year, House Beautiful ramped it up a notch by inviting a year's worth of featured designers to their New York City headquarter for a celebratory lunch in the gorgeous Hearst Tower dining room with both Kate Kelly Smith (SVP, Group Publishing Director of Hearst Design Group) and Newell Turner (Editorial Director, Hearst Design Group) presiding over the festivities.  A handful of us design bloggers were also invited and introduced, asked to stand and individually acknowledged to the crowd for our work covering the design industry -- 

Thank You Kate Kelly Smith!

Kate Kelly Smith, Hearst Design Group

Kate and Newell took us through a walk down memory lane with photographs from some of the very first "up and coming" designers in the 1980s, many of whom are now household names such as; Eric Cohler, Victoria Hagan, Alison Spears,  Thomas Pheasant, Thomas O'Brien and more.  This illustrates how valuable this support is for a blossoming career.  I was fortunate to have sat next to one of this year's honored designers, the bubbly Margaret Kirkland who hails from Atlanta, Georgia.  She enthusiastically told us at the table that just after her profile in the magazine published, a New York City couple looking to decorate their pre-war apartment in Carnegie Hill "googled" the words "young and traditional interior designers" and the  article immediately popped up. It is exciting to note, she was hired for the job and while here in New York this week she is ready to begin this new assignment.  

interior designer, Margaret Kirkland 
with Hearst's Sabine Rothman
We all need a little boost in life and often creative jobs can be difficult to navigate.  It warms my heart to hear about Hearst's continued efforts to give back to the industry, valuing the talents that keep this business flourishing.  Follow the hashtag #HBNextWave on Twitter to see the buzz surrounding this event.

public relations gurus Michael McGraw (McGraw Agency) and Elizabeth McGovern (Hearst Design Group)

worked their magic to bring this event together.

talking "shop"
Jennifer Abramowitz, Spread PR;
Sean Sullivan, Hearst Design Group; 
interior designer, Ryan White

It's always a pleasure to hear Newell Turner speak about his passion for the history of design and his love for the design world.

I snapped a quick snapshot of the designers together, and in the event you are looking to hire a new designer, these are the talents honored:

1. Courtney Giles
2. Timothy Brown
3. Jill Goldberg
4. Jon Call
5. Christos Prevezanos
6. Austin Varner
7. Michael Herold
8. Alison Vanderpool
9. Ariana Villalta
10. Blair Harris
11. Margaret Kirkland
12. Katie Hackworth
13. Courtney Hill Fertitta
14. Kate Coughlin
15. Ohara-Davis Gaetano
16. Ryan White
17. Sam Allen
18. Patrick Mele
19. Lauren Nelson

Kate Kelly Smith, Hearst; Janice Langrall, Scalamandre

2014 looks to be a stellar year for Hearst Publishing as they continue to champion talents in design!

Happy Nesting

XO Tamara