September 21, 2021

Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am proud of the way that our chapter has pivoted along the way to continue to provide our members and community with continuing education, philanthropic ventures, laid back membership chats and so much more. We have also grown as a community, supporting one another as mental health continues to play an important role in our daily lives.

IIDA New England remains diligent in our efforts to provide members with the opportunity to connect; with safety at the core. Areas throughout the New England region continue to see the ebbs and flows of COVID numbers, mask mandates, stay at home orders and everything in between. Your Chapter leadership continues to closely monitor the situation and ensure that we are doing what we can, to keep everyone safe while keeping you connected.

Be sure to check out our event calendar for a variety of events, both in person and virtual.

Be well,
Kara Hanson, IIDA
IIDA NE President

June 1, 2021

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to the summer season here in New England, and with it comes a focus on being outdoors. As the CDC guidelines towards COVID-19 have changed recently, individual states have adjusted their policies and protocols as well. As states open up with fewer restrictions on activities, IIDA NE has taken all of these factors into consideration, and we are excited to be able to offer several opportunities for in-person events this summer season. 

• July 15: Hartford Libations After Hibernation Trivia Night in Hartford, CT
• July 19: Providence Community Farm Harvest Night in Cumberland, RI
• August 19: 18^th Annual Croquet Tournament in Newport, RI
• September 16: Hartford Baggos & Brews in Hartford, CT

These events may look and feel a little different this year due to COVID, and each event’s webpage will share information on the safety measures that will be in place for each event. IIDA NE is committed to the health and safety of our members and our community and will continue to monitor and follow local and federal guidelines as they are released. If you are comfortable with in-person attendance, I hope you will join us at one of these events.

We plan to continue virtual programming throughout 2021 for our other offerings such as Continuing Education and Professional Development opportunities as we have found the virtual format allows more access across our membership regardless of location. We look forward to being able to incorporate some in person events while also continuing to offer some virtual events. Please be sure to check out our Chapter’s Event Calendar and see each event’s page for the full details.

Our Board of Directors looks forward to being able to enjoy the outdoors together again with you at your comfort level!

Stay healthy & be well.

Updated 8/27/2020:

As the summer draws to a close and we approach the 6^th month of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, I recognize this is not how we thought the summer would be. I had hoped to be able to see familiar faces in person this Fall, as I miss being able to connect with our design community at in-person events; I’m sure most of you feel that way too. While most states have eased up their COVID-19 restrictions, there are still limits to the number of people allowed to safely gather together both indoors and outside. We now anticipate the current situation will carry on through to the end of the year. I recognize the importance of staying connected during these challenging times and I hope IIDA will continue to be an important touch point for the New England design community. Our IIDA NE Chapter Board has been working together to adjust to the new normal of virtual programming and have made many of the recent events available online for those who missed the original date and time.

Over the summer we held our Annual Meeting & Volunteer Celebration, regular Membership Coffee Chats, several Professional Development events and even a virtual trivia night. Our Philanthropy Committee has found creative ways to continue supporting our allied charities through virtual fitness and culinary events. As NeoCon was cancelled and we recognized a desire to connect our members to hear about the great new products out there, we held the Unveil: Chapter Sponsor Showcase series highlighting the wonderful products and services from our Chapter Sponsors.

With Labor Day, typically September represents a new start – something we all grew up with the beginning of the school year, it is also a time for a renewed focus on learning and we hope to see you at the final two events of the 3-part Speaker Series on Communication Skills with Communicating During Collaboration on 10/7 and Communicating Your Design Through Completion on 12/8. These last two of the Speakers Series will have panelists from all three of our City Centers so we look forward to many engaging questions from our Hartford, Providence and Boston City Centers.

And almost six months after its originally scheduled date, the Design Awards will be held on Wednesday, September 16. We look forward to celebrating our design community and seeing the many amazing projects that will be recognized. To encourage all of you to join us that night, registration has been made free for everyone!Follow our social media and see the website Events pages for many more fun/educational/engaging happenings coming this Fall/Winter.

Stay healthy & be well.

Nico Flannery-Pitcher, IIDA
IIDA NE President

I have served on the IIDA New England Board of Directors for over 6 years, and during those 6 years I have grown to understand what a group of dedicated and passionate volunteers can accomplish. The truth of the matter is COVD-19 has not changed that – but it has changed how we operate as a Chapter. Stefanie Comeau, IIDA NE Immediate Past President, put it perfectly to me during one of our many IIDA discussions, “IIDA NE is relearning how to be a Chapter.” We knew how to put on spectacular events for up to 2,000 people with production value of a paid workforce…not a volunteer one. We knew when and where we should offer our events. We knew how to budget and predict for the years ahead. COVID-19 has changed all of that and I’m sure it has changed your daily life and work as well. We now have to relearn as a community how to safely gather, learn, celebrate and advocate.

We know returning to our workplaces, schools and daycare will be stressful, gradual and dependent on workplace, local, state and federal direction. We also know that the desire for our community to come out to after-work events will be different than it was before the pandemic. As a Chapter, we feel the best way to support this change is to continue to offer our events virtually through the end of July. This will allow our community to interact while making lunch for their children, between client meetings, and with new adjusted schedules – all from the safety of their home or workplace.

Many things will stay the same. Our hard-working volunteers have committed to build on the success of virtual events from April and May by bringing you a professional development event, a fitness fundraiser, and a membership Coffee Chat each month until the end of July. Leaders in our Lifelong Leadership Program will continue their monthly meetings. Designers will have significant influence on how environments will alter due to this pandemic, therefore our commitment to advocate for the profession will not change. Nor will our commitment to encourage design discussions and reinvention. 

Some things will change – IIDA New England’s dedicated Board of Directors has been meeting twice a month since March to discuss these changes. As developments in the pandemic and the economy are changing rapidly, we’ve dedicated our discussions to next steps to keep our community safe and ways for our Chapter to evolve. All IIDA chapters are entirely self-funded and IIDA New England, like many other chapters, are able to operate due to income from Chapter events and generous support from our sponsors. Therefore, discussions surrounding our events was imperative. None of the following decisions were made lightly and were made with the utmost concern for the health and safety of our community. These decisions were made with the knowledge that the New England area is reeling from the emotional and economic impact of COVID-19. IIDA New England’s Chapter event offerings for 2020 will be drastically reduced in order to ensure our community has the time to recover and continue to keep their health as their top concern.

Due to timing, the 2020 Design Awards was postponed after careful consideration. After many discussions with the venue, vendors and committee we have decided to move to a virtual presentation of the 2020 Design Awards. This will ensure project teams will be able to celebrate within the year of award submission and allow us to do so in the safest way. Stay tuned for details. We look forward to returning to the Park Plaza for the 2021 Design Awards in late winter/early spring.

Business Leaders Breakfast (BLB) was also postponed after gathering for a 500-person breakfast and speaker became unsafe for our community. IIDA New England has decided to move BLB’s 2020 speaker and honoree program to 2021 at the Westin. Inspiration and leadership have always been important to our Chapter; we will continue to touch on those topics throughout 2020 and be able to gather as a group to do so in 2021.

Fashion Show is our biggest event at 2,000 people and although November seems far away, the planning for this event begins in January. We have had the committee on pause since February as we tried to learn more about the future of the pandemic. Fashion Show is an incredible feat of design collaboration with firms and vendors who donate their time, resources and materials to create unbelievable entries. Sponsors contribute resources to allow this event to happen and our community purchases tickets for the show. Although IIDA New England plans Fashion Show, we have never taken for granted that the event is a team sport and impossible without the support of our community. When reviewing with the committee and Board of Directors, it became clear that we could not expect the same involvement as years before. We also could not expect the same attendance given the current local mandate of limiting the number of people that can gather in person. We do not see that being lifted to 2,000 people by November. IIDA New England cannot fathom the complete turnaround of the economy, health crisis, and our communities’ spirit that would allow us to hold Fashion Show in 2020. Fashion Show will return in 2021 and the spirit of collaboration will continue in different ways in 2020.

IIDA New England leadership continues to review our planned events for 2020 as COVID-19 continues to affect our lives. We will continue to update you as things develop. Our community’s well-being and best interests are at the forefront of our mission. We appreciate your support during these times, and we hope to continue to deliver content, programs and support for you.  IIDA NE’s leaders are here for you during this time – please reach out and let us know how we can support you. Our Chapter will continue to evolve, and we will do so based on what our members and community need. On behalf of all of us at IIDA New England, stay safe and connected, be well, and continue to DESIGN.

Meaghan Kennedy, NCIDQ, IIDA
IIDA NE President

Closures, cutbacks, and cancellations have become necessary to slow the spread of this fast-moving, insidious virus. While we’re all at different stages of this crisis, we encourage you to utilize the local and national resources made available to you. At the bottom of this message are links to various resources made available to you.

Your well-being and best interests are at the forefront of IIDA’s evolving mission. We know that you are an incredible group of caring, brilliant minds and that you are an invaluable resource to this community and to one another. We encourage you to reach out to your industry colleagues and friends. It is through each other that we will come out of this on the other side as a stronger community.

While we may be quieter than usual rest assured, we are working hard to begin providing you with alternative, virtual offerings. Our incredibly dedicated team of volunteers continues to discuss ways that we can bring us all together during this time through philanthropy events, professional development events and others. Earlier this week, we held our first ever complimentary Virtual Yoga event where more than 40 industry friends gathered in the comfort of their own home to connect, get moving and take some calming breaths. Through the generous contributions of these attendees, we were able to raise close to $600 for United Way's COVID-19 Relief Fund. #IIDANECARES

We have amazing leaders within IIDA NE that are here for you. This moment reminds us that we’re all connected like never before. We’re called upon to be our best selves, with patience, empathy, understanding and compassion. On behalf of all of us at IIDA NE take care of yourselves and one another. 

IIDA New England continues to monitor the rapidly changing situation related to the spread of COVID-19. We understand that concerns for health, safety, and the impact on meeting attendance, among other issues, are affecting our members. Our main priority is the health and safety of our design community. At all of our IIDA NE events, we are committed to working with our venues to ensure that all appropriate sanitary, health and safety measures are met and encourage attendees to follow guidelines recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Out of an abundance of caution, IIDA New England has also made the decision to POSTPONE all events through the end of April.

As the situation continues to develop and evolve, IIDA New England will continue to review our process concerning this matter and update and provide necessary information to our members and event registrants. Please check our website and social media for updates. Please do not hesitate to contact IIDA NE at [email protected] with any specific questions you may have.

Due to the extreme and severe circumstances caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the ongoing threat posed to all, IIDA New England has immediately postponed our Design Awards event scheduled for tomorrow evening. Because this virus is a hazard to the public health of our design, client and immediate community, it was decided in the best interest of all, that the protection of our members and our community was of the highest priority. While this action is unfortunate, it was done with intention, thoughtfulness and with a thorough commitment to the wellbeing of all involved with this event.

It is our intention to reschedule this event for later this year; however, as you can imagine, much work goes into this decision and how it impacts you. We ask that you stay tuned and we will be contacting you again with more information and how this might apply to the money you have spent on tickets and sponsorships.

Please be on the lookout for more updates and we cannot thank you enough for your continued support of IIDA New England and the interior design industry.

Meaghan Kennedy, NCIDQ, IIDA
IIDA New England Chapter President