ARTS Awards Judges Announced

Furniture World News Desk on 10/7/2021

Dallas Market Center and ART, the creative home furnishings network, have announced the judges for the 32nd ARTS Awards, taking place at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas on Friday, January 7, 2022. The ARTS Awards, presented annually during the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market, acknowledges preeminent manufacturers, retailers, interior designers, product designers, and sales representatives.

The esteemed judging panel will select winners from digital submissions that vary based upon category and may consist of product development, marketing, merchandising, company differentiation examples, or professional information.

In November, the judges will convene in Dallas for two days to review each individual or company submission. Once all components of judging are complete, a designated accounting firm tabulates and secures the scores until the winners are announced for the first time at the ARTS Awards gala.

The 32nd ARTS Awards judges are:

Caroline Biggs, Market Editor at Business of Home. She was formerly the Chief Writer at Dominomagazine, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy,Refinery29, Martha Stewart Living, Wirecutter, and more. A maximalist at heart, she believes that every object should have some sort of function in a home—even if it’s just to be beautiful and interesting.

Sandy Hughes, partner and Chief Creative Officer at Steelyard, the trade-only online product resource that seamlessly connects interior designers in the residential, commercial, and contract realms with top design-centric brands. As CCO, she oversees site and editorial content, member engagement, brand messaging, and marketing. She researches and views thousands of Steelyard products every month, introducing new brands and products exclusively to design professionals. It is also Sandy’s priority to make Steelyard’s commitment to professional and product education continually relevant and important to the designers Steelyard serves and to help elevate the interior design trade at large.

Susan Inglis, executive director of Sustainable Furnishings Council and founder of From the Mountain, has over 25 years of experience working with artisans and promoting sustainable manufacturing in the home furnishings, fashion, and gift industries. Under Inglis’ direction, SFC has gained national attention and brought the organization widespread recognition as the primary source for verified sustainable home furnishings. Most recently, SFC opened an office in High Point, North Carolina. For the ARTS Awards, Inglis exclusively serves as the Green Award judge and reviews only the manufacturing finalists’ submissions.

David Landis, designer and principal of David Landis Design, Inc., which creates lighting fixtures for many of the top North American companies in the market today. He combines more than 35 years of experience with a taste for fashion, function, and marketability. His design work translates the integrated vision of both his client’s wants and needs and his own designer’s lens. He is able to interpret, share, and offer concepts and innovative solutions based on current trends. 

Connie Post, chief executive officer of Connie Post Affordable Design Solutions. She is renowned as a retail design strategist, author, trend translator and developer of both product and brands. Connie has built a career on understanding where consumers are, what they want most, and where they are going next. As the standard bearer of visual marketing in the home furnishings industry for the past three decades, she is responsible for the look of more than 22 million square feet of retail and wholesale space around the globe.  

Cheminne Taylor-Smith, principal of Cheminne.com. She is a creative thinker and idea generator who specializes in branding, strategy, licensing, relationship marketing, promotion, social media, and content creation. Known for her insight and straight talk, she’s helped home furnishings companies and solopreneurs take their brands to the next level and improve their businesses including Elle Decor, High Point Market, Showtime cable network, Christie’s, Metropolitan Home, Conde Nast, Galerie Magazine, Bernhardt, Hudson Publishing, and more. 

Reservations for the ARTS Awards opened October 1. Tickets are $145 for ART members and $170 for non-members. Tables are also available.

Sponsors for the 32nd ARTS Awards include Aspire Design & Home; Business of Home; Designers Today; D Home; Furniture, Lighting & Décor; Furniture Today; Gifts & Decorative Accessories; Home Accents Today; Home Textiles Today; Interior Design Society, and Sustainable Furnishings Council.

For more information, visit the ARTS Awards website. Keep up-to-date with Dallas Market Center events and happenings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and use #ARTSAwards to stay connected.

To make plans for upcoming markets, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center and Lightovation Apps. Also, keep up-to-date on all information by visiting Dallas Market Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the DMC Blog.

About the ARTS Awards

The ARTS Awards is the premier international awards program dedicated to the home industry. Up to 28 categories exist under the headings Manufacturer, Retailer, Product Designer, Interior Designer, Sales Representative, Green Award, and other specialty honors. Anyone in the industry can nominate including manufacturers, retailers, sales representatives, designers, suppliers, consultants, and other industry officials. Companies that have won an ARTS Award five times are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Current Hall of Fame members are: Arteriors Home, Beatriz Ball, Bella Casa, BJ’s Home Accents, C.S. Wo & Sons, Distinctive Designs International Inc., Elements at Home, Feizy Rugs, Fine Art Lamps, Global Views, HW Home, Loloi Rugs, Montaage, Natural Decorations Inc., Palecek, Paragon, Phillips Collection, Robb & Stucky, Schonbek Worldwide Lighting, Seasonal Living, and Vietri.

About ART

ART is the creative home furnishings network representing manufacturers, retailers, representatives and other individuals and companies interested in promoting and enhancing the market position of the home furnishings industry. Each year ART sponsors programs such as the ART conference, regional educational seminars, the ART card, and the ARTS Awards. The ART website is available at www.accessoriesresourceteam.org.

About Dallas Market Center

Dallas Market Center is a global business-to-business trade center and the leading wholesale marketplace in North America connecting retailers and interior designers with top manufacturers in home décor, furniture, gifts, lighting and fashion. Inside its dynamic, five million square foot campus, nearly 200,000 customers from all 50 states and 85 countries seek industry trends, business education and new products from exhibitors throughout the year via dominant trade events for gift, home décor, holiday and floral; the nation’s most comprehensive apparel and accessories markets featuring the latest styles from East Coast and West Coast designers; the world’s  largest western marketplace, opening in 2021; the largest residential lighting trade event in North America; and the largest and most successful open-daily design center. The marketplace is located in the strongest economic zone in the country. In addition, more than 80 percent of Dallas Market Center buyers report that they do not shop other market centers. To make plans for upcoming markets, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center and Lightovation Apps. Also, keep up-to-date on all information by visiting Dallas Market Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Dallas Market Center blog.