On Thursday 8th
June 2017, the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), hosted its sixth
annual conference, entitled ‘Inside Knowledge: The BIID Business Success Conference’. Developed
specifically for and by interior designers, the new conference format offered attendees real and actionable guidance, as well as strategic
insights and practical ideas that interior designers can apply to their
business. The event took place at 30 Euston Square, London, and was attended by
nearly 250 delegates from the design industry, including BIID members, design
professionals, students and media.
This year’s
programme featured eight inspiring and informative talks on business success. Highlights from the day included:
- Attendees
were captivated by this year’s keynote conversation with one of the
country’s most highly-regarded designers, Guy Oliver. Led by Bill Prince, Deputy Editor of GQ, this
intimate conversation delivered
a unique insight Guy Oliver’s success, including how he built his impressive client
portfolio covering private residences, yachts, aircraft, luxury hotels and more.
The talk inspired and enthused the audience, creating a great buzz that
continued throughout the rest of the day.
- BIID
President Elect, Charles Leon, chaired a panel discussion on how to build a
great interiors brand. Leading designers and brand experts, Karen
Howes, co-founder of Taylor Howes and
Nick Cross, Founder of Tag Red, explored the key elements that make a great
and enduring interiors brand, providing attendees with useful insights and tips
to take-away and implement in their own business.
- The
audience were rapt as Sophie Ashby took to the stage to deliver a fresh and
honest talk on how creating her ‘internal’ and ‘external ‘ teams helped build
the success of her business. Receiving enthusiastic feedback from attendees,
Sophie is one of the design industry's rising stars.
- Past BIID
President Daniel Hopwood took to the stage in the afternoon to host a discussion
on the secrets of running a successful interior design business and how to stay
creative. Dan chaired a lively and informative conversation which explored how
renowned designers Joanna Wood and Dickie Bannenberg keep their businesses innovative
and successful over the years and tackled topics such as tricky clients,
business mistakes, favourite projects and more.
- Susie
Rumbold closed the day with a thought provoking panel discussion on mark-ups
and handling fees with leading industry experts, Colin Jones, partner at
Hewitsons solicitors and co-author of the BIID CID/14 Concise Agreement, Rachel Smart, design business consultant and
strategist, and David Keirle, founder and chairman of KSS architects. Widely regarded as one of the most challenging areas of a
design business to get right, the discussion brought great clarity to the
complex issues and received great audience engagement as attendees asked high
level questions to the panel.
“We are delighted with the feedback from the most successful
BIID conference to date” comments BIID President, Susie Rumbold. “Thanks to the
refreshed format, the conference focused on fundamental business issues,
including marketing, fee-handling, business planning, negotiating, people
management and more, which
offered actionable content to help attendees build their interior design
business career. The response from delegates
has been incredibly positive and we’re delighted with the level of engagement
and enthusiasm showcased by speakers, exhibitors and attendees alike throughout
the day. On behalf of the BIID, we’d like to thank everyone who attended and we
hope you enjoy putting into practice everything you’ve learnt.”
The conference also featured a select group of exhibitors, including
Hamilton Litestat,
Roca, Selectaglaze, Spiral Cellars
and UK Hide who supported this year’s conference. Each exhibitor had a stand at
the conference showcasing some of the latest products and services available to
interior design professionals attending the conference.