I was honored to attend the Monogram Designer Summit 2018 in Louisville last week. This year’s theme was Journey: The Impact of One to Many. Our gracious Monogram hosts began the summit with a cocktail reception and dinner at the historic Brown Hotel. This was followed by two days jam-packed with opportunities to learn and wander awe-struck through the modernist masterpiece that is Columbus, Indiana.
To help us get started on our journey, Bryan Goodpastor, Senior Creative Director of Trends and Forecasting at LPK, shared a dynamic presentation about trends for now and the future. At LPK, Bryan specializes in looking ahead to identify trends and help businesses optimize for the future.
Bryan’s team forecasts global trends and identifies shifts in socio-culture that affect consumer attitudes, values and beliefs—ultimately defining the consumer behaviors of the future.
Bryan’s presentation was a great segue to our trip the next day to Columbus, Indiana, an architecturally significant town that clearly demonstrates how one person’s vision can create a lasting impact.
Columbus, Indiana was forever changed as J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia made extraordinary contributions in their home town. Miller clearly was a man ahead of his time. Watch the following video and see for yourself:
J. Irwin Miller: Portrait of a Leader
The highlight of our visit to Columbus was touring the Miller House and Gardens, which is now owned and maintained by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Still photos cannot capture the magic of the house and grounds, but the following video gives you an idea:
Unfortunately, the magnolia trees were not in bloom for our visit. Having grown up with a magnolia tree in my front yard, I immediately recognized the budding beauties and can only imagine the spectacle they created when all were in bloom.
If you want to learn more about Columbus, Indiana and J. Irwin Miller, read Columbus, Ind.: A Midwestern Mecca Of Architecture.
We ended the day with cocktails and dinner at the KY Museum of Arts and Crafts.
Tuesday began bright and early at The Speed Art Museum with Bryan Goodpastor reporting on industry trends, followed by our dynamic facilitators Sunni and Jesse setting us up for an afternoon of discovery and innovation.
One of the most fun parts of the Monogram Designer Summits is being able to envision and create product prototypes. Building on Bryan’s information with Sunni and Jesse motivating us, we broke out into teams and let our imaginations run wild.
Using “junkyard” scraps of cardboard, foamcore, handles and knobs, we put our heads together and built full-size appliances. Each group was assigned a demographic based on Bryan’s presentation,and we had only a short time to come to consensus and build our prototypes!
Unfortunately, I cannot show you pictures of our top-secret, innovate creations or I will be sent away to appliance jail and tortured. Just kidding. Nyuck nyuck nyuck!
But seriously, folks, if you want to see truly innovative products that exceed your wildest dreams you only have to check out Monogram Appliances!
We wrapped up the 2018 Designer Summit with cocktails and dinner in The Crystal Ballroom at the Brown Hotel. As we savored as last hours together, Karl Champley, Master Builder, Humanitarian, and TV host shared his journey with us.
Thank you, Monogram, for hosting another fabulous designer summit!
Cookin' Kitchens 