It Just FELT Right

How Kelly Smith and Traci Roloff Grew Their Business

Kelly Smith, Co-Founder of FilzFelt www.filzfelt.com has always been attracted to wool felt. Her career as a trained architect and later the founder of Etcetera Media, a German wool felt line of goods pointed Kelly in the direction of FilzFelt. Traci Roloff began her career in corporate interior design and historic preservation before making her way to Boston and partnering with Kelly to start FilzFelt.

In 2008, FilzFelt was born as a labor of love. Kelly andTraci poured hard work and passion into building an exceedingly high end textile company with exceptional customer service. FilzFelt sells German-milled 100% Wool Design Felt and their product offering includes floor coverings, wall panels and perforated panels. Their efforts did not go unnoticed. In late 2011, FilzFelt was acquired by textile and furniture giant Knoll www.knoll.com. Today, Kelly and Traci have executive roles at Knoll and continue to run the FilzFelt out of their Boston office.

Design Salon is especially proud of the FilzFelt team! Kelly is one of the Design Salon founding members and Traci has been a Salon member from the beginning. Please come out to share Kelly and Traci's success with Design Salon!

When: Tuesday October 30

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Knoll Showroom

281 Summer Street (next to Papagayo)

RSVP: Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine (NO RED WINE PLEASE!) and snacks to share with the group!

Tiffani Faison: Sizzle and Shake It Till You Make It!

Boston is quickly becoming a mecca for fabulous female chefs and Restaurant owners. Tiffani Faison has not only joined the ranks, but has been crowned Queen Bee. It's her approach that makes us stand up and take notice. For anyone who has ever watched the reality show Top Chefs, you should be very familiar with this spicy redhead. Her path from the kitchen to top reality television star back to the kitchen has been brilliant! It's Tiffani's work ethic, passion for real down home cooking and sheer talent that has paved her way.

Last November 2011, Tiffani rolled her reality TV stardom into a successful little Boston gem...the Southern BBQ restaurant called Sweet Cheeks on Fenway Park. http://www.sweetcheeksq.com/ Now, the warm-hearted, super talented, hyper-competitive female chef has marketed herself all the way to the top of the food chain. Done, done and done!

Uh-huh.

When: Tuesday, September 18th

Time: 7:00

Where: Joss and Main

Address: 177 Huntington Ave

24th Floor

***call 603-714-5224 if you have trouble entering the building

RSVP: Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!

Business Building in the Fast Lane

Please join us on Tuesday, May 15th to take a journey with Kay McGowan as she is only months into the process of building her corporation through the Venture Capital Accelerator.   

Kay McGowan, one of the planning board members of Design Salon and 14 years as General Manager of the venerable Boston based Furniture Empire: Mohr and McPherson.  On December 30^th, quite like Alice in Wonderland, Kay packed up her well worn suitcase of experience and took that big, scary leap into “A Curated World” www.kaymcgowan.com.

Change is always difficult, especially when leaving a beloved career to go it alone.  Like Alice, it is the choice in pathways and whom you meet along the way that matter.  Kay’s Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts, and White rabbit happened to be her friends; most important being Owen Johnson, an MIT grad and founder of Beta Spring venture capital accellator.  Owen recognized Kay as a woman with a very big idea and the brainpower to go along with it.  Kay was scooped up and is being groomed at the incubator in Providence, RI as the CEO of a projected multi-million dollar Boston based corporation.    

In Kay’s new Wonderland, she has learned that although she doesn’t know everything about starting a projected $10 million empire, she is learning quickly.  These days, when Kay takes a peek into her looking glass, she certainly sees a bright and pathway into A Curated World. 

 Where:  Jill Rosenwald's Studio
369 Congress Street, 2nd Floor

When:  Tuesday, May 15th

Time:  7:00

R.S.V.P:  Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring food and snacks to share with the group. 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice!

Jody Adams, Top Chef

Jody Adams, nationally renowned James Beard award-winning chef, hardly requires an introduction. Recently knocking it out of the park with Trade in Boston's historic Waterfront District, Years at the helm of a Rialto Restaurant, a venerable Cambridge institution in the Charles Hotel, Harvard Square, delightful to watch as a Top Chef Masters competitor and did she really cook for our President!
None of this is exactly why we ask Jody to speak.
Jody defined for herself expanded roles within and outside of her industry.
Child advocacy and hunger relief world-wide, Local farms and artisnal food producers, Partners in Health, Greater Boston Food Bank, Share our Strength, Pan-Mass Challenge
She invests in her tremendous talents, connects with community and figures out a how to spend time, resources, and energies on things that personally and socially matter outside of the walls of her own restaurants.
How does she make the key career decisions that allow for this influence and freedom to pursue personal goals and initiate and institute social change through both business and outside endeavors?
Our speakers are women who have made an impact in their fields, define their own success and have some wisdom or point of view to share. Jody embodies this spirit!

When: Tuesday, March 13th

Where: Twelve Chairs http://www.twelvechairsboston.com/

319 A Street, Boston

Time: 7:00

RSVP: Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine and snacks to share!

Thanks to the Lovely Ladies at Twelve Chairs for hosting us in their newly renovated space! You MUST stop in to check out their beautiful place.

PITCH and BITCH...how to successfully pitch your ideas!

An Evening with Amy Nobile: Author, Blogger and T.V. Producer

Have you ever wanted to PITCH your IDEAS and verbalize your creations BEFORE you invest countless hours and late nights...only to be told that your idea is a ridiculous, uninspired suck hole? (my 9 year old's favorite naughty swear word!)

On February 28th, Amy Nobile (http://www.reallygoodmom.com/) will inspire the Ladies of Design Salon with the brilliant gift of creative planning. The "Really good mom" designed a career path that began in a corporate New York City Public Relations firm. It was not by accident that Amy's creative ambitions has led her to authoring 3 bestselling books and making appearances on mainstream television talk shows. Stay tuned for Amy's reality television series, too.


After Amy married, moved to San Fransisco and started a family, she found the hidden supply closet of "dirty little secrets", that are discovered only when motherhood and marriage are set in motion. With with longtime friend, Trisha Ashworth, the women practically shouted the brutally honest, raw feelings that most women speak of only at a whisper.



The ladies combined their ambitions and talents to become the "Pitch and Bitch" queens by capitalizing on the idea of pitching their book ideas BEFORE putting pen to paper. Since the inception, Amy and Trisha have published 3 bestselling books: "I Was A Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids" (https://facebook.com/reallygoodmom), "Dirty Little Secrets From Otherwise Perfect Moms" and "I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper".



Amy is currently working on a fourth book, along with some new facets of her brilliant career... Pitching and producing a reality based television series.


You can see Amy on The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show (www.Oprah.com/oprahshow/Motherhood-Secrets/9) and Good Morning America.

Thanks to Stayci Fast for hosting Design Salon in her fabulous new studio! See Stayci's blog at www.Stay-Blog.com.

When: Tuesday, February 28th

Where: Stayci Fast's Studio

New England Home Staging www.NewEnglandStaging.com

369 Congress Street, South Boston Floor 2

Time: 7:00

RSVP: Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine or snacks to share with the group.

Delicious Design

Packaging -vs- Chocolate

Is it possible to create packaging that is more delicious than chocolate? Kathleen Fulton, the co-founder and Brand Manager for Taza Chocolate (http://www.tazachocolate.com/) has make it her life's work to find a way. Having studied art, design and architecture then going for her MBA, Kathleen gathered all of her tools in order to mix up a sweet success story. She is a firm believer that packaging, product and design account for 75% of her efforts, and why people pick Taza's product off the shelf. "Good design is critical to being able to engage the consumer". Apparently, her philosophy is paying off.

Salonistas will be treated to a conversation with Kathleen, and tour the Taza factory in Somerville. If we are extra good, maybe there will be a few "samples"!

When: Tuesday, January 31st
Where: Taza Chocolate
561 Windsor Street
Somerville, MA
617-284-2232
Time: 7:00
RSVP: Jill.Palese@gmail.com
Please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!

Leveraging the Internet to Grow Your Biz

hello salonistas!
we want to invite you to our event happening tomorrow night!
we are dubbing it
Leveraging the Internet to Grow Your Business!
and it will be a panel discussion with

Mitra Morgan of Joss and Main
Julie Richards of Shelter Interior Design
Marni Elyse Katz of Boston Home Boston Globe Magazine & Design Milk
Jennifer Hill of Jennifer Hill Design

we are hoping to get a stimulating discussion going with those of you whose businesses have been affected positively (or negatively) by the internet. the internet is the new wild west, and it is changing retail every day..why just last friday (black friday) records for online shopping sales were broken again. let us learn from one another by sharing our most recent experiences.

tuesday descember 13th
7pm at Joss and Main
177 Huntington ave.
24th floor
boston ma

please bring snacks to share with the group.
cannot wait to see you all.

please rsvp to mcrae2@aol.com

Building a Brand From the Inside Out

Ebony Snow Chafey, Owner of Snow and Graham Chicago (http://www.snowandgraham.com/), shares infinite entrepreneurial wisdom with the ladies of Design Salon
Ebony is heading to Boston to spend an evening sharing with the Salonistas. Ladies, turn off your computers, put away your swatches and color cards. This is an important night for anyone in the midst of brand building. Years ago, when Ebony began her stationery line, her business was a blank slate. Over time and lots of trial and error, Ebony's company has evolved and her brand has become the one that we know today.

"It's the entire experience", says Chafey. "It's not just what you see on the surface that makes my brand strong", she says, "it's everything that you don't see that supports the brand. Customer service and inventory management right through to the visible packaging. It's all guided by the same overriding principle at Snow and Graham... THAT'S what makes my brand strong".

When: October 18

Time: 7:00

Where: M. Flynn Studio

40 Waltham Street

RSVP: jill.palese@gmail.com

Bring wine and snacks to share with the group!

A Jeweled Life

An Evening with Kate Hines

Welcome to the Design Salon 2011-2012 season! There is no better way fall in step with the new season, than to connect with fellow creative women to discuss business, inspiration and JEWELRY.

Kate Hines (http://www.katehinesjewelry.com/) will join us on Tuesday, September 20th at 7pm at the fabulous showroom of Kate Maloney Interiors to share her infinite wisdom, style and experiences of her creative and fantastic collections.


I grew up on the coast of New England and spent summers rapt with the simple pleasures of looking. The tangles of seaweed. Rock and shell architecture. All those years of looking took voice in art school at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). It was a fantastic era for design and I interpreted the moment by launching a collection of innovative, large-scale jewelry made with roughly hewn metals and somber patinas. Everything was possible.
My icons were Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto, whose designs were fierce and experimental. Retail buyers saw a similar spirit in my work and I shared floor space with my heroes in the finest American boutiques and department stores. Fashion editors featured the work in every top fashion magazine.

Fashion thrills because it is never still. Taste moderated expression and jewelry distilled to a smaller scale. In this new career phase, I began collaborating with top clothing catalogs to create private label jewelry lines to complete and distinguish their collections.
At KateHines.com, I have the freedom to ask, “What is timeless, what will endure, what do I want to offer to my customer?”

join us at 7pm
Tuesday September 20th 2011
at KMI Design
Stitch on Two showroom
2nd floor
875 Main St
Cambridge
02139
please bring snacks and drinks to share with the group and rsvp to
jillpalese@gmail.com

Decorate...with Holly Becker

Summertime is groovy, sand is between our toes...we are pondering how to create the perfect shade of blue to match the evening sky while sipping a cold Mojito.

If you are feeling like it quickly approaching go time again, that you'll need to pop into Anthrolopologie on Saturday, August 20th between 10:30 and 12:30 to see fellow Salonista Holly Becker (www.Decor8blog.com/about/) as she makes a stop off in Boston to promote her new book Decorate. Hope to see you there.... oh, and while you're up, could you bring me another Mojito...

Grand Opening Party!

The Cream Always Rises to the Top!

The Royal Wedding is long over, yet the Crown Jewel of Boston's Design Society, Cheryl Katz of C & J Katz http://www.candjkatz.com/ is gracefully enticing us with her strong design presence on a regular basis.

Beginning her career in fashion, Cheryl used her skill, intuition and help from a friend to pave her way though. Getting married to Architect, Jeffery Katz and insisting on a move to New York City as a freelance fashion stylist was the game changer. NYC was the perfect place for Cheryl to stretch her wings and realize all of her talents. She used her keen eye and great instinct to move easily from fashion design to interior design without reservation.

In 1984 C&J Katz Studio was born.

Boston's irristable pull of red brick charm and subtle sophistication brought the Cambridge girl, her designer husband and two children home. The rest is beautiful, well designed history.

Cheryl has a long and proliferic resume and it is difficult to identify her in a short paragraph. However, she is most notably is the designer who created the strong identity for the Barbara Lynch/Gruppo empire http://www.barbaralynch.com/. We all have enjoyed a drink or dinner at some of Boston's favorite establishments such as No. 9 Park http://www.no9park.com/, Sportello http://www.sportelloboston.com/, and Drink http://www.drinkfortpoint.com/.

This evening is sure to be an inspiring evening of discussion about design, career choices and the possiblity of change.

When: Tuesday, June 14th

Where: C & J Katz Studio

60 K Street

South Boston, MA

Time: 7:00

R.S.V.P.:Jill.Palese@gmail.com

**Please bring wine and snacks to share with the group!

Blogging for Bucks

Erica Tannen of The E-List shares her road trip from Fashion Industry Maven to "Belle of the Blog"

"Anyone in the fashion industry will tell you it's impossible to get out, but I finally did" says Erica Tannen. After 25 years of owning and buying for specialty retail companies, I launched the-e-list (http://www.the-e-list.com/). I have an eye for style, a strong opinion and a knack for knowing what's coming next. My friends think I'm a blabbermouth. Due to my inability to say no, I am a fanatic volunteer in my community, my daughter's school and my favorite art institution, the Florence Griswold Museum. In my spare time, I am a wife and mother of a teen-age daughter."

Sounds simple, Erica!

Design Salon is looking forward to Erica's story and how she turned a creative idea into an uber-$ucce$$ful business.

Ladies, if you are not a blogger and you don't care much about turning fantastic ideas into $ (yeah, right), then stop by to check out fellow salonista Mitra Morgan's sweet spot- Joss and Main (http://www.jossandmain.com/).

When: Wednesday, May 25

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Joss and Main Showroom

177 Huntington Ave (overlooking Christian Science Center)

R.S.V.P.: jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring wine and/or snacks to share with the group!

5 Under 40 - Overview | New England Home

Award winning "Salonistas"

Last month, New England Home chose outstanding local talents for the "5 Under 40" award. Happily, 3 of the 5 winners are current members of Design Salon. Here's to you, you talented and hard working ladies...

Kelly Harris Smith, www.filzfelt.com. Kelly is one of the founding members of Design Salon and on the planning board.

Rachel Rieder, www.rachelreider.com, interior designer.

Debra Folz, www.debrafolz.com, Furniture and Home design.

5 Under 40 - Overview New England Home: "New England Home's 5 Under 40 awards spotlight the hottest emerging talent in residential design in New England, including architecture, interiors, furniture, and home design products and accessories. Selected by an all-star committee of regional design leaders, 5 Under 40 winners are the people to watch, producing some of the most beautiful and innovative work available today."

Oh la la...

Stacey Santo is rocket-hot! As senior marketing executive and on the "starting team" of Boston based retailer Rue la la, she defines the word "multi tasker". Stacey and Rue have cooked up a blend of fashion/bargains/marketing/innovation/technology resulting in the perfect blend of pure and simple GENIUS!

Come hear how Stacey has managed to give retail giants a run for their money and how she has made bargain shopping uber hip! It's sure to be a la la lavish treat for us!

We will meet at one of our favorite cozy spots...Twelve Chairs Boston. http://www.twelvechairsboston.com/ .

When: Tuesday, April 5th

Time: 7:00

Where: Twelve Chairs319 A Street. Fort Point. Boston

R.S.V.P.- Jill.palese@gmail.com

Please bring snacks and wine to share with the group!