Welcome to the Tradition. Sun Valley, Idaho!

Traditionally blog posts have been boring and not worth reading. Well life has changed. What comes to mind is the famous song "Tradition" by Fiddler on the Roof. Have you heard of it. I have. If you do not remember or do not have the foggiest idea what I am talking about, then you should youtube it. "Tradition!" 

Now that we are on the same page, lets take a moment and grasp "Tradition." Do you have it in your hand? Good! Now with the other hand, reach up and grab it by its neck. Ok, so this is what you are going to do. Remember when you were in elementary school and you gave your friends Indian Burns. This is the same concept. With both hands firmly grasping "Tradition," wring its neck! There you have you it. A dead limp boring tradition gone. No more to cumbersome your life. Lets do the same with the thoughts of Sun Valley. This year was anything but boring and traditional. Take a look. You will not be disappointed.

Coming up are the contestants on the price is wrong. Our three participants were Valene, Alexis and Katherine. Second place in the student competition was VALENE EDWARDS!

Design Graduates Reunite!

Lindsay Call and Sara Prowess offered helpful information about their everyday design work and accomplishments at their respective design firms, Wynn Design and Development and Yates-Silverman, Inc.  Each described the work they do on a typical day in the real interior design world.  They shared stories, outlined their scope of responsibilities, their preparation, and their experiences in their current careers.  They were great inspirations to us all of what we can be capable of if we keep working hard.  Their success showed that in the end all the blood, sweat, tears, and late nights, are worth it in the end!  Thanks for coming and sharing your great insights with us!

Michael Fazio

Do you remember the Magazine Game that Michael Fazio from ArchIdeas introduced? What about the link between "shopping for shoes" and interior design?? We were very lucky to have Mr. Fazio deliver dynamic presentations with valuable information on becoming a better designer. He expressed that to be a good designer, you must always be looking for ways to improve your environment. Some of the most important tips Mr. Fazio presented included:

Learn to SEE - Look for activities, environments, information, objects, and users in a space (including seeing what is missing in the space)

Delight in Failure - Force yourself to try a different approach to a problem.

• Ask "Why?" and "Why not?"
• Choose a Good and Right Path
• Never Stop Learning

Mr. Fazio also reminded students to keep design and careers in perspective; after the wise words of Einstein, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted..."

We were so fortunate to have the talented Mr. Fazio with us in our department for a day!

Don't forget the Powerpoint files from his presentations are posted on I-Learn for your personal access!

Sun Valley {cont...}

Additionally, we were treated to tour Sun Valley's relatively new Catholic church. The church was beautiful inside and out, from its stained glass windows to the suede walls, and from the solid exposed trusses to the stained concrete floor. The most magnificent site was the church's ginormous chandelier created completely of fiber optics and abstract glass figures. Its beauty was truly astounding.

The Sun Valley trip was truly an unforgettable treat for all who attended this year!

Annual Intermountain ASID Meeting - Sun Valley 2009

Ashley Sargeant & Tori Hopkin
{it was an early morning...}

Enjoying the vendors during lunch

Stuart Beal being Dr. Gadget

Tehra and Caley enjoying dinner.

Classic TL McRae

We returned again to the Idaho resort town of Sun Valley for another fun day trip to attend the Annual Intermountain ASID Meeting. As students we enjoyed the camaraderie of other regional interior design students, design professionals, and vendors.
We were able to enjoy the beauty of the Sun Valley Inn as we attended seminars by Angela Merola and Sam Allman. They delivered tips on creating trust in client relationships and accurately reading others' body language. These seminars were both entertaining and informational as we learned crucial skills that will help us in the business world of the interior design industry. We also listened to John Troxell, Director of Design from Wood-Mode, Inc., speak on the upcoming design and color trends he has observed from his trips to Europe.
We were so proud of our own Stuart Beal who won the Student Design Competition and a $200 university bookstore gift card. Congratulations, Stuart!! We were also proud of all ten project entries from BYU-Idaho that really represented the excellence of our school's students and professors. Way to go!

ASID & NKBA 2009-2010 Boards

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Julie Snow, Ashley Sargeant, Brittany McPheters, Angela Miller, Whittlee Merrill, Tehra Woodman, Madison Butterfield, Ashley Seare, Caley Park, Anna Allen, Dawnelle Sarlo, Kayla Drebert, Corinne Chidester, Rebecca Coombs