Foreground: Donna Dazzo, NY; Claire Andia (AFR NJ); Rhonda Cosaluzzo (AFR NJ); Left to Right Back Row: Val Allocco NY; Julie Maher, CT; Linda Pollock, NJ; Susan Smith, CT; Phyllis Pafumi, NJ; Juliet Johnson, NJ; Kathy Mohr, CT; Nancy Maurer, NJ; Katherine Timms (Realtor NY); Sarah Carter DuHaime, NJ; Missing from photo: Maureen Henry, NY (she had to leave promptly at 2)
Well, we pulled it off - the first SIF Round Table Meetup in the northeast! There were 11 Home Stagers in attendance; 3 from NY, 3 from CT and 5 from NJ. I brought a realtor from Huntington, Long Island who is very 'pro-staging', and she was able to help us to see things from a realtor's perspective. Two reps from AFR joined us for the meeting, but mainly sat on the sidelines unless the conversation was directed toward them or the use of rental furniture.
We met at the American Furniture Rentals showroom in Secaucus, NJ, and AFR provided us with meeting materials, refreshments and lunch! They also collected our business cards before the meeting, and after lunch held two drawings for framed prints. Susan Smith won a lovely set of two framed prints and Katherine Timms, our realtor 'panelist', won a vibrant print (which I hung for her when we returned to her office later in the day). She was delighted and I was happy that she was able to take something 'tangible' back with her!
Maureen Henry, true to form, baked the most awesome cookies you have ever tasted and needless to say, they were a big hit! She really IS 'the cookie lady'!!!
I think that I can speak for all who were part of this monumentous occasion, that probably the biggest thrill of the day was actually meeting one another in person! Isn't it amazing how we have all connected through blogging and commenting on blogs here at Active Rain? I have had this experience of meeting AR members before, but it never ceases to amaze me how 'connected' we really all are! When you finally get to 'meet' one another, it seems as if you are running into an old 'friend'.
We worked from the SIF Round Table agenda, but being that we had a limited amount of time and we were a very 'chatty' group, we did tend to go 'off subject' more than a few times! We pledged to go home and jot down our individual answers and then send them to Susan who generously offered to compile them into a sensible form and e-mail it back to everyone. In future blogs I will be addressing the various topics and our collective insights into each.
Just an aside here: When Phyllis and I finished our staging training course (where we first met) and started our businesses in early 2006, we had a 'dream' and that dream was to connect with other Home Stagers from the area and band together as a means of support, encouragement and resource-sharing. Given that Home Staging was so new to the northeast, we spoke about ways to get the message out and have our voices be heard. Having two voices is better than being a single voice, however in order to make an impact, you need a strong presence. We spoke of establishing a 'metropolitan' area professional stagers group (we would refer to it as 'MAPS'), but being new to the industry, we did not know where to find others who shared our beliefs. Yesterday a 'light bulb' went off and Phyllis and I realized that perhaps the time has come for that dream to be realized. We are not, however, limiting the membership to the 'metropolitan area', but it could encompass the Tri-State (NY, NJ and CT) area ('TAPS' or "Tri-state Alliance of Professional Stagers"). Phyllis and I spoke for more than an hour last night about this - she even came up with a slogan: "Tapping into resources that can help you to grow your business". Such is the power of SIF and these Round Table Meetups!
I want to publicly thank all those who made the tremendous effort to attend this 'meetup'; many drove hours in order to be a part of the Round Table. I also want to acknowledge Kathy Mohr who brought her laptop and diligently took notes!
AFR has invited us to come back and do it all again; in fact, they would like to host a few of these a year in the hope of keeping the lines of communication open between the Home Stagers and the Rental Company. We discussed the possibility of holding another 'meetup' in January or February - before the busy season starts to 'kick in'. Stay tuned for information on that. We did have about 6 Stagers who were not able to join us for this meeting and I am hopeful that with enough advanced notice, they will be able to be a part of the next Round Table. For now, I have promised to keep them 'in the loop' by way of e-mailed information and inclusion in group e-mail 'discussions'.
For those of you who have not yet committed to hosting a Round Table in your area, I want to tell you that it is SO worthwhile! There is only a little 'prep' work that has to be taken care of, and you should definitely approach your furniture rental companies about the possibility of them 'sponsoring' the event. After all, if we as Home Stagers are successful, they will be as well. For more on another Round Table Meetup - this one in Chicago - read Craig Schiller's post: It's CLEAR... 21 SIF RoundTables Across North America Are Going to REFRESH Our Industry!
Staging (and 'Tapping') it Forward,
VAL
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