Cambria USA hosted this year’s Comfort, Connection & Community event with Patti Carpenter as a host and panelist. Other notable guest speakers from well-established interior designing companies joined the event by discussing how trends have changed over the past year. The discussion focused on how those trends were influenced by last year’s pandemic.
According to Patti Carpenter, “That’s what’s so interesting as we watch what’s happened during this period of time, people being at home. People living for furniture and their spaces, recognizing what really is necessary.”
Cambria’s very own Executive Vice President of Design, Summer Kath, also spoke at the event as a panelist. She talked about the excitable rise in sleekness and displayed Cambria’s very own “Rose Bay” design, known for its golden textures.
Patti Carpenter began the event by showcasing different sets of colors. She then ended her panel by bringing up the subject of white colors and how they represented ‘a clean slate’. She said, “It’s this whole idea of this clean slate, about this whole idea of sort of, starting fresh, starting new, starting clean, and looking at what we can bring in to warm it up, and to liven it, by personalizing it with our own set of colors.” The revolving trend that surfaced into the conversation was the topic on warm colors and how they coincide with designs that display a casualness in different pieces.
Sarah Ramsey, interior designer of Cullman Kravis, was the next presenter. She came forward with her concept of ‘Empty Nesters’, and presented her design of a multi-purpose room with an abstract painting at the center of the space. The focus topic transitioned into how art plays into design.
Sarah said, “The worst thing is when you install a project and you don’t have any art, and it just doesn’t look finished.” Drew McGukin, one of the four guest speakers and the interior designer of Drew McGukin Interiors, replied with a poignant response. “My big mantra is, ‘I give you my time, my energy, my expertise, my ideas, but I can’t give you my soul.’ And I think for me, that is what art really brings, your voice. And it tells your story.”
Leyden Lewis, the interior designer of Leyden Lewis Design Studio, was the third panelist. He showcased his pieces which he’d done for his South African clients. And many of the pieces he brought to the event focused on sustainability through community. He said, “I was the lead of 14 other designers to put together a table, and it was a pilot. I won’t be doing it again! But I did love bringing my community together for an amazing event for DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS), and we had a really great time.”
Drew McGukin then went on to display his pieces on connectivity. McGukin’s works concentrated on ‘serenity, comfort and immateriality’. By immersing himself with the clients in his showcase, he emulated a life story for each of his projects.
Summer Kath presented her piece as the final panelist, describing the necessities of collaboration. The Executive Vice President said, “There’s a lot of collaboration between the designer who designed it, the fabricator who cut it, and the installers who had to pristinely install it.” Kath, through her panel, arranged a unique intricacy into Cambria’s products and instilled the values of working together, of understanding the community.
DIFFA is a charity that works to raise awareness, granting funds to organizations that provide treatments. They work together with other organizations that focus on direct care services, and preventive education programs. DIFFA also supports advocacy groups that support those stricken with HIV/AIDS.
Headquartered in Le Seuer, Minnesota, Cambria owns a distribution network through several facilities across the nation with one facility located in Ontario, Canada. The company is a family-owned business and one of the leading producers in engineered quartz surfaces throughout the United States.
