In just a few weeks, Jen Talbot Design will be attending Boutique Design New York (BDNY)! Spanning November 12-13, BDNY is the leading trade fair and conference for hospitality’s boutique and lifestyle design community—bringing together designers, architects, purchasing agents, hoteliers, owners, and developers.

This year, JTD is honored to share that our Principal and Creative Director Jen Talbot as a featured panelist! 

On Monday, November 13 at 1:30 pm, Jen will be participating in the panel Manifesting a Brand into an Experience: A Conversation with Collaborators and Creators. Jen will share her personal experience in building and maintaining a successful, distinctive brand as part of a wide-ranging discussion. The conversation will be moderated by Gina Deary, Principal at KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group.

The other panelists include:

• Stefanie Hajer - Creative Brand Director, Interiors | KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group

• Carolyn Hosna - Vice President of Marketing | White Lodging

If you’re attending BDNY and would like to connect, please drop us a line! Email us at contact@jentalbotdesign.com.

You’ve probably heard about the 4 C’s of diamonds, but what about the 3 C’s of design?

This fall, the biggest trends we’re seeing are concrete, chrome, and chain. These all have serious potential to create unexpected design moments. With the contrast of rigid, uncompromising materials used to form sculptural, organic silhouettes, they provide a fantastic mix of hard with soft.

Here are a few pieces we’re absolutely loving:

CONCRETE

There’s a perception that concrete can only be used in strictly industrial spaces and design—but it offers an opportunity to create something truly unique out of an ostensibly pedestrian material. This coffee table embodies both form and function, playing with balance and harmony in a refreshing mint finish.

Leo Coffee Table in Mint Green. Created by Stone by Design.

CHROME

Chrome offers drama. It introduces sculptural design moments and its reflective surface brings light into your space in a distinctive way. This Septem Stool by Axel Chay is inspired by the Mediterranean Sea, and possesses a tangible, modern presence.

Septem Stool by Axel Chay.

CHAIN

Although chains are composed of uniform, rigid units, they can be used to create delicate and elegant silhouettes. We are loving this piece by Danica Casper, which pairs thoughtfully draped chains with organic shapes and light, creating a visual mix of hard and soft. The matte finish and monochrome neutral color add just the right jolt of unexpected.

Piece by Danica Casper.

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We are incredibly honored to be named as one of the Next in Design 99 for Luxe Interiors + Design! This inaugural list includes the most promising designers across the country who are shaping the future of the industry.

We’re looking forward to a year of exciting opportunities and events with our fellow class of designers. We’ll share updates as we continue this journey!

The full list of designers can be explored here. To stay current with Jen Talbot Design, sign up for updates and JTD news.

At Jen Talbot Design, we are constantly seeking new vendor sources. Not only does it provide a great opportunity to support one-of-a-kind businesses—we particularly love working with women-owned companies—but it also encourages us to expand our creative boundaries. 

The best design lives in the uneasy place at the edge of our comfort zone, and new sources encourage us to constantly change our perspective and explore new ideas—resulting in innovative designs we absolutely love. 

Finding new sources takes time and effort, but ultimately pays off. We have success establishing fruitful connections at convenings like HD Expo, High Point Market, exploring Instagram, and relying on our reps.

Fabric selections have the potential to make or break designs. Here are a few new fabric sources that we absolutely love:

• Erica Shamrock - Serving the hospitality and contract market, this woman-founded business provides commercial fabrics with an elevated look and feel at an affordable price point. 

• Casamance - A French editor of luxury fabric and wallcoverings, Casamance features interesting textures with a focus on creating timeless designs. 

• Opuzen - Based in California, Opuzen grew from a one-woman operation in 1984 to a leading supplier both nationally and internationally. They offer a mix of high-end textures, as well as evergreen basics and dynamic patterns. 

• Jennifer Shorto - A woman-owned company, Jennifer brings her global perspective to her designs, which include innovative patterns as well as classic essentials, with a unique spin on traditional English patterns and historic references. 

To stay current with Jen Talbot Design, sign up for updates and JTD news, and follow us on Instagram. 

8 Tips for Surviving High Point Market

For those in the interior design industry, High Point Market is a true highlight of the year. Serving as a trade-only show for interior designers, the Market occurs each fall and spring (JTD typically attends once a year).

High Point is a great reset for the year. It provides a chance to get inspired; discover new products; physically engage with items we’ve been interested in—like sitting in furniture we have been looking at online all year or seeing lighting in person from a proportional perspective; as well as an opportunity to establish meaningful connections with vendors in person.

The Spring 2023 Market just wrapped, and we had an absolute blast—and learned a few lessons along the way. Here are several bits of advice to maximize your Market experience:

1. Book your hotel, airline, and restaurant reservations early. Things can book up almost a year in advance, especially for hot restaurants like Printworks in Greensboro.

2. Keep your appointments limited.

We like to book a couple early morning appointments each day in order to keep the majority of our schedule open and flexible. You may find yourself lingering longer in a showroom than you anticipated, and you wouldn’t want to cut that experience short for an appointment.

3. You do not need to rent a car. High Point is laid out a bit like a theme park for designers, with showrooms in different buildings sprawled within a 12 block radius. There is a user-friendly trolley system and of course, ride-shares are an easy option. And this may be a no-brainer, but wear comfortable shoes—you will be on your feet for 8 hours straight, and they will thank you later!

4. Map out your visit before you go. This is the best way to maximize your time. We typically spend no more than 2.5 days at High Point—any more time and your brain is too full to process all the fabulous items you’ve seen. Visit the larger furniture showrooms on the first day, and leave the main building and Market Square toward the end of your trip. Market Square is a great place to discover new small vendors. We always have a specific goal in mind ahead of each Market, such as exploring new rug sources or hunting down exciting mid-level furniture options.

5. Don’t skip the vintage.

One of our favorites is 214 Modern Vintage, a thoughtfully curated collection of one-of-a-kind items from a range of vendors. It’s a bit off the main area, but definitely worth the visit.

6. Take a ton of pictures. Rather than keeping a written list of what products you have seen, stop and take a picture of the name of each showroom as you enter, then take a picture of each item that you’re interested in and its tag. That way, you can track what you saw, and it serves as an easy reference. Once back in the office, we upload all of our images so that our full team has access to all the products we sourced.

7. Bring an external charger. Your phone camera will constantly be open and will drain your battery quickly.

8. Have fun, and enter the experience with an open mind. There is so much to see at High Point, and you never know what will spark your creativity!

JTD was formed in 2016 by Jen Talbot. An internationally recognized, multidisciplinary American designer establishing a reputation for innovation and ingenuity, where she actively takes notes from her installation art practice. Jen created conceptual narratives through ephemeral, performance-based installation art, consistently utilizing the human form as a part of the sculpture.

With this rich creative lineage, Talbot sees each space compressed like a work of art and carefully crafts a visual composition into each space. Talbot often uses color or the absence of color, to function as a visual catalyst.

The deep network of artists, artisans and vintage merchants, make up a support network critical to the success of our work. Realized through layering of open + solid shapes, linear + irregular line and elements of the hand made. Our goal is to build an innovative environment relevant to each client, customizing the work to the needs of the people inhabiting the space.

Clients that seek innovation and a fresh design perspective grace her client list and include the heir to Bergdorf Goodman, VP of Kate Spade, the editor of a major magazine, Boeing and Silicon Valley Execs. In 2020, while people around the world sought new footing, Jen broke into the international design scene as an Instagram micro-influencer. Her projects have been published in seven international design magazines, including Arch Digest, ELLE DECORATION Netherlands, Modern Luxury, Marie Claire, and Living, ETC.

Working with luxury residential clients in NY, LA, San Francisco and Chicago in all ranges of project sizes, from new build, gut reno to furniture selection. Jen has 20 years experience in the hospitality industry and 8 years in product design. And in 2021, Jen launched her own product line. Studio Line, a collection of artisan fabrics, wallpaper, select furnishings, and accessories that draw from Jen’s rich past experiences as sculptor, installation artist, and product designer.

I have an unspoken formula for creating balance in design. I liken it to creating a painting and see the each space as a compressed composition. Critical to not get stuck using all the same type of shapes. Meaning be sure to incorporate some solid, some open, some woven or irregular, some angular. If there are too many pieces that are similar the space can become one note and stale. I like to also use color or the absence of color to function as a visual catalyst. Apply color carefully and thoughtfully.