CHICAGO—The Illinois Interior Design Coalition (IIDC), a legislative advocacy group dedicated to promoting, protecting and enhancing the interior design profession in the state of Illinois, will hold its Fourth Annual Wine and Beer Tasting Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The event is sponsored by Evolution Interiors, Kimball Office and Lamin-Art, and will be held at the Kimball Office Showroom, 325 N. Wells Street, Chicago. Admission is $10.
The tasting will feature samples of a wide variety of craft beers and sommelier-selected wine, plus raffle prizes, including a chance to win a $500 gift certificate to Tiffany’s, provided by Lamin-Art. A portion of all proceeds will benefit IIDC’s advocacy efforts, the Coalition said.
“Over the years, I have seen the significant difference that the Illinois Interior Design Coalition has made to protect the integrity of the profession and promote the value of design to the state legislature and general public,” says Georgy Olivieri, interior design education advocate and vice president of sales for Lamin-Art. “The generations of IIDC leadership have worked tirelessly to affect change and carry proactive initiatives forward.”
This protection pertains to the Illinois’ Interior Design Title Act, which provides for the state’s Registered Interior Designer designation.
Eva L. Maddox, design principal at Perkins+Will, says, “As a leader in the design industry, I challenge all design principals to come together and be a united front in promoting the status of a Registered Interior Designer. IIDC needs our support to make these changes possible. I consider IIDC as a necessary organization to protect our interior design industry from potential hazards brought upon us by other professions, whether directly or indirectly related to the work we perform.”
Past IIDC president Carrie Fitzpatrick, director of project management at CBRE, adds, “As interior designers, it is our duty to our clients, our peers and those who will come after us in our profession to be proactive and ensure that all interior designers have the ability to gain fundamental and advanced credentials to meet the needs of our evolving profession. Those credentials include strong interior design education programs, relevant work experience, appropriate standardized testing, and registration to complete the process of Registered Interior Designer.”
The IIDC acts as a watchdog for the interior design profession in Illinois. Each year over 7,000 new pieces of legislation are introduced in Illinois. Each piece is reviewed to make certain that anything affecting the profession is either appropriately supported or opposed. IIDC also occasionally produces legislation to promote the interior design profession. Among many advocacy efforts, IIDC seeks to create an elective licensing process that would give registered interior designers the sanction to seal non-structural interior drawings.
For more information, go to http://iidcpac.org.
