Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JANUARY 2017 12 of Commerce West to present the "Extraordinary Italian Taste", a series of demonstrations and meet-and-greets with four leading Italian chefs. This series set the stage for a later November event hosted by the Italian government, the First Italian Cuisine in the World Week, which ran November 16-23. Other culinary events included outdoor grilling presentations from Alfresco and DCS, culminating with the first-ever WestEdge Grilling Showdown on Saturday, November 5. Chefs Glenda Galvan-Garcia (for DCS) and Chef Keith Mecutchen (for Alfresco) went head-to-head preparing seasonal Thanksgiving dishes on the grills with Chef Keith Mecutchen being declared the winner. Another new initiative was the Convo By Design Social Lounge, a swanky tented space that felt more like a luxurious African safari retreat than anything else. The space, the brainchild of our media partner Convo By Design, was pulled together by top designer Ryan White of Ryan White Designs and sponsored with support from Snyder Diamond. Throughout the weekend, this lounge acted also as a secondary stage offering intimate conversations about social media marketing, branding and industry trends, plus podcast interviews with leading design experts. Finally, our Jenn-Air Master Class Studio was back for year #2, and served as the main programming stage, hosting events every day of the Fair. Consumers and trade alike had the chance to enjoy a range of informative panel discussions and seminars featuring leading industry experts. Topics included: Health and Wellness in Chic and Sophisticated Interiors (presented by ASID Los Angeles), Designing in the Age of Connectivity 2.0 (presented by Jenn-Air and Architectural Digest), Owning Design: Protecting Originality and Eliminating Knockoffs (presented by Interiors magazine), Kitchens Intervention: Designing for Every Culinary Need (presented by California Homes Magazine) and Identifying the Luxury Home Design Consumer of the Future (presented by Modern Luxury Interiors California) to name just a few. This year, more than ever, the energy and excitement at WestEdge was omnipresent. We received endless feedback that this year's fair was the most compelling to date regarding exhibitor diversity and quality, and that our participants engaged top-level architects, designers and homeowners. We even had several participants remark on the great sense of community and family they felt being a part of WestEdge; we couldn't be happier that that sense of welcoming and fun pervaded throughout the weekend. We like to say that we're the "anti- tradeshow" so hearing comments like this and having exhibitors and guests feel like they were not "working a show" is exactly what we like to hear! With that said, we're already looking forward to new elements and additions for our fifth year anniversary show, as well as an expanded footprint to meet the increasing demand from new brands. A big thank you to our 2016 sponsors: Bolon, DCS, Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, Fisher & Paykel, Jenn-Air, Matt Gagnon Studio, Missoni Home, PEZ Cantina, Roche Bobois, Schwinn Bicycle Company, Snyder Diamond, Southwest Greens, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and Wallpaperdirect. Stay tuned for upcoming details at www.westedgedesignfair.com and mark your calendar to join us in October, 2017. RO LU URY & INNOVATIVE DESIGN

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