About

The Independent Interior Designers’ Forum was founded in December 2007 to create discussion, share mutually beneficial information, strengthen business skills, and generally further the aims of independent interior designers based in New York City.

We are a “by invitation only” organization, capped at a maximum of 25 members.  Each member meets a requirement of having been in business for at least two years, with several members having been in business for more than two decades.  In addition, each member is required to have experience in another field or another area of design.

Membership in any other design organization or certification in a particular area is not a prerequisite to membership.  Experience, a desire to remain independent, and the belief that we can co-exist -in concert- as colleagues, not competitors is indispensable.

The Independent Interior Designers’ Forum maintains no political affiliations, opinions or positions within or without of the interior design industry.

IIDF members facilitate eight programs and two purely social functions per year, with breaks in August and December.  Four of the programs are termed “Salons,” which are structured around a single issue, known as a “Hot Topic.”  These meetings are “working sessions” rather than a more typical “networking” event.  The other four programs are dedicated to market field trips.  A Summer Social and a Winter Social, hosted in January and July, provide an opportunity for members to foster relationships with vendors or speakers who have contributed to our success in a given year.

The Independent Interior Designers’ Forum is the brainchild of Lisa Pak  (Lisa Pak Design, LLC) and Kent Brasloff (Ask Kent and Co.). Currently IIDF is co-directed by Felicitas Oefelein (F.O. DESIGN) and Kent Brasloff (Ask Kent and Co).