2023 IIDA Chapter Award Winners

Sep 25, 2023 By Jessica Jones

From supporting their members and building community, to celebrating member accomplishments and programming these chapter honorees embody the importance of community

By Jessica Jones Sep 25, 2023

Published in Articles

The IIDA Chapter Awards recognize chapters for program excellence, and the exceptional efforts and contributions IIDA Chapters make to the interior design profession. Our 2023 honorees are the chapters who continue to build community and leadership among their members by offering support and programming. Join us in celebrating our honorees, the IIDA Rocky Mountain, IIDA Ohio Kentucky, IIDA New York, and IIDA Southwest chapters.

Our goal was to push ourselves to expand the boundaries of this event by thinking about what EDI means for the Rocky Mountain Chapter.

IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter Mission Statement

IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter: Prêt-à-Porter

The IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter has been prioritizing the integration of EDI programming into their chapter. In 2022, the chapter hosted an event called “Prêt-à-Porter,” which was their largest premiere event with EDI as the primary focus. The event, “Common Stitches: weaving culture, diversity, and design together in a modern fashion show,” was centered around incorporating diverse stories with fashion. They encouraged teams to draw inspiration from the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community of artists, musicians, and culinary artists they were paired with and were challenged to create a ready-to-wear garment inspired by their partner’s work and identity. Through IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter’s dedication and passion for their community they were able to execute an inclusive accessible event that represented everyone in their community and supported local minority-owned businesses.

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Above Image: IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter members receive awards at Pret-a-Porter event.
Image courtesy of IIDA Rocky Mountain Chapter

Our greatest achievement of our inaugural Ohio Kentucky Interior Design Awards was the ability to successfully gather our membership together from all corners of our Chapter, providing an inclusive and equitable opportunity for all to engage in celebrating design excellence and our members.

IIDA Ohio/Kentucky Chapter Awards Submission

IIDA Ohio Kentucky Chapter: Inaugural 2022 Interior Design Awards

Over the past five years, the IIDA Ohio Kentucky Chapter has shifted their leadership focus to chapter unification and involving their members on a larger Chapter level, beyond individual City Centers. To amplify this unification, they have collectively collaborated on their Chapter-wide programming through the THRIVE Leadership Roundtables, Friday Forums, Capitol Days, and New Member Coffees. In 2022, the IIDA Ohio Kentucky Chapter gathered their design community in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate design excellence at the 2022 Interior Design Awards. They also hosted a student design charette before the awards ceremony to provide supplemental programming for students, allow collaboration with students from other schools, and to make sure students attend the awards. This awards ceremony brought their unification journey full circle making sure they are able to support their chapter members at all levels.

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Above Image: IIDA Ohio/Kentucky Chapter members celebrate at their Inaugural 2022 Interior Design Awards.
Image courtesy of IIDA Ohio/Kentucky Chapter

The Hazel Siegel Student Scholarship will continue to make lasting change by empowering our students to reach their greatest possible potential.

IIDA New York Chapter Awards Submission

IIDA New York Chapter: The Hazel Siegel Student Scholarship

In February 2023, the IIDA New York Chapter launched its second annual Hazel Siegel Student Scholarship. This scholarship program was created to honor Hazel Siegel, an acclaimed textile designer and chapter member with over 40 years of service to their community. The scholarships main goal is to help student members hone their talent and skills, provide them with financial support for any of the scholarship activities, access to trade devents, competitions courses and volunteering. Through this scholarship students can also impact their communities by participating in volunteerism.

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Above Image: IIDA New York Chapter members.
Image courtesy of IIDA New York Chapter

The IIDA Southwest Chapter was honored to finally host this highly anticipated event and breathe new life into this biennial showcase of talent. The incredible teamwork by the Chapter’s Couture Committee, the design teams, volunteers and supportive leadership all make up the Changemakers

IIDA Southwest Chapter Awards Submission

IIDA Southwest Chapter: “Cirque Du Couture, the Weird and the Wonderful”

The IIDA Southwest Chapter's biennial fashion show event, “Couture,” brought together the design community by highlighting themes of design, volunteering, and collaboration. The main goal of the was to successfully pair up product representatives and design firms so that they can work closely together. The event also encouraged designers to think of new and innovative design solutions and how important teamwork is to the completion of a project. The chapter also offered volunteer opportunities to members for this event giving them discounted access and more reasons to join IIDA. Couture was voted a member favorite IIDA Southwest Chapter event by current and prospective members.