As the HD Expo + Conference 2022 is set to happen this month, we have an exclusive preview of some of the industry professionals that will be talking on health, wellness and hospitality at the DesignWell Pavilion during the three-day event at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The conference is being held April 26th – 28th, so if you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time! Either way, we hope to see you there!
Dyonne Fashina
Founder + Principal
Denizens of Design
Denizens of Design, the Toronto studio Dyonne Fashina founded in 2014, is guided by the notion of empathy. This is evident in projects like the McMichael Café at McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, where she sourced everything locally, reflecting the gallery’s emphasis on Canadian artists. In 2021, Fashina was honored with HD’s inaugural HDAC Awards of Excellence, which recognizes exemplary work in the industry by those working to advance the field through the promotion of diversity, inclusivity, and equity. Here, she discusses how her work reflects her compassionate mindset.
Denizens of Design collaborates with a curated network of individuals and smaller firms for each project. How do you think the firm’s name speaks to your ethos?
Initially, what it represented to me was this idea of traveling and hospitality, because the word means inhabitants of a particular space. I see it as inhabiting the design process as an idea, and then being able to translate designs across boundaries—working internationally or locally, in small or large communities.
What does empathy mean to you?
Empathy as a mode in business has become something where people roll their eyes a bit. I want to challenge that. I’m an emotional person. I’m an empathetic person. I come from a family that devotes themselves to charity, and throughout my career, I’d learned that emotion and empathy didn’t belong in business. Or that’s what I was told. As creators, we have to use things like emotional investment to connect with our clients, to connect with users, to even connect with the past.
What draws you to hospitality?
There are so many aspects of hospitality that care for human needs and human beings. I love that interaction and engagement with new communities, and what it brings to not only the person coming to the space, but the people working there. That feeling like ‘I’m helping somebody,’ I love that.
Hear more from Dyonne:
HDAC Series: Holistic Wellbeing and Community by Design
Wednesday, April 27th
Noon–1 p.m.
Location: DesignWell Pavilion
Kelsey Sheofsky
Founder + CEO
Shelter Co.
Acknowledging a gap in the events industry, Kelsey Sheofsky, along with her husband and cofounder Mike, created Shelter Co., an outdoor-focused event and production company headquartered in Northern California. The multifaceted business has since expanded into the retail realm with outdoor gear offered via the Get Out and will debut a permanent hospitality outpost, camping resort and pool club, the River Electric, in Sonoma County, California in the next year. Below, Sheofsky explains how experiential design should emphasize guest comfort and satisfaction above all else.
Since launching Shelter Co. in 2012, how has the business evolved?
In 2012, most people didn’t even know what glamping was. The idea of throwing a camping event has grown a ton since then, and people are much more excited about bringing their guests to far-flung locations. We launched with only five sleeping tents and thought we would grow to maybe 20 or 30. We now have more than 500 tents of varying sizes with all sorts of furnishing options. We’ve grown the business based on what we see as holes in the market. Because we design most of our own furnishings and soft goods, we are able to be nimble and meet current demands quickly.
How has increased demand for outdoor events over the past two years shifted your business model?
The big change for us was adding longterm rentals as a category. The different needs during COVID-19 opened a whole other side of business to us. We worked with Google beginning in fall 2020 to build longterm outdoor meeting spaces on several of their campuses. (We are about to install our sixth in June.) We’ve now replicated this model for other businesses on private properties looking to add additional bedrooms or office and play spaces safe from the elements.
Shelter produced a retreat for venture capital firm Sequoia in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California.
What does experiential design mean to you?
It’s peeling back to what’s essential and creating a flawless support layer to build upon. I always say no one will remember the flowers or nine-course tasting menu if the toilets are gross. All too often, emphasis is put in areas that don’t contribute to guest comfort and that’s a mistake. Everything we do at Shelter Co. is for the guest experience, not for our own portfolio or Instagram feed. We know what areas of design matter to the success of the event and guide our client’s budgets accordingly.
Hear more from Kelsey:
Leading-Edge Experiential Design
Wednesday, April 27th
1:30–2:30 p.m.
Location: DesignWell Pavilion
