Bruce Erickson is owner and president of Summer Classics Home Chicago. He is also one of 30 design businesses anticipating in Highwood's third annual Design Week which begins next week. It will highlight all aspect of design - media, cabinetry, fashions for the home as well as ourselves, and even banking through which these dreams are achieved. The activities kick off this coming Monday evening at Summer Classics Home (just a few doors down from our meeting place, The Summer Inn). The launch party with appetizers and drinks begins at 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. A fashion show will take place at the store at 6:30. The event is organized in partnership with PowerHouse SMART. The fashion show is featuring fashions from the I Am The Carter Projekt by Melissa Carter who helps people reconsider their approach to their wardrobes. Registration is free but required since capacity is limited due to Covid. The rest of the week's activities are: Tuesday: Proclamation Night at City Hall by Highwood Mayor Charlie Pecaro at 6:30 p.m. Afterwards you can follow the Highwood Chamber of Commerce and crowd to Beermiscuous. FWC Architects are buying the first round! On Wednesday, Wellness Design in the Home is the theme. A two-part presentation opens with a Sherwin-Williams course on intrinsic color and the role it plays in wellness and biophilic design. Then Street Level Studio will give a presentation on Beyond the Surface which uses custom digitally designed wallpaper to connect with the colors and patterns of nature and bringing them indoors. Thursday at 5 p.m. is cocktails with Real Producers Magazine at the ABL Group showroom. Realtors and design pros will be among those present, so it is a great networking opportunity. Friday you're invited to Earth Renovation & Design's new showroom. The week is capped off by Design Expo and CHAIRity Auction to benefiting Designs 4 Dignity on Saturday. The decorated Adirondack chairs that you have seen about town will be included in the auction. Design 4 Dignity is a Chicago non-profit where interior decorators volunteer to help improve the home of low-income families. Bruce also gave us an insight into Summer Classics Home, which is actually 40 years old. It began in the south, crafting outdoor furniture. Now they produce indoor furnishings as well, including lighting and other accessories. All the upholstery work is done in their factory in Birmingham, AL, and the outdoor frames are constructed in Indonesia. They have made a great effort to seek other sources outside of China. However, freight is still the biggest factor in any manufactured product. Summer Classics Home in-house designers will come to your home at no charge to help you create your perfect room. During the lockdown and the rest of 2020, Bruce said demand for their outdoor furniture was off the charts. If you could find an umbrella for your patio last year, you were one of the lucky ones! April surpassed March's numbers, May surpassed April, and so on. Customers usually waited about 6 to 8 weeks for delivery, but at the height of the pandemic, they were being told up to 40 weeks! Customers can now expect to wait anywhere from 8 weeks to 6 months. Now go out there and get our design swagger on! |