Coverings ’15 Taps Speaker Lineup

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A familiar face in the stone trade will be part of the featured presentations at Coverings 2015 in Orlando this February.

full vince 1Vince MarazitaVince Marazita will present his 17th Annual “State of the Industry” session on the U.S. dimensional stone market on April 14 at 1:30 p.m. at the Orange County Convention Center. The presentation covers information, sourcing, marketing and application trends in the stone industry over the last year, with examples of award–winning projects using natural stone.

The session is one of 75 sessions presentations offered – free of charge – on relevant topics to the tile and stone industry, and part of a dynamic set of keynote and featured speakers.

The keynote speakers include:

  • Eric Astrachan, executive director of the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), on Industry Update: Latest News on Tile Standards, Specification Issues, and Other Important Developments on April 14 at 8 a.m. Astrachan will report on industry current events, including regulatory issues, consumption data, changes to standards and the TCNA Handbook, the latest developments from the TCNA Lab and updates on tile and green construction.
  • Edie Cohen, deputy editor of Interior Design Magazine, hosts “Interior Design Magazine’s Hospitality Design Power Panel” on April 15 at 9:15 a.m., with designers from the publication’s “Top 100 Hospitality Giants” discussing innovations, trends and developments in hospitality design, growth sectors, and how tile and stone comes into play. Panelists will offer their insight and tips on creating inviting and innovative spaces through case studies and projects.
  • Joey Shimoda, chief creative officer of The Shimoda Design Group, presents The Sensuality of Surface at noon on April 15 at 12 p.m. Shimoda’s firm has spent more than a decade crafting spaces that celebrate the sensuality of surface, creating spaces that elevate each client’s brand vision and the innovative use of surfacing materials that set a tone to deliver a focused message about culture and design.
  • Harris Rosen, president of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, will offer his insights on hospitality business, the design industry and his view of the future of design in a one-on-one interview on April 16 at 8 a.m. with Bart Bettiga of the National Tile Contractors Association and Coverings 2015 chairman.

In Coverings 2015’s other featured sessions:

  • Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute, in Future Color/Design Trends: Innovation and Impact on April 14 at 9:30 a.m., will discuss how to stay on top of the latest color forecasts in a highly visual world in order to sell products or services. Eiseman will examine how traditional media such as print and TV commercials have become more inventive and sophisticated and how new technologies have introduced unexpected color stories.
  • Secrets to Creating Remarkable Customer Experiences on April 14 at 10:45 a.m. presents Sandy Smith of Sandy Smith Seminars on decreased dependency of the customer on the seller for information due to the emergence of the Internet. Smith will identify the escalating expectation of today’s 24-hour customer and highlight best practices of organizations that consistently deliver remarkable customer experiences.
  • In Designing Wellness on April 15 at 1:30 p.m., Randy Fiser, executive VP/CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), will advise on how his group is improving lives through better design in response to the increased attention to wellness. With policy makers and the public focusing on health and well–being initiatives, interior designers have taken on a valuable role in this wellness movement.
  • Design Build Obligations: You May Not Know It, But You Own It at 10:15 a.m. on April 16 features Superior Tile and Stone’s Tommy A. Conner on the project delivery method that provides the owner with a single point of contact for design and construction. This session will provide awareness of the unique financial and liability risks associated with Design Build that are essential to avoiding unpleasant surprises.
  • Nichole Leinbach Reyhle of Retail Minded offers 10 Best Practices to Maximize Your Store Experience & Sales on April 16 at 10:30 a.m., reviewing current market trends, in–the–know retail tips, and realistic ways to maximize time and sales. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop a checklist to evaluate their own store’s best practices to grow beyond existing store goals.

Learn more about all of Coverings 2015’s educational program here. Register to attend this year’s show for free at coverings.com.