Dallas Market Center and ART, the creative home furnishings network, have announced the judges for the 33rd ARTS Awards, taking place in Dallas on Friday, January 6, 2023 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. The ARTS Awards, presented annually during the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market, celebrates preeminent manufacturers, retailers, interior designers, product designers, and sales representatives.
The esteemed judging panel will select winners from digital submissions that vary based upon category and may consist of product development, marketing, merchandising, company differentiation examples, or professional information.
In November, the judges will convene in Dallas for two days to review each individual or company submission. Once all components of judging are complete, a designated accounting firm tabulates and secures the scores until the winners are announced for the first time at the ARTS Awards gala.
The 33rd ARTS Awards judges are:
Beth Bender, Principal & Co-Founder, The Dove Agency | Bender specializes in new client and strategic partner acquisitions for The Dove Agency and has developed a team that back-office operations for interior design professionals, from strategic financial and project management services to targeted marketing solutions. She brings more than 20 years of design experience to her work, enabling her to advise and assist clients with uniquely informed perspectives as she helps them maximize their time, resources, and profitability.
Caroline Biggs, Market Editor, Business of Home | Biggs was formerly the Chief Writer at Domino magazine, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, Refinery29, Martha Stewart Living, Wirecutter, and more. A maximalist at heart, she believes that every object should have some sort of function in a home — even if it’s just to be beautiful and interesting.
Jane Dagmi, Managing Director, High Point x Design | Dagmi leads the organization and movement to bolster High Point’s global credit as a year-round destination for creativity, design and innovation. For four years prior, she was the Editor in Chief of Designers Today magazine.
Russ Jones, Retail Sales Representative, Ivystone | From Broadway to Retail to Sale Representative, Russ’s career is all about entertainment and excitement. He started in New York City as a thriving actor performing around the globe. After this great run, Russ opened the store Flights of Fancy. After a successful 10 year run with the shop, Russ became a Sales Rep with Ivystone. As a 3-time winner of the ARTS Award for best Sales Rep on the East Coast, Russ has continued to build his Home & Design business in New York City. Russ is a proud member of ART and honored to sit on the Board for Gift for Life, the Gift and Home industry’s charitable organization raising money for AIDS awareness and supporting World Central Kitchen to feed the hungry. Never one to be a shrinking violet, Russ is known for his wardrobe at shows and can be followed on Instagram with the hashtag #whatsrusswearing.
Warren Shoulberg, Business Journalist and Contributing Editor | Warren Shoulberg knows home furnishings. He has been a regular contributor to The Robin Report, Forbes.com, The Business of Home and Home Textiles Today as well as his own blog Warrensreport.com. As the former editor-in-chief for several leading business-to-business publications specializing in home furnishings retailing he has chronicled the good, the bad and the ugly of the business in an award-winning career spanning four decades. He has guest lectured at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and been honored by the International Furnishings and Design Association, Gift for Life and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, ABC News and other media as an expert in the field.
Scarlette Tapp, executive director, Sustainable Furnishings Council and Sustainable Furnishings Educational Fund | Scarlette exclusively serves as the Green Award judge and reviews only the manufacturing finalists’ submissions. She is a nonprofit professional with extensive experience in fundraising, communications, and strategic planning. Throughout her nonprofit career, she has worked with organizations in the sectors of nature conservancy, the arts, and education. Scarlette’s track record for building capacity has served nonprofits in Western NC and Upstate SC for over 13 years.
All 33rd ARTS Awards finalists can be viewed here.
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