Mende joins High Point's team of Style Spotters

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 17, 2012

MendeHIGH POINT - Lisa Mende, an interior designer from Charlotte, N.C., has been named the ninth Style Spotter for the fall High Point Market.
     Style Spotters post and curate their favorite market trends and products on Pinterest, a website that lets users organize and share photos on virtual pinboards, and list the exhibitor's name and showroom number. Style spotters also present the exhibitor with a sign that highlights the spotter's name with a QR code and URL for the Pinterest board.
     Mende received more than 3,100 votes for her design "Aqua Delight" featured on Olioboard.
     "We were asked to create a design based on our personal design aesthetic," Mende said. "My first degree was in fashion, but after working for 11 years in the apparel industry, I decided to return to school for interior design. I have found that my design aesthetic from my fashion background influences my interior design projects, and my design aesthetic can be described as a classical foundation accented with bold color or pattern in accessories, so that is what I tried to represent in design."
     Mende said that she likes using Olioboard in her work with clients. Olioboard is an online interior design tool where users create two-and three-dimensional room designs using actual products from their favorite brands. Items on Olioboard link to the retailers' online stores for purchase.
     "I like to upload my clients' rooms and put the items I have specified into the rooms, so they can visualize the space," she said. "This is especially helpful for clients that cannot typically visualize how a room will come together. I also like to upload several options so that we can look at the choices side by side. This really solidifies the process."
     Mende will join Gretchen Aubuchon, Traci Zeller, Cassandra LaValle, Janet Laban, Lori Dennis, Julia Buckingham Edelmann, Jason Oliver Nixon and Stacy Naquin as Style Spotters for the fall High Point Market, which runs Oct. 13-18.