Announced in March, VMSD Magazine honored The High Road Design Studio with its 4th Annual Designer Dozen Award. They selected me to be one of 12 retail designers under the age of 35 who are making a difference in the field of design.
The World of retail design is a big one, full of multinational firms, large companies staffed with flocks of talented people, and experts with a critical eye focused on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to creating spaces that are engineered to sell products and stick in peoples’ minds. So when I found out I was chosen to represent my little labor of cannabis retail design passion that is THR, next to the likes of designers from Gensler, WD Partners, Fitch, Callison, and even McDonald’s, I clearly remember screaming. And jumping. And fist pumping.
Yes, I fist-pumped.
And then I went to Vegas! VMSD hosted a reception for the award recipients at its booth on Wednesday, March 25th, during GlobalShop– an annual retail visual merchandising trade show. It was a great opportunity to see colleagues, meet the other recipients, enjoy a little bubbly, and accept the award.
The past two years have brought cannabis into the mainstream and have seen it permeate levels of society that I never in my wildest dreams thought would happened in my career. Last fall, I presented at the International Retail Design Conference in Miami Beach, FL with my client, Erik Briones, on our transformation of his dispensary in Albuquerque, NM. We educated the design community on how to work with clients in the cannabis industry and what designers need to understand about these businesses when taking on cannabis projects. The was the first time that cannabis had been on the agenda at a design conference, and to me, symbolized the future of where our cannabis retail experiences are heading.
Now, just six months later, to be seeing the attention of the retail design community again focused on cannabis retail design is an honor and a spotlight I am proud to help shine on our industry and our retail businesses.
Interested in learning more about cannabis retail design? Contact us for all of your design needs.