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PLiNTH & CHiNTZ: The online interior design magazine for current students, new graduates, established designers and those just plain curious about this crazy, far-reaching, dynamic industry. Focusing on the people and the process, not the project, we feature industry profiles, sage advice, helpful links, and a visual dictionary – all packed into one seriously entertaining site.
New interior design industry content for March 2011.
 The Transition From Employee To Owner
contributed by Tammy Dalton
[owner, Tamara Dalton Design Studios / LEED Green Associate / knowledge-seeker]
When this topic first popped into my mind, all of the obvious differences between being an employee and an owner came to mind as well. They are the typical, structural differences: the work-day schedule shift, dissolving the compartmentalization of keeping your work life and your personal life separate and adapting to the changes that come from working with a tëam of co-workers to working mostly alone. These shifts are real, but they are mostly superficial issues. As I delve deeper into what this has meant for me personally, I find that the transition has produced emotions and vulnerabilities that have surprised me and challenged me to grow in profound ways…
Read more | understand this important shift in employment and mindset here.
 Aging In Place – The Future of Interior Design, Part 1
contributed by Courtney Branham, ASID
[interior designer / proud mom to a ten-month-old baby girl /
seeker of work-from-home opportunïties]
America’s population, as well as the overall global population, is aging. According to “Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective”, 500 million people worldwide were age 65 and older in 2006. Imagine that number quadrupling to 1,000,000,000 (yes, that’s BILLION) as that is the projection for the year 2030. As of 2000, 12.4% of America’s population was age 65 and older. According to the Administration on Aging, this age group will number around 72.1 million by the year 2030, making up 19% of the population of the United States. This is the first time in recorded history that children age four and under will be outnumbered by those age 65 and over. Translation: Interior designers can play a significant role in helping this growing population stay safe, stay satisfied and stay put, and they need to start preparing now to make the most impact on their quality of life in the future…
Read more | find out about the positive financial effect designers can have here.
 Connecting The Lines Throughout The History Of Design
contributed by Denise Homme, PhD, ASID, IIDA, IDEC, FCSD, NCIDQ Certificate Holder
[DISD program director / practicing professional / itinerant traveler]
One has to wonder if the person incising a simple pattern of vertical lines in soft earth with the broken end of a branch had any idea that, thousands of years later, an Egyptian New Kingdom stoneworker might consider a similar pattern of vertical lines to delineate the sharply pleated fabrics that were fashionable at the time. Or would that same person have imagined that, sometime in the 15th Century, a cabinetmaker in Italy might take a moment to sit back and consider the quality of his workmanship on the vertically fluted pilasters of finely carved mahogany adorning the façade of a china cabinet sitting near his workbench? Can these past acts be connected to an interior designer sitting at a computer sometime later today organizing a pattern of digitally produced lines in AutoCAD – lines meant to represent some interior detail in wood or stone? What is it that compels people to carry various ideas and designs from one century to the next – adapting and re-establishing these patterns through time – and carrying them back, time and time again, into the built environment?
Read more | dïscover the answers to these provocative questions here.
[BONÜS: This article contains information about how to participate in an International Interior Design Study Tour taking place May 14-22, 2011 titled “The Great Houses of Europe: The Treasures of Italy”. Fantastico!]
 NCIDQ&A Introduces Amnesty Program for Certificate Holders – New Benefits at Substantially Lower Fee
contributed by The NCIDQ Crew
The National Council for Interior Design Qualification, Inc. [NCIDQ] has just announced an amnesty program for NCIDQ Certificate holders whose Certificate status is inactive. Individuals may reinstate their Certificate status for a flat fee of $90 through the end of this year. Before the amnesty program was enacted on March 7, 2011, inactive Certificate holders who wished to reinstate their active status would have been charged a $45 annual fee, a reinstatement fee, plus an additional $45 for each year they were inactive up to a $260 cap. The $90 amnesty fee represents considerable savings…
Read more | find out how to come back into the NCIDQ fold inexpensively here.
What In The World? [10 resources you might need on the Net]
There's a lot of info out there on the World Wide Web. Let us do some of the searching so that you don't have to.
What The Spec?
[Pharaoh Manufacturing Gamë Roöm Furniture – Essentials for Man Caves that won’t make you cringe.]
Eco Savvy
[Healthy Building Network – Transforming the building materials market.]
[3DWalldecor – Eco-friendly, 3D modular panels for walls and ceilings.]
Other Design Junkies
[CARSON mag – A slick new publication focusing on current events, culture, art, design and fashion.]
[Designers & Books – An inspired gift list for you and the other creatives in your life.]
The Pros
[American Home Furnishings Alliance]
[National Wood Flooring Association]
Productive Sites
[join.me – Share your computer screen during meetings.]
[SwipeGood – Donate to your favorite charity while you shöp.]
Hot Shöppïng
[Amber’s Gardën Mats – A fool-proof way to plant veggies for those us with brown thumbs.]
Design Speak [5 new terms]
Impress your interviewers / professors / co-workers with interior design industry jargon.
busbar | carborexia | double stüd wall construction | Oushak rugs | verdure
Say What? [3 new words]
Speak more intelligently when presenting and networking by incorporating some new vocabulary.
coalesce | din | remunerate
Rant & Rave
Keep those comments coming. Email us at contact@plinthandchintz.com, and read more rants & raves here.
I am a student at The Art Institute of Seattle. I was browsing around your site and I love it! Thanks for your time and thanks for all of the amazing info that your site offers!
--Jessica Holman
 Just For Fun
If you haven’t seen the hilarious, off-bëat IFC channel offering Portandia yet, then you’re missing some great comic relief. Need convincing? Check out their interactive "Put A Bird On It" website, which pokes fun at the prevailing hipster design culture in Portland, Oregon, that has certainly migrated to other parts of the continent. Enjoy.
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