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 December 2011.

Design Expertise – A Valuable Gift Any Time Of The Year

If you are one of the countless interior designers still struggling with cäsh flow, consider sharing your strengths instead of opening up your wallet. Time is definitely money, but if you are not displacing billable hours with gifted ones, then you are actually investing your time in a positive marketing strategy. Though the intention behind giving should never be getting something in return, a little kindness tends to go a long way, which only adds to your good karma cache. You never know who knows whom, and your generosity could eventually pay off with a project referral or new position. Based upon your particular strengths as an interior designer, we’ve created a list identifying ways in which you can make the most of to your talents when you want to show someone your appreciation, all the while preserving your sanity and your bank account…

Read more | whether you’re a project manager, aesthete, or organizer, get some ideas on gifting your expertise here.

Strength In Numbers –
The Interior Design Profession’s
Body of Knowledge

Just last month the six leading interior design organizations — ASID, CIDA, IDC, IDEC, IIDA, NCIDQ — issued a industry research report highlighting a growing body of evidence that supports the positive impact of interior design on public health, safety and welfare. The Interior Design Profession’s Body of Knowledge and Its Relationship to People’s Health, Safety and Welfare is based on research led by Denise A. Guerin, PhD, and Caren S. Martin, PhD, professors at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design. The report, which updates a 2005 study, represents the most current and comprehensive resource for helping design practitioners, educators, researchers, accreditors, students, and the public understand the broad and diverse knowledge interior designers employ in their work…

Read more | become more knowledgeable about your industry’s BOK here.

Office Partypalooza – How Not To Make This A Holïday Pärty Everyone Will Remember

contributed by Amy Johnson
[style dominatrix / idea machine / sidekick / ninja]

EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re reviving this article / pop quiz from the P&C archives because it is just as applicable now as it was five years ago. See how you rate.

Despite the title “Pärty”, a work pärty still has that nästy little adjective in front of it: “Work”. This is not the time to “Get Down on It” to your choreographed Vanilla Ice routine, revive your legendary bëër böng skills, or let Mike in Accounting see the True You – you know, the wild, dangerous, outrageous You – complete with concealed tattoos that you’ll regret after age 40. Make the most of the opportunïty and don’t let everyone remember you for all the wrong reasons this holïday seäson. No, no, children (and adults who act like children). This is a time to mix and mingle and get to know others in the firm a bit better, but NOT in the biblical sense. For example…

Read more | find out how to raise your Holïday Pärty Etiquette Quotient here.

NCIDQ&A: NCIDQ Amnesty Program for Certificate Holders Available Through End Of The Year

contributed by The NCIDQ Crew

Nearly 1,000 interior designers have reinstated their NCIDQ Certificate to an active status thanks to an amnesty offer from the National Council for Interior Design Qualification, Inc. [NCIDQ]. There is still time to take advantage of this limited-time offer that expires at the end of the month. NCIDQ instituted the program last spring to ease the burden in a challenging economic climate for those interior designers who wanted to be active Certificate holders. You may reinstate your Certificate status for a flat fee of $90, which represents a significant if your Certificate status has lapsed for a few years...

Read more | find out how to come back into the NCIDQ fold inexpensively here.

Impress your interviewers / professors / co-workers with interior design industry jargon.

burnout | carding | Model Lighting Ordinance | pneumatic | twill

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?
[New Holland Church Furniture – Where places of worship procure their pews, altars and pulpits.]

Eco Savvy
[Box Play for Kids – Super cute stickers to transform cardboard boxes into toys.]
[Eco-Artware – Unique wares from artists who upcycle and recycle.]

Other Design Junkies
[Portable – An online “channel” focusing on technology, fashion, art and more.]
[TurboSquid – A “stock photo” source for 3D modeling.]

The Pros
[International Dark-Sky Association]
[Public Architecture]

Productive Sites
[Penultimate – Transform your iPad into an electronic sketchbook.]
[Socïal Print Studio – Turn your Facebook friends into wallpaper or stickers.]

Hot Shöppïng
[The Paris Market – Global finds straight out of Savannah, Georgia.]

Speak more intelligently when presenting and networking by incorporating some new vocabulary.

exacerbate | modicum | nonpareil

High Art in High Definition

Whether you are religious or not, it is impossible not to be awed by the intricacy and splendor of Michelangelo’s artwork within the Sistine Chapel. Over 500 years old, the chapel continues to be a destination for countless visitors from around the world. Thanks to technology, you can now do virtually what you can never do in reality: take a peaceful, solitary, up-close tour of the Sistine Chapel. When you need a break from the holidaze, take a long moment to soak in its serene beauty. Pan around, zoom in, and relish not having to fïght any more crowds.

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