WATCH OUT FOR THAT THROW PILLOW!!

(It could be dangerous to your health, safety, and welfare)

Please take a few minutes to watch this video.  Pay special attention to the "bridged" answer when the reporter asked if there have been  specific instances where anyone has been injured by an unregulated interior designer.  This is what ASID teaches its spokespeople to do.  (Bridging is the art of answering a different question than the one that was asked, to change the subject back to the intended message, i.e., "spin").

What's your reaction to this report?  Do we  need to have regulation of interior designers, to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public?

Who is the major beneficiary of regulation laws?  The "target" designer (who was forced by legislation to abandon her successful career) answered this question at the end of the segment. Here is the link:

http://reason.tv/video/show/throw-pillow-fight

It’s July 4, 2010, a day when most Americans get together with family and friends for a barbecue. Millions of Americans watch fireworks shows, and listen to patriotic music. It’s one day when all of us can openly celebrate what it means to be an American. I’d like to challenge you to take a few minutes to read the documents that established this country: The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights. Please take time to reflect (and talk about) what these manuscripts mean to you.

In September, 1954, my parents sold their Mom ‘n Pop grocery store in Northeast Portland. They purchased a brand new charcoal and salmon Chevrolet, with the intention of driving around the United States to visit my mother’s family and to reconnect with Navy friends from World War II. I had just started attending third grade at Kennedy School. My mother promised my teacher and the principal that they would make this trip a living history lesson, and she assured them that I would study my math book.

Mom and Dad delivered on their promise. We stopped at every historical marker along the way, as we traveled through the northern states: Idaho, Montana, South Dakota (to see Mt. Rushmore), Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, on our way to the East Coast. U.S. history came alive for me, because my parents explained the significance of everything we saw. As long as I live, I will never forget the thrill of walking through Independence Hall, where our visionary forefathers fought over every word as they created the foundation of our country. I touched the crack of the Liberty Bell. Yes, the metal was cold, and the fall weather was crispy, but it was the thrill of touching a symbol of freedom that gave me goosebumps. How many other fingers had also touched the same spot I was touching?

Inside Independence Hall, my father lifted me up, so I could see the Declaration of Independence as he read it. He was a naturalized citizen, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. My mother was a first-generation American, whose parents had immigrated from Portugal at the turn of the century. Often, I’ve wondered how they felt when they saw the Statue of Liberty. They understood the importance of being proud Americans; Thank God they took the time to help me understand, so I can continue their wonderful legacy.  In five months, we traveled over 25,000 miles through 27 states and Washington, D.C.  “America The Beautiful” is particularly significant, because I got to experience it firsthand, from sea to shining sea.

It hurts, and I get angry when I learn about any injustice in my homeland, especially when  individual freedom is affected by the greed of companies, other individuals, and organizations.   Ours is still a young country, by world standards. We are experiencing growing pains, similar to a pre-pubescent child who doesn’t understand all of the changes that are occurring. There is so much I can and should do to help our country, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to become thoroughly informed about all of the issues affecting the United States and the entire world.   I’m following my mother’s example:  To become active in one or two causes that mean a lot to me, and to work hard, so my efforts will have a positive impact on others.

Almost four years ago, I became aware of  the battle to protect the rights of Americans who chose to become interior designers.  Everyone in this country is granted the freedom to pursue happiness, which includes the right to follow a career path.  Until then, I had been lulled, like so many other interior designers, into believing what the American Society of Interior Designers and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification had been saying, i.e.,  “Legislation to regulate interior designers is inevitable, and it’s needed to establish minimum competency standards for the profession.”

After I studied two proposed bills that had been introduced,  I was taken back to the days that my father read the Declaration of Independence to me, and when I saw the Bill of Rights and the Constitution while we were in Washington, D.C.  “This isn’t right!” was all I could think.  With hundreds of hours of research completed in the subsequent years, I’m more committed than ever to end the injustice being imposed on interior designers all over the country.  I have learned that the proposed legislation not only hurts designers, it hurts everyone that designers work with professionally, including consumers.

Independence Day, 2010.  I renew my vow to fight unfair, unwarranted, unreasonable legislation.  Please join IDPC, so we can celebrate freedom together.

"Let Freedom Ring"

With a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes, wearing a “good guy” white business suit, the petite lady with long blonde hair stood in front of a capacity audience gathered at the Designer Furniture Gallery in the Seattle Design Center on Tuesday evening. She could have been there to discuss latest trends in decorative tassels, or how many accent pillows are appropriate for a bed.
But she was there for a more important reason.

Displaying a pink slingshot she had concealed behind her back, she began speaking. “When I first founded IDPC and told people what I was doing, I was met by horrified gasps. They could not believe I was taking on ASID* – a giant in our industry. Sure, it’s a bit of a David vs. Goliath fight,” she continued, “but, perhaps like David, I look at it from a different perspective. If they’re so big, how can I possibly miss! And our results have been astounding.”

Patti Morrow, the Executive Director of the Interior Design Protection Council, made a special trip to Seattle, at the request of Tami Michaels. Recently, Tami, a dynamic force in her own right, was hand-selected by Ms. Morrow to be the Chairperson for the Washington operation of IDPC’s new Northwest Chapter. Their goal is to fight — and kill, not just stall — interior design legislation that’s been plaguing Washington State for many years.

Ms. Morrow had everyone on the edge of their seat as she talked about her numerous battles with state coalitions all across America, who are the “front” for ASID’s push to control the interior design profession through regulation. Since 2006, she has been successful in preventing 100 efforts to expand or enact new interior design regulations. Legislation would end the careers of possibly hundreds of thousands of designers, and affect the future of interior design if states adopt the model bill that requires specific education, experience, and examination, otherwise known as “The Three ‘E’s’”.

“I have three goals for tonight: Educate you about what regulation is and what it does, Encourage you that your voice makes a difference, and Empower you to shape the future of our industry.  She laughed.  This is my version of three E’s”.  She spoke with the passion and conviction that has made her the absolute leader of the grassroots movement to fight ASID*, IIDA*, CIDA*, and NCIDQ*, which she calls the Cartel. She provided honest, reliable facts to discredit information contained in bills, public statements by the cartel, and misinformation that’s publicly displayed on the cartel’s websites.

One graphic that coalitions in favor of legislation continue to rely on, which is easily disputed, is a map of the United States, showing the number of states that have passed Title and/or Practice acts for interior designers. “They say there are 26 states that have enacted a government-imposed regulatory scheme, but that number includes Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., which are not states, and Colorado, which has only a permitting statute.  Their tally doesn’t include the states where acts have been struck down. The actual number of states with laws regulating the practice of interior design is only 21, and only three of those states have Practice acts.” [Pause] “Why do they continue to say 26 states?” [Longer pause]

Ms. Morrow looked around the room. No one had the answer. “Because they can tell legislators that the majority of states have passed legislation –  and they should, too.” With reliable facts like this, it’s clear why she has been so successful, even in states where she and Ed Nagorsky, the legal counsel for NKBA*, have been the only ones to testify against legislation.

She held the audience’s attention throughout her presentation, and finished on a very powerful note, but I’m not going to tell you what she did or said. You’re going to have to attend one of Ms. Morrow’s seminars to get the full impact of her message. It is everything she promises — and more. Everyone attending the meeting left with enlightenment and educational information about why interior design legislation is bad for everyone. She did empower us to fight for our right to freely work as interior designers.

The best way to protect your career is to join IDPC. You don’t have to fight legislation by yourself. You are not alone! Tami Michaels described IDPC beautifully in her closing comments. “It (IDPC) is the spine, the backbone of the national grassroots movement against legislation. We are the arms, the local chapter of this organization, to reach out and embrace everyone in our profession, to fight for our rights as a team.”

Proposed legislation defines “interior design” to include furniture dealers, stagers, commercial decorators, office equipment and furniture dealers, home improvement centers, and design-build firms. It proposes to limit the practice of “interior design” to people that are registered or certified, who meet stringent requirements for many years of education at specific schools, followed by extensive supervised internship, and successfully passing the NCIDQ examination.

To get more information about the issues and why it’s important to understand what’s at stake, visit the IDPC blog: http://idpcinfo.wordpress.com. Become a member of IDPC today. It’s easy, and the best investment you can make for your future: http://idpcinfo.org/membership.

*Footnotes:
ASID = American Society of Interior Designers

CIDA = Council for Interior Design Accreditation

IDPC = Interior Design Protection Counci

IIDA = International Interior Design Association

NCIDQ = National Council for Interior Design Qualification

NKBA = National Kitchen and Bath Association