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