High Point — The International Furnishings and Design Assn., an organization supporting all aspects of the home and interior design industries, has announced the winners of its International Honorary Recognition and Trailblazer awards.
The 2023 International Honorary Recognition Award winner is Ellen Gefen, co-founder of Gefen productions, and the recipient of the 2023 Trailblazer Award is Patti Carpenter, principal of Carpenter + Company/Trendscope.
Gefen and Carpenter will be honored at the annual Awards Gala in Boston on Sept. 29, presented and hosted by the IFDA New England Chapter. This year’s ceremony will be emceed by luxury designer and HGTV’s Taniya Nayak and creative think-tank founder and legendary industry notable Judy George.
Gefen is a visionary, a home furnishing broadcast journalist and co-founder of Gefen Productions, a full-service multimedia production studio in High Point. She is also the founder and host of TheHome.com which delivers pertinent, on-trend home design content to consumers. Her television show, Home Fashion Report, on the air for more than 25 years, spotlighted her thousands of interviews with business leaders, world-class designers and celebrities such as Martha Stewart, Alexander Julian, Mario Buatta, Bob Mackie, Kathy Ireland, Oscar de la Renta and many others. She has also appeared as an industry expert and trend forecaster on numerous national broadcasts, including CBS Morning News and NBC’s Weekend Today.
She is a founding member of WithIt and a 30-plus-year member of IFDA.
Principal of Carpenter + Company/Trendscope, Carpenter is a micro-enterprise specialist with U.S. presidential recognition for domestic and international expertise in artisan development, small producer and entrepreneurial training and economic development. An award-winning creative director she has traveled and worked in 57 countries as the global trend ambassador for Maison & Objet and also is a consultant for Pantone. She has designed, sourced and created innovative private-label products for powerhouse brands such as Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Crate & Barrel, Yankee Candle, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren.
Carpenter is a member of the board of directors of SERRV International and also is an advisory board member for the Black Artists and Designers Guild.