Would you like to meet the artisans who:

• created the historically accurate faux-marble floor in Gracie Mansion’s entry hall?

Prince George Ballroom

• and have designed bespoke wallpapers, custom fabrics, troweled finishes,  decorative surfaces, hand-crafted furniture, and fine lighting for interior designers Jamie Drake, Thom Filicia, Steven Grambrel, Albert Hadley, Celerie Kemble, Matthew Patrick Smyth, Kelly Wearstler, and many others? 

You’ll have an exclusive opportunity to do so on Monday, October 6th, when IIDA NY’s Residential Forum invites design minds to step behind the scenes at The Alpha Workshops —the only not-for-profit organization in the country dedicated to training people who are living with HIV/AIDS for vocations in the decorative arts. The innovative Manhattan-based atelier was founded in 1995 by designer Kenneth Wampler and a generous and forward-thinking board of directors, whose optimistic spirit, vision, high energy, and commitment to the idea that design can contribute to the greater good have guided the workshops’ dual mission to create beauty and change lives.

This is a rare opportunity to experience a behind-the-scenes look inside the operations of this compassionate working environment and vocation-focused studio school, which is licensed by the New York State Department of Education.

Best & Company’s own Dana Sandberg is proud to be co-director of the IIDA NY Residential Forum committee bringing you this special opportunity to see “Alpha in Depth: Inside the Alpha Workshops.”

We hope you’ll join us for a “first look” at the newly renovated Alpha Workshops headquarters. In addition to Alpha founder and executive director Kenneth Wampler, the evening’s featured speakers include Etienne Coffinier and Ed Ku of Coffinier Ku Design, the Manhattan-based interiors firm that generously donated their time and talents to create an interior worthy of this remarkable organization's extraordinary mission.

We look forward to seeing you there!