NEWH is again expanding, this time to Pittsburgh, Penn., according to Dina Caruso, principal and creative director of Caruso + Cumberledge.
Pittsburgh is undergoing a resurgence and because of that, there is unprecedented activity in hospitality design. Downtown, it's in the form of historic building conversions. In the surrounding areas it’s select serving both the business traveler and the gas well drilling industry. According to Caruso, a large "foodie" culture is driving the opening of many new restaurants.
“It used to be that if Pittsburgh-based hospitality designers wanted to source materials and network with other designers, developers and manufacturers, we would have to travel a significant distance from home. But with business burgeoning in our own market it was time to effect some positive change," added Caruso.
Five months ago, Caruso formed a steering committee to bring NEWH to Pittsburgh. Today it has 35 active members, making the NEWH Pittsburgh Regional Group well on its way to reaching thhe 50 it needs to become a full-blown chapter.
“Our chapter events will be taking advantage of the vast, and largely unknown, local resources that we have in Pittsburgh. For instance, in January 2016, we will kick off the New Year with a Scotch & Sweaters event. Two of our newest members, Russell Rice & Ann Godfrey of National Woodwork, will take us on a tour of their facilities to teach us about veneer and millwork manufacturing while we sip scotch and wear sweaters because, well, the shop is cold in January!” said Caruso. More locally inspired events are on tap for the balance of 2015.
“NEWH is pleased that the Pittsburgh region has attracted a nice mix of the A&D community, education and vendors,” added Shelia Lohmiller, executive director of NEWH.
Currently, Caruso and membership chair, Joy Van de Velde are fielding inquiries from their respective offices. For more information about the Pittsburgh NEWH Regional Group, please contact Dina or Joy at: [email protected] or [email protected].
The Pittsburgh NEWH Regional Group is currently working on launching their social media pages.