In brief: Montclair Design Week begins
From Oct. 18-27, Montclair Design Week (MDW) will hold more than 60 events including panels, workshops, walks and talks, culinary festivities, installations and competitions. They write, “Come discover the designer that has been in you all along!” Most events are free. The mission of MDW is to “celebrate design and its power to mobilize and inspire each of us and our community to reach for a better future.” For information and the full schedule, visit montclairdesignweek.org.
Some of this week’s events:
Oct. 18, 6-10 p.m.: “Blank Slate” Opening Party (all ages), Lackawanna Plaza
Food, drink, and “an invitation to tell the tale of the town you love, Mad Libs style!
Oct. 19, 7-9 p.m.,: “Designing Our Next Mayor” Roundtable and Brainstorm (all ages), Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship, Montclair State University
Moderators: Julie Harris (Riverbend Coaching) and Michael Hill (NJTV). Panelists:
Mollie Binnotto (Emily’s List), David Cruz (NJTV News), Julia Martin (Gannett
Newspapers), Steven McCarthy (Montclair State University).
Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: “Toward a New Montclair Story” Competition (all ages), Lackawanna Plaza
For the first time, MDW is offering a platform the community can use “to rewrite the stories of our challenges and to co-shape visions of a future we’d like for Montclair.: This six-hour, publicly held competition will be emceed with teams, going head-to-head, “Chopped style.” Team proposals will remain on display in the Hub until Oct. 27, the day the public gets to decide which idea will be put into action with a $1,000 grant from the Awesome Foundation.
Oct. 21, 7-10 p.m.,: George to the Rescue of Design (all ages), 10 Lackawanna Plaza
NBC host and contractor George Oliphant takes the audience behind the scenes of his show “George To The Rescue” with two local projects, featuring top designers and contractors who’ve teamed up to help deserving families and communities with much needed home renovations.
Oct. 22, 7–9 p.m.,: The Renovation Dating Game (ages 18+), The Clubhouse, 131 Glenridge Ave.
They write, “Planning a reno? Come to the Renovation Dating Game! Meet an architect, a
contractor, and a Realtor. Should you take home contestant 1, 2, or 3—or all of
them? Learn how each one influences the process, who loses and who gains, and
why it is that, when they say it takes three months, it’s always more.”
Moderator: Marissa Rothkopf Bates (journalist, writer).
Oct. 23, 7:30-9 p.m., An Evening with Ben Uyeda (all ages); MDW Hub, 10 Lackawanna PlazaThis year’s featured speaker is a designer, TedX presenter, and influencer who is democratizing the world of responsible, eco-friendly design. Ben Uyeda founded HomeMade Modern, an online platform with more than a million subscribers. His talk will cover his “trickle-up design” idea as well as his most recent projects, including an off-the-grid shipping container home in the California desert. The talk will be followed by a discussion with MDW Founder Petia Morozov and a Q&A.