Avenir Creative

Huge congratulations to Alana Foltz Cavalcanti for becoming part of the 2025 NEWH, Inc Board of Directors as the Marketing Director! Alana joined Avenir as a D3 designer this summer and has continued to be a trailblazer in everything she does. A people person at heart, we have no doubt Alana will accomplish amazing things as NEWH’s newest Marketing Director!??

We’re so back!? We had such an incredible time at Boutique Design | BDNY this past weekend! From familiar faces to new connections, this conference was the perfect way to wind down 2024.? Avenir’s founder moderated the panel, Navigating Firm Growth and Team Dynamics, where attendees asked about running successful design firms and the challenges that come with it. Julie’s favorite part of the experience was hearing so many different perspectives across firm sizes and the unique qualities that make strong teams. The team was thrilled to head back to Chicago with the latest industry knowledge to share with the rest of our office (plus cool Avenir-themed sneakers thanks to Indiewalls)!

Huge thank you to Future Hospitality for featuring Avenir founder Julie Purpura on their show! Give the episode a listen on Spotify to hear more about Julie's career as an interior designer and learn about how she grew Avenir's team over the past decade!

Get your rest this week, because Avenir is heading to the city that never sleeps! Avenir founder Julie Purpura, head of studio Brooke Kalvaitis, NCIDQ, and our director of operations, Dave Abbott, are attending Boutique Design | BDNY at the Javits Center in New York this November 9-11. There’s a lot to look forward to at BDNY, from connecting with passionate minds to learning about innovative designs, and we’re excited to attend an event that cultivates the best of this industry!

Need a coffee table book rec? Amanda Jane Jones and Jennifer Fernandez have just released a book that has a familiar face!? Avenir founder Julie Purpura was featured alongside over 60 women in MOTHER / FOUNDER, which follows the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship and raising a family. In the book, Julie touches upon her journey of creating Avenir nearly 10 years ago and starting a family with her wife almost 6 years ago. MOTHER / FOUNDER is now available on shelves! #motherfounder Pictures: Momoko Fritz

We're looking forward to having Dave Abbott attend the Hospitality Design NextGen Forum next week! The invitation-only conference?will have incredible keynote speakers, enticing discussions, and the anticipated Wave of the Future awards. With an emphasis on inspiring and educating the next generation of hospitality design leaders, we're excited to see what HD NextGen has in store!

This week, our D1 designers, Ayesha Sanders and Jillian Szachury, attended the Shaw Contract Chicago professional development workshop, DesignED – Custom Edition! Ayesha and Jillian spent the day at Shaw’s showroom networking and attending sessions that delved into topics like spec writing and flooring 101. One of their biggest takeaways was navigating different ways of communicating and teamwork in a field of such creative and diverse minds.? We’re so grateful for this opportunity for our budding designers to engage with other professionals and expand their industry knowledge!?

Avenir will be attending the Independent Lodging Congress INDIECongress event in Sausalito, CA on October 20 through 22! We’re excited to have Dave, our in-house procurement & purchasing specialist, take in the starry San Francisco sights and check out the incredible panels lined up. If you see Dave, give him a wave!

Each project we take on, we’re telling a story of the location’s history, the community, and the future it wants for itself. We've done the same here as we navigate Avenir’s next chapter and what we want to convey with our rebrand.? It’s still us, ever so bold and inspired, nearly 10 years after opening our doors and still offering a sixth sense for originality and expertise in design (and now, procurement).?? We’ve never been afraid to grow as we go, and do so authentically as we can. So as we say thanks to everyone who’s helped us get to where we are, we’d also like to offer a reintroduction.?? We’re Avenir. We’re designing the future as we honor the past. And we never accept boring.? Check out our new colors, logo, and website. Our logo and icons were inspired by manufacturing and industrial markings that we see every day on drawings, products, and shipping labels. These symbols represent the balance we strike with our skill and expertise and the playful attitude we exude in the unique qualities of our projects! Special thanks to Blank Studio for the many calls, mock-ups, and rounds of edits to make this happen!

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!? This month is not only a period of time to acknowledge the vast achievements of the Hispanic and Latino community — from authors encapsulating diaspora to designers shaping the industry while paying homage to their roots — but to celebrate its culture as Latinidad continues to shift and grow.