Gift for Life,
the gift and home industries' sole national charity, has partnered with the
Retail Design Institute of NY to create a holiday pop-up shop to be built and
operated in Chelsea this December. Gift and home décor product donations are
needed from the industry, for the student competition determining the store
concept and design and for in-store retail sales during the holiday season. All
proceeds will benefit DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, Gift
for Life's sole beneficiary.
Through the Retail Design
Institute's "Iron Design" Student competition, six teams of students from top
New York design schools will create a Holiday Pop-Up shop featuring products
donated by industry suppliers. Working with two professional mentors, each team
will have two hours to design. The winning design will be installed in the
Stockman-Siegel Showroom in Chelsea, and the Holiday Pop-Up Shop will be open to
the public in early December.
"This
is an exciting first-ever collaboration with the Retail Design Institute," said
Frank Joens, chair of the Gift for Life board. "It offers our industry a unique
way to support the fight against HIV/AIDS, while also promoting store design,
which is an essential element of retail success."
Product donations are being sought
from industry manufacturers and sales agencies. The number of items needed
varies by price point, with 24 needed for items with a retail value of $10 to 25
each; 12 needed for items retail price point of $25 to 49; 8 needed for items
with a retail price point of $50 to 75; and 6 needed for items with a retail
price point of $75 to 100. To donate, contact Steven Williams by October 9, at swilliams@diffa.org or
646-380-4202. Product donations must be shipped for receipt by November 13.
The "Iron Design" student
competition will be held on Wednesday, October 14 at Steelcase in New York
City. There will be an Opening Night Reception on World AIDS Day, Wednesday,
December 1, from 6 to 9 p.m.; and the Holiday Pop-Up Shop will be open to the
public from December 2 to 6, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Seigel & Stockman
Showroom, located at 126 West 25th Street
in New York City.
Each year, Gift for Life hosts
events throughout the U.S. benefitting DIFFA. The primary mission of Gift for
Life and DIFFA is to eradicate the AIDS pandemic in the U.S. Working together,
Gift for Life and DIFFA will continue to raise funds for HIV/AIDS service and
education programs. For additional information, visit www.giftforlife.org.
Follow Gift for Life's efforts via its free e-newsletter, available at http://www.giftforlife.org/about_gfl/press-releases-and-newsletters/.
Gift for Life unites the gift and
home industries against AIDS with more than $5 million raised since its
inception in 1992. In 2008, Gift for Life selected DIFFA: Design Industries
Foundation Fighting AIDS, one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and
education programs in the U.S., as its sole charity partner. Since its founding
in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the immense resources of the design communities to
provide more than $41 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide. More
information is available at www.giftforlife.org and
at www.diffa.org.
The Retail Design Institute (RDI) is
a collective of architects, interior designers, design students and educators,
store planners, lighting designers, graphic designers, visual merchandisers,
brand strategists and trade suppliers to the retail industry who promote the
advance and collaborative practice of creating selling environments. www.retaildesigninstitute.org.