With visions of economic impact on their minds, movers and shakers in the city's fashion world rallied at David Peck USA Studios to celebrate the energized launch of the newly-named entity Houston Designed.
For more than a year, local designers, fashion writers, educators and retailers have been gathering at the offices of the Greater Houston Partnership brainstorming on ways to locally nourish and leverage the creative industries of fashion, interior design and art.
Formerly the Houston Fashion Task Force, Houston Designed was initiated by Neal Hamil and Fred Welch, GHP vice president of regional economic development, among others. The focus remains on stimulating the growth of interior design and fashion related businesses with the key goal of uniting designers with local resources in an effort to encourage local manufacturing.
Peck has been along every step of the way so it was fitting that the rebranding and unveiling of a Houston Designed website, that creators Content Active expect to have running full force by the fall, would take place at his headquarters.
Peck is among task force leaders that include cuteheads founder and CEO Esther Freedman, The Chic Sheet blogger Roz Pactor, designer Jessica McMahon, brand strategist and blogger Ahshia Berry, UZO Umbrellas co-founder and co-owner Josephine Firat and management consultant Maurielle Balczon.
Among those in the mix that sampled summer cocktails from Deep Eddy Vodka and goodies from Petite Sweets were More Than You Can Imagine's Vicki Rizzo, Tootsies' Fady Armanious and Chris Goins, Neal Hamil Modeling Agency's Jeff Shell plus Cherise Luter, Dawn Bell, Marina Saba, David Bamford and Maria Martinez.
Maurielle Balczon, from left, Jeff Shell, Jentry Kelley and Elizabeth Kelley at the Houston Designed kickoff event.
