Recently by Micène Fontaine, Director

Warmest Wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous year 2011. We look forward to serving your continuing education needs throughout the new year and invite you to share any continuing education wish you may have on this blog. Photograph: Bright Red Happy New Year cards by Maggie Campbell & Matt Raw    ...

  As mentioned in an earlier tweet, I (and 400 others) attended a conference call with Nika Stewart and Sydni Craig-Hart. During the hour-long call, the two successful businesswomen outlined five steps design professionals should take to attract more clients. Here we go (my favorite is under # 4 but you need to implement all 5 to reap the benefits of the synergy): 1) Discover Your True Value What do you bring to the table? What sets you apart? What is your expertise? What is your niche market? Who do you serve? Who is your ideal client? I suggest jotting...

Studies after studies have highlighted the benefits of art in interiors but for Lisa Bayne, CEO of The Guild/Artful Home, Art is what she found in her dream work environment during a visit to the Level Playing Field Institute in San Francisco. "Wherever you turn within LPFI's offices", Lisa recalls, "there is art, all of it extremely tactile. At the entry gathering spot, rather than a traditional corporate coffee table, the founders have placed a Josh Urso "Knoop Table", letting you know immediately that this is no cookie-cutter sterile office experience." So why don't more companies share Lisa's vision...

To renew their license, Minnesota-licensed interior designers, architects and landscape architects must have completed 24 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) during the two-year period immediately preceding each biennial renewal date, which falls on June 30 of each even-numbered year (2010, 2012, etc). Professional development may include technical, nontechnical, regulatory, ethical, and business practice content provided the education help safeguard and promote the public's health, safety and welfare. Source: Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design Post comments or questions on this blog or contact Design Arts Seminars, Inc. For a list of continuing education opportunities...

Nevada-registered achitects, interior designers and residential designers are required to complete 8 health, safety and welfare CEUs annually, of which 2 must be code-related. The Nevada continuing education requirement went into effect January 1, 2010.  Registrants are responsible for tracking courses and maintaining supporting documentation in case of an audit.  A CEU Tracking Log must be completed and sent with each registrant's renewal for 2011.  Transcripts and other back-up information will not be accepted by the board, unless a registrant is audited. Source: Nevada State Board of Architecture, Interior Design and Residential Design Post comments or questions on this blog...

Mandatory continuing education requirements (MCER) are not, by far, one of the most exciting things out there. That being said, we - at Design Arts Seminars, Inc. - do spend quite a bit of time (so you don't have to) researching the mandatory continuing education requirements (MCER) in place in each state for each of the professions we serve (currently architects, interior designers and landscape architects). We will use this MCER section of our blog to address mandatory continuing education requirements along with any questions or comments you may have. Post your questions or comments using the "comments" link below....

Let's face it, I can't think of one person or business whose year 2009 was not, in some way, challenging. I (personally) and we (at Design Arts Seminars, Inc.) are no exception. We lived through it and learned a couple of things along the way:  Focus on core values and do what you do best: I think this one is plain common sense but 2009 served as a reminder that we should focus on what sets us apart from the competition. This goes for individuals and businesses. Find your niche - aka competitive advantage - and stick to it. This...

We are here to serve your continuing education needs. We launched this blog to get to know you so we can better serve your continuing education needs. We have a couple of ideas of our own but would love to hear from you. Sign in and share your thoughts. Let us know what we can do to make continuing education work for you. In case you were wondering, we named this blog DNA for you are what makes us. You are our DNA.  You lie at the heart of our work. Coincidentally, DNA also stands for Design 'N Architecture......