by JULIE SCHUSTER.  Today is Independence Day, and I sit here so happily looking out over the water from Martha’s Vineyard. For me, independence has been having the faith in myself to jump into self-employment as a designer and sticking with it to truly build my own business. It’s been sometimes joyous, sometimes stressful, and always way more work than any other job I ever had. But I also understand that it is a bit different for every one of us.

One of the pleasures of groups like our New York design community has been to find how diverse we all are; everyone with different drivers and passions, as well as skill sets. And that, in itself, is one great reason to value each and every one of you. For you all bring something wonderful with you to the table each month when we get together. Sharing insights, troubleshooting issues, education and product knowledge, and the ability to expand our knowledge base for our work, is just a sampling of the reasons to be a part of this group of professionals. And we are all professionals, whether design is your current career or your side hustle. I truly believe that.

For all members of one of the groups in the NYC Design Coalition, you have been receiving the invitation to the Greatest Summer Social on Earth, July 25th in the evening. It’s our last big splash before we take a break for the month of August. And everyone is welcome to attend our NKBA Design & Tech Summit during the day. Just know that everyone will need to exit the Samsung space and then re-enter, for the evening social will be for registered members of one or the other organizations.

Starting up again in September, all of our fall events are sure to be as terrific as usual, so it's still a good time to join the NKBA Manhattan Chapter and savor the perks of being a part of our community.

As usual, I’ll include the contact information for our Membership Chair, Jeannine Price, at jeannineprice@gmail.com. She will happily assist in the application process.

I look forward to seeing you all at the Social!  ~ Julie