A Cause To Celebrate!

This week we were kindly asked to help celebrate the launch of one of our absolute favorite causes, DIFFA's Dining By Design. Founded in 1984, DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) is one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education organizations in the United States and has provided more than $35 million to hundreds of AIDS organizations nationwide since it's inception. Dining By Design is DIFFA's signature fundraising event and multi-city marketing platform and it's also one of the most FUN parties of the year. Dubbed the “Cannes of Tabletop” by filmmaker John Waters, this annual event is an opportunity for various corporations and designers to showcase their creativity and talents by creating unique dining installations to ultimately accommodate their dinner guests.

This week's DBD launch celebration was held at Alain Ducasse's stunning restaurant, Adour, in the legendary St. Regis Hotel and the food was absolutely delicious (we especially loved the tender ricotta gnocchi with sauteed lettuce and crispy prosciutto as well as the banana macaroons)! Adour, which generously underwrote this event, was designed by the uber-talented architect and chairman of DIFFA, David Rockwell.

To kick things off, Rockwell gave some inspiring words regarding the importance of DBD before introducing his friend and fellow trustee Whoopi Goldberg. With her smart humor, Whoopi spoke passionately about how important this event is as far as DIFFA's fundraising efforts go, especially during a time when non-profits may suffer because of the down-turn in the economy. Dining By Design will start in New York March 26th and run through March 30th before moving onto Kansas City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. We strongly encourage anyone reading this to click here and learn more about this incredible cause and to buy a ticket to one of the season's most magnificent gatherings. We're especially excited because this year in New York for the first time, DBD will be adjacent to and coinciding with the Archictectural Digest Home Design Show! We'll be posting reminders periodically until the event to make sure you have plenty of time to get your tickets. We can't wait to see you there this spring. (Above photos from last year's event featuring a table designed for the New York Times by Doug Wilson and DWR).