2025 Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Brooke Shields
Friday, January 31: 11 a.m.
Actress, model, author and entrepreneur, Brooke Shields began her accomplished professional career at only 11 months as the Ivory Snow Baby. She was a runway model by age 3 and has since graced the covers of hundreds of magazines and was recently honored as one of Glamour’s Women of the Year for 2023. At age 9, Brooke began her extensive and critically acclaimed acting career spanning film, TV and theater. Brooke is the bestselling author of numerous adult and children’s books, hosted her podcast “Now What? With Brooke Shields,” and recently unveiled her latest entrepreneurial project, Commence, a digital platform that inspires women over 40 to live their best lives. Brooke’s next book, “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old,” will be released in January 2025. Brooke was also recently elected president of the Actors’ Equity Association. In addition to her professional career, Brooke continues to be a strong advocate for women’s issues and keeping the arts alive in schools. She is a happily married mother of two strong and intelligent daughters.
Keynote Speaker
David Flint Wood
Friday, January 31: 11 a.m.
Born and raised in London, where his two childhood distinctions were getting the worst exam results in his school’s history (which was founded in 1509) and winning the final of the Schoolboy Eights at Henley Royal Regatta, David Flint Wood’s path to interior design was a winding one, including various occupations ranging from Christmas present wrapping and hamper sales to smoked salmon slicing and restaurant food delivery. David’s big break came in New York working for a tiny advertising agency – a job he sadly lost due to a sailing trip he neglected to mention to his boss. Back in England, he reentered advertising and in 1994 won the Marketing Society Ad Campaign of The Year. He left the next year to run an eight-room hotel, bar and restaurant in the Bahamas and in 1996 started a family with India Hicks. The couple continued to purchase and renovate homes and hotels that caught the attention of international design magazines. Notably, David’s decoration of the New York home of Brooke Shields was on the cover of Architectural Digest. David and India married after being together 25 years and have five children. Since then, David has also launched a premium rum brand called Idle Assembly.
Image Credit: Victoria Will
Designing Music City
Sheryl Crow
Friday, January 31: 2 p.m.
Songwriter. Activist. Rock star. Woman. Champion. Mother. Nine-time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow is many things. But at the core, she remains a creative spirit channeling her talents into music that lifts people up, brings them together and speaks to the truths on the horizon. The documentary film based on Sheryl’s life and career, “Sheryl,” premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival, and in 2023, the Missouri-born guitarist and vocalist was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sheryl is also known for her passionate support of worthy charities, including The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Feeding America, ADOPT A CLASSROOM, Elton John AIDS Foundation and MusiCares, among others.
Image Credit: Victoria Will
Image Credit: Grayson Gregory
Image Credit: Grayson Gregory
Designing Music City
Lauren Akins
Friday, January 31: 2 p.m.
Lauren Akins is a devoted mother, wife and philanthropist who lives in Nashville with her husband, country superstar Thomas Rhett, and their four girls Willa Gray, Ada James, Lennon Love and Lillie Carolina. Her memoir, “LIVE IN LOVE: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes” (Ballantine Books), became an instant New York Times bestseller, which led to her breakout podcast “Live in Love With Lauren Akins,” now in its third season with 1 million downloads. Lauren has been a passionate supporter and active volunteer for years, and is enthusiastically continuing to support children in Uganda through her efforts with Love One International.
Image Credit: Joseph Bradshaw
Designing Music City
April Tomlin
Friday, January 31: 2 p.m.
April Tomlin opened the doors of her design business, April Tomlin Interiors, just over 14 years ago, and her use of clean and simple palettes, organic materials and artistic, natural plays on design are redefining Southern style. Her distinctive designs have attracted a roster of A-list clientele, and her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, The Wall Street Journal and many more. April currently lives in Franklin, TN, with the loves of her life – her husband and two daughters – in the same way she designs, fresh yet deeply grounded.
Image Credit: Joseph Bradshaw
Floral Lecture
Shane Connolly
Saturday, February 1: 11 a.m.
Shane Connolly is a renowned floral designer and ambassador for sustainable floristry. His clients range from major public institutions to a veritable who’s who of the great and good of British life. Though he is perhaps known best for his public work for the British royal family. Shane approaches his work with respect for nature, season and setting and always with the same aim: to leave the smallest footprint behind and be led by what is local and available. He has written five books and teaches his approach to flower design all over the world with roots and ethos firmly in sustainability.
Image Credit: Moeez Ali
Floral Lecture
Willow Crossley
Saturday, February 1: 11 a.m.
Often dubbed the U.K.’s ‘Queen of Flowers,’ Willow Crossley is a florist, author, designer, stylist, entrepreneur and influencer. She is best known for her innate floristry skills and knowledge of botanicals, and her eponymous brand now spans global events for brands and private clients in phenomenal spaces in Britain, Europe and America. Willow lives in the Cotswolds in the English countryside with her husband, Charlie, and their three boys, where she is hugely passionate and curious about sharing the uplifting power of nature, living life well, and inspiring her highly engaged audience to create and nurture themselves through nature.
Image Credit: Moeez Ali
Image Credit: Cary Norton
Image Credit: Cary Norton
Floral Lecture
Margot Shaw
Saturday, February 1: 11 a.m.
Margot Shaw is the founder and editor-in-chief of FLOWER Magazine. Now in its 17th year, the magazine has grown to include features on homes, gardens, entertaining and lifestyle. Margot is a sought-after speaker at antique and garden shows, museums, botanical gardens, interior design centers, and more. She is the author of the newly released book, “Living Floral: Entertaining and Decorating with Flowers.”
Image Credit: Eric Piasecki
Design Lecture
Rita Konig
Saturday, February 1: 2 p.m.
Rita Konig has worked as an interior designer and design journalist for over 20 years in both the U.K. and the U.S. Known for her fresh, traditional style with a crisp and relaxed air, she is regularly included in Architectural Digest’s annual AD 100 and ELLE DECOR’s prestigious A-List. In 2024, Rita received the Condé Nast House & Garden Designer of the Year Award. Working closely alongside brands she uses regularly as part of her design projects, Rita has worked on product collaborations with luxury names including Schumacher, The Lacquer Company and Oficina Inglesa.
Image Credit: Eric Piasecki
Design Lecture
Veere Grenney
Saturday, February 1: 2 p.m.
Veere Grenney is widely considered one of the most important interior designers of his generation. Born on the South Island of New Zealand, Veere moved to England in the 1970s and trained under Mary Fox Linton. He became a director at Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler before launching his own company, Veere Grenney Associates, in London in 1996. Veere has been consistently acclaimed by The World of Interiors and is listed among House & Garden’s Top 100 interior designers. In 2024, he was inducted into the AD 100 2024 Hall of Fame, as well as declared an ELLE DECOR A-List Titan.
Design Lecture
Dara Caponigro
Saturday, February 1: 2 p.m.
Dara Caponigro is chief creative officer of FS&CO, where she also serves as Schumacher creative director and FREDERIC magazine editor-in-chief. Along with her illustrious career in the magazine publishing business, including editor positions with Veranda, ELLE DECOR, House Beautiful and Domino, where she was a founding editor, Dara is author of numerous design and architecture books, the most recent of which is “FREDERIC: The Last Word in Chic” (Monacelli), released in September 2024. Dara is known for her ability to develop and invigorate brands, discerning eye, and uncanny skill for knowing her audience.
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