The Novità Communications Media Lounge at DIFFA BY DESIGN 2022; Wall art by Maiarelli Studio; Design by Brooke Horan of HDR. Photograph by Alan Barry.

The Design Industries Foundation Fighting Aids (DIFFA) recently held DIFFA BY DESIGN, their biggest fundraiser of the year. A new iteration of DINING by Design, the three-day affair ran from Thursday, March 24 to Saturday, March 26th at Center 415, located in the heart of Manhattan. The event, which was chock-full of immersive experiences, raised $530,000 in funds to help combat AIDS, homelessness, food scarcity, and mental health issues across the country.

Interior Design Magazine’s “Unite With Love” installation. Photograph by Alan Barry.

An incredibly gifted group of volunteers, design industry heavyweights, and brands with a conscience dedicated their time, money, and manpower to put together the affair of the season. The event commenced with a formal Gala featuring a chef’s tasting menu and a Tito’s sponsored bar. Attendees were treated to an exclusive look at the 21 installations put together by an incredible group of sponsors, designers, architects,Interior Design, and even a group of Pratt students. Live performances, including by acclaimed Broadway actress and co-founder of Tony Award®-Winning Broadway Advocacy CoalitionAmber Iman and cast members from the Broadway hit Company, were truly breathtaking. Special guest and Award®–winning actor Jane Krakowski gave a heartfelt speech while the event was co-hosted by DIFFA Chair Emeritus and prolific architect, David Rockwell and DIFFA Board Chairman and Editor in Chief of Interior Design, Cindy Allen.DJ Michaelangelo L’Acqua set the jovial tone of the opening night.

Media Lounge: Wall art by Maiarelli Studio; Easy Peasy table lamp from Lodes through JB Lighting Collection; Stool from Timbur; Chair from Stylex Seating; Rug by Aronson’s. Photograph by Alan Barry.

We were truly honored to be a part of the event—we donated our Retro Red Slide-Top Refrigerator to Novità Communications’ Media Lounge, designed by Brooke Horan of HDR. Wall art by Maiarelli Studio cheekily showcased just how happy we all were to be together again. The media lounge, which also featured designs from Aronson’s, Humanscale, JB Lighting, Lodes, Stylex Seating, and Timbur, offered editors writing about the event and the gorgeous vignettes a place to relax and get hydrated—our slide-top cooler was filled to the brim with water donated by Hint and champagne, of course.

Carl Hansen and Søn presented “Midsummer Night Swing” by Rockwell Group; FLORIM + Perkins Eastman. Photography by Alan Barry.

The entire three-day event was a wonderful blur—filled with panels, including one on the Circular Economy and another on TikTok vs. Instagram (a true “Battle of the Platforms”), a shopping experience in partnership with Repurpose and curated by lifestyle and TV personality Robert Verdi, an auction full of gorgeous items donated to benefit DIFFA, community weaving with textile designer Suzanne Tick, a special dance performance by Matthew P. Krull and friends, and DIFFA Nights, a celebratory night of mingling and dancing set to the hip-swerving tunes spun by design industry dynamo Royce Epstein, aka Madame Duchamp. It was all for a wonderful cause and we hope to see you all there next year!