about design chew
Design Chew is a virtual group that brings solopreneurs and small business owners together twice a month.
Design Chew is a virtual group that brings solopreneurs and small business owners together twice a month. We are a multidisciplinary group specializing in Experiential Design and Graphic Design. Specifically, members of our group focus on experiential design, signage and wayfinding, exhibit design, branding, and work in retail, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, multifamily, and workplace.
meetings
Guest Speakers
Book club
Power Hours
Discord
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Our members come from all over the world! Currently, we have members who reside all over California, Washington, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and England. We previously had members who are no longer in the group reside in Oregon, Missouri, Ohio, Canada, Philippines, and Indonesia.
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As a small business owner working from home, I don’t get to interact with my fellow Experiential Design community as often as I would like and often feel siloed. I miss having collaboration between designers and thought of a way to bring that back and create a sense of community with other in the same situation. I have had many conversations with other designers all over the world on social media platforms like LinkedIn who recently started their own businesses and thought it would be fun to start a bi-monthly group called Design Chew.
The goal of this group would be to have a platform where we would meet virtually and share what we are currently working on to gain feedback from others, talk about what is working/not working in our businesses, and just create a community for us to lean on each other for advice and support to talk about Experiential Design.
I went out on a limb and wrote a post about my interest in starting this group on LinkedIn and had a lot of interest and on October 7th, 2022 we had our very first meeting! The rest is history…
meet the #ChewCrew
MEET THE FOUNDER
Lauren Stern
Lauren Stern is a spirited Experiential Graphic Designer from Charlotte, NC, with over a decade of expertise in transforming spaces with artful and functional designs. Whether it’s weaving the narrative of a place through wayfinding & signage or injecting creativity into everyday environments with dynamic murals and artful focal walls, she crafts visual stories that speak.
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As the proud Owner and Experiential Design Consultant of Studio 618, a boutique, woman-owned design consultancy, she has embraced the challenge and thrill of entrepreneurship since our inception on June 18, 2021—a date that marks her leap into a world of elevated design with an artful approach. At Studio 618, we partner with developers, businesses, and design firms across the U.S., bringing each client’s vision to life with precision and flair. Our portfolio spans 60 projects in 36 cities across 13 states, demonstrating our versatility and commitment to excellence.
Lauren’s background in digital illustration, fiber art, and watercolor not only enriches her design approach but also brings a unique artistic touch to each project. From custom interior and exterior signage to emergency evacuation maps, every design is a blend of functionality and artistry.
Additionally, she is the co-chair of the Charlotte SEGD Chapter and the founder of Design Chew, an exclusive global network of small business owners in the experiential graphic design field. We chat, share, and grow together, meeting bi-monthly to ensure we’re at the forefront of industry innovation and community building.
Exciting News! Lauren’s children's book, Signs Have Much to Say, explores the fun and fundamental aspects of signage and wayfinding. Available on Amazon, at her website, and locally at Park Road Books, Paper Skyscraper in Charlotte, NC and 2nd & Charles in Matthews, NC. Reach out for a signed copy!
Members
speakers
Cities
States
countries
Design Chew is always looking for unique perspectives to elevate the conversations during our meetings and value what our amazing guest speakers provide. Our guest speakers are spread out all over the world and come from four separate countries! These talented individuals provide a robust and unique skill set. Their experience is vast and has been invaluable to our group.
If you are interested in being a guest speaker, please fill out the form below.
Guest Speakers
Topics That We Have Chewed Over
In Design Chew, we have had some insightful conversations about various topics to help elevate our businesses. The topics vary and have ranged from website critiques to maintaining client relationships. No matter what topic we discuss during our meeting that week, we always end our meetings with “wins of the week”, where we celebrate our professional and personal wins of the week. The wins keep getting more EPIC every time we meet! See below just a handful of some of the topics that have been discussed over the years.
Website critiques
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Organizational tools and tips
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Gathering client feedback
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Social media and marketing
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Terms and fees in proposals
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Business goals
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Difficult conversation
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Professional photo taking tips
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Time tracking and budgeting
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Maintaining client relationships
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Website critiques ☻ Organizational tools and tips ☻ Gathering client feedback ☻ Social media and marketing ☻ Terms and fees in proposals ☻ Business goals ☻ Difficult conversation ☻ Professional photo taking tips ☻ Time tracking and budgeting ☻ Maintaining client relationships ☻
frequently asked questions!
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Design Chew is a virtual group that brings solopreneurs and small business owners together twice a month. We are a multidisciplinary group specializing in Experiential Design and Graphic Design. Specifically, members of our group focus on experiential design, signage and wayfinding, exhibit design, branding, and work in retail, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, multifamily, and workplace.
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To join Design Chew, you have to be a solopreneur or small business owner in the Experiential Deign or Graphic Design industry.
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We talk about a variety of topics ranging from price proposals to celebrating our loser concepts. If you are interested to learn more about our topics, please check out the topics that we have chewed over.
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Design Chew meets twice a month on Google Meet on Fridays from 2pm - 3:30pm EST. Once a year, we have a virtual retreat that goes from 1pm - 4:30 pm EST.
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At the moment, our group is unfortunately closed but we will be looking into accepting a new members in 2025. If you are interested in becoming a member, please fill out the waitlist form and Lauren will be in touch to determine if you are a good fit.
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No, Design Chew is absolutely free! We are a small group by design. It is all about QUALITY over QUANTITY in our small group. Since this group is free, all members are required to be active and bring value to the group.
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You can only miss 2 meetings a quarter, you need to be active in discussions during our meetings, and present about a topic of your choosing at least once a year. If you want to be part of this group, you need to be attentive, active, and add value. We are only look for new members that do so.