Albemarle Garden Club Presents: Design Forum Cocktail Reception with Mark D. Sikes

Albemarle Garden Club is pleased to announce the 2023 Design Forum with noted American interior designer and tastemaker Mark D. Sikes. All proceeds will support the Club’s community projects in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

We thank our sponsors for supporting the Design Forum – Albemarle Magazine, Anne Altizer Interiors, Dana Harris, Elizabeth Locke Jewels, EOS – Entrepreneurial Operating System, Folly, Grelen Nursery, Ideal Cabinets, Jones Laing Design, Karen Turner Kitchens, Kenny Ball Antiques and Accessories, Loring Woodriff, Manchester Capital, McKinnon and Harris, Nelson Byrd Woltz, Quirk Hotel & Gallery, Rizzoli, SCARPA, Schumacher, Sutphin Architecture, The Paramount, The Potomack Company, The Red Door, Virginia National Bank, and Waterstreet Studio.

Design Forum Cocktail Reception with Mark D. Sikes
The Forum will kick off with a cocktail reception and book signing with Mr. Sikes on the evening of October 11 from 6:00-8:00 pm. During the reception, visitors may view the flower show “Beautiful,” in reference to Mr. Sikes’ books Beautiful and More Beautiful published by Rizzoli, and shop the event’s vendor gallery.

About Mark D. Sikes
Mark D. Sikes is an esteemed interior designer and tastemaker who has worked on projects throughout the United States and abroad, including the White House and Blair House. He is known for all-American sensibilities and a fresh take on classical aesthetics. Mark has a talent for creating beautiful and timeless interiors that embody the indoor/outdoor lifestyle.

His work has been featured in numerous shelter publications and designer showhouses. He is a member of the AD100 and the Elle Décor A-list and has product collaborations with Schumacher, Hudson Valley Lighting, and Chaddock Furniture among others.

Mark seeks to create beautiful interiors, and above all, a beautiful world.

About Albemarle Garden Club
Founded in 1913, Albemarle Garden Club is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is affiliated with both the Garden Club of Virginia and the Garden Club of America. For more than 100 years, a cornerstone of the AGC’s mission has been deeply rooted in fostering meaningful connections to our local lands and citizens. Restoring, improving, and protecting the environment through education and community action is at the heart of everything the club does.

The funds raised through the Design Forum will go to our community project initiatives with a special focus on our work at the Booker T. Washington Park in Charlottesville. As the first public space for the Black community, this park has a rich and important history in our community, and AGC has become a key part of that through its work on the Bog Garden. Proceeds from our 2021 Forum allowed our club to plant over 800 new native species in 2022, improve erosion control, and create new pathways. These improvements allowed us to host an inaugural Children’s Festival in the Bog Garden, a fun day for more than 300 local residents who came to take part in games and activities promoting a connection to nature. Funds will also support our robust scholarship program, the Nature Camp, and The Natural History Day Camp as well as deep partnerships with Cultivate Charlottesville, The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont, and the University of Virginia Hospital’s Volunteer Department.