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Dining by Design

Crickets, butterflies and antique silk scarves add up to an elegant, earthly table at New York’s DIFFA dinner gala.

Insects and eveningwear don’t typically go hand-in-hand, but on Thursday night at the DIFFA Dining by Design gala, ECHO, the renowned silk scarf company, and the ECHO family – which includes the brand’s founder, Dorothy Roberts, and her children, Steven and Lynn – proved otherwise. Sea shells, leaves and even snakes decoracted the table at the fundraising event at New York City’s Pier 94

The waterfront Manhattan venue was transformed by designers for a good cause: Since 1984, DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) has raised more than $40 million for health services. The Dining by Design dinner gala is one of the foundation’s annual events. For the occasion, architects, like David Rockwell, and brands, like Design Within Reach, let their imaginations run free in the creation of a fantastical installation.

Ruben and Isabel Toledo, the artist/fashion designer couple who were the guests of honor along with DIFFA board member Rick Wolf, praised each table’s innovation and thanked those for participating as they walked around the event. Unsurprisingly, they were fans of our own reptile-inspired plates. 

Take a look in the DuJour gallery for more photographs – you may even be inspired to try something new at home.

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