Sustainable by Design: Empathy, Dignity, and What We Choose to Elevate
Allison Seidler
Allison Seidler Interiors
Date/ Tuesday, October 13th
Time / 1pm - 2pm
Location / Arsin Rug Gallery,
1025 N Stemmons Frwy, Ste. 747
Credit / 1 Sustainability CEPH
Bryce Smith
Arsin Rug Gallery
Laura McDonald Stewart
- moderator
This panel reframes sustainability beyond materials and repurposed furniture - looking instead at what it means to make an entire industry sustainable, to build careers that last, and to give people who are aging a renewed sense of purpose, not just “aging in place,” but aging in community. Bryce Smith of Arsin Rug Gallery and award-winning interior designer Allison Seidler will explore how empathy and dignity show up in the choices we make - as designers, as business owners, and as neighbors - and what it looks like to build a career, a client relationship, and a community around the idea that nothing and no one is disposable.
Bryce Smith, ASID Affiliate, is the Showroom Manager of Arsin Rug Gallery, where he’s spent over a decade building relationships across the design community and partnering with organizations including ASID, IDS, Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse Dallas, and Dwell With Dignity. A lifelong animal advocate who has fostered over 300 dogs and 30 cats, he created the CEU Dogs & Design: You CAN Have Both! and founded the SEW-cial Circle, which turns discontinued design samples into handmade goods for charity. Also an opera singer with The Dallas Opera Chorus, Bryce believes business can be about more than transactions - building relationships that strengthen community, reduce waste, and turn design into a catalyst for lasting change.
Allison Seidler, RID, ASID, received her degree in Architectural Interior Design from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Registered Interior Designer with the State of Texas and a member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She works with clients throughout the state and nationally to design homes that are current yet classic.
Laura McDonald Stewart - Laura McDonald Stewart, FASID, RID, LEED AP, WELL AP, is the Owner of Laura McDonald Enterprises. Before starting PLiNTH & CHiNTZ, an online resource to prepare a new generation of designers to enter the workforce, she began her career working on commercial interior design projects, but now primarily works in the residential sector. For almost 10 years she also managed METROCON Expo & Conference, the annual two-day event in Dallas
focusing on the built environment. Laura has been very active with ASID both nationally and within the Texas Chapter. She was the recipient of the 2009 NCIDQ Louis S. Tregre Award and the 2025 ASID Volunteer of the Year Award, and she will take on the role of national ASID Chair-Elect starting October 1, 2026.