- May 5, 2026
- Veronika
…and we could not be more proud
We’ve been watching a shift for a while now.
Designers still want to engage. They want to attend retreats, conferences, brand events, and trade shows. They want to stay informed, connected, and inspired.
But they’re becoming far more selective about how they spend their time.
Because time has become a real luxury. And if they’re stepping away from their projects, their clients, their business, there needs to be something meaningful on the other side of that invitation. Something that goes beyond a well-produced event or a polished presentation.
That’s the gap we set out to address with Bootcamps. And it’s why Häcker Kitchens has joined the program as a Founding Brand Partner.
A Different Kind of Engagement
Bootcamps are built around a simple idea: if designers are going to spend a day with brands, that time should translate directly into knowledge they can use. Each Bootcamp brings together three to five manufacturers in a 1-2 day format focused entirely on product training. Not presentations, not brand storytelling, but real understanding.
How products are made. How they work. How they’re installed.
Where they perform well, and where they don’t.
“Bootcamps are about making time spent with brands more valuable,” said Veronika Miller, Founder of Designhounds. “Instead of surface-level presentations, we focus on how products work, how they’re made, and how they’re installed, so designers can leave with knowledge they can immediately apply in their design process and on the job site – with confidence.”
Häcker Kitchens from Germany – Our first Founding Brand Partner
Häcker Kitchens enters the Bootcamp series not as a one-off participant, but as a Founding Brand Partner, taking a more strategic role across multiple markets.
This includes:
- leading dedicated training sessions in key locations
- maintaining a presence across additional Bootcamp events
- contributing to a consistent, program-level engagement with designers
The partnership reflects a long-term approach to the North American market, one that prioritizes education and direct interaction with actively specifying designers.
Beyond the Traditional Event Model
Bootcamps are intentionally different from typical showroom events.
Rather than focusing on a single brand during a lunch & learn, CEU event or evening social, this format allows designers to engage with multiple product categories in one setting, making better use of their time while gaining broader, more practical insight.
Collaborative to the Core
Building on our 15-year legacy as organizer of designer tours, retreats, conferences and brand collaborations, it has been imperative to integrate our communities in an even more meaningful way. We built Bootcamps in partnership with local design professionals, many of them part of the Designhounds community, who support regional and local outreach and execution through a shared success model.
Meanwhile, we do what we do best – we manage the national program structure, brand partnerships, logistics, content consistency and national visibility. We create a framework that works across markets while remaining locally relevant.
Where This Is Going
The first Bootcamps will take place in New York City, followed by High Point Fall Market and Pasadena California in collaboration with design studio and official Bootcamp Host Partner Cozy Stylish Chic. But we won’t stop there! We will announce additional locations very soon. Stay tuned here on the blog, subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us @designhounds everywhere.
A big thank you for the trust Häcker Kitchens are putting into this new venture as a Founding Brand Partner. We’re excited to set off together to create a more direct, more practical, and more accountable way for brands and designers to work together.
Less marketing. More mattering.
