My Why For Creating Wing Wars

I've been thinking a lot about how to tell this story. 

The story about an HGTV designer that throws a wing competition. That's the simplest way to tell it and I'm sure it's a headline that'll get a lot of people to click, but that's really not the story. 

The real story is that everything I've done over the past several years has been about Memphis. And yes, people know me because I won HGTV Design Star and as an interior designer, but if you really look at my career, every opportunity I've had since then has come back to this city. I chose to shoot my winning HGTV show Reno My Rental in Memphis. I've consistently used my platform to tell Memphis stories, support Memphis businesses, advocate for our creatives and remind people that Memphis is far more than the stereotypes that most people associate with it. 

So really and truly, Wing Wars is really just the next chapter of that work. As a designer, I think about how spaces shape people and how people shape spaces. But I’ve realized over the years that culture shapes cities, just as much as architecture does. If you want people to fall in love with the city, then you have to create experiences that celebrate who they are. That's really where Wing Wars came from. 

Memphis is always introduced as the home of Elvis and the Blues and, especially, barbecue. Those things are absolutely true, but I don't believe they represent the whole story anymore. They're the old story, and in my opinion, there's a new story to tell. 

If you ask people who actually live here what they're eating on a Friday night, chances are they're grabbing wings! Wings have become a giant staple in our culture and deserve to be celebrated. But, instead of creating another food festival, I wanted to create an event that celebrates Memphis the way Memphians really experience it: food, basketball, music, neighborhood restaurants, community. All in one place. 

I have to admit, one of my favorite things about all of this is that it surprises people. I know people expect me to design beautiful spaces, which, of course, I do, but there’s a slim chance that they’d expect me to create a city wide event around chicken wings! But if you know me, you know, I care deeply about people. Design has always been my medium for showing that care, but community has always been rooted in my purpose. 

This is in no way me stepping away from design. I can promise you I still spend 80% of my week on design projects. But Wing Wars is actually design on a larger scale. I'm designing an experience. I'm designing a tradition. I'm designing something that I hope becomes part of the cultural fabric of Memphis for the next several generations. This event is simply another way I'm using my platform to help people see Memphis as I see it...and to love it just as much too.