Heartland - Fall 2026 Newsletter
What's Worth It? Showing Up.
At the beginning of this year, we set out to explore retail in the Heartland through one deceptively simple question:
What’s worth it?
What’s worth leaving the house for? What’s worth paying more for, traveling farther for, lingering longer in, or returning to? And, perhaps most importantly, what kinds of places and experiences are worth sharing with other people?
Throughout 2026, that question took us from the future of grocery stores to the strange alternate realities of Atlas9, from the rituals that turn sports into community to the global spectacle of the World Cup landing right here in Kansas City.
Different formats. Different cities. Different corners of retail and experience design.
But underneath all of them was the same basic idea:
the things that feel most worthwhile are usually the things that bring us together.
Which brings us, rather neatly, to our final big gathering of the year...
Let's Connect, Kansas City!
Next Wednesday, October 21, the Heartland Chapter will gather at Henderson Engineers for RDI Connect: Kansas City, an evening celebrating the people, projects, and slightly obsessive attention to detail that make retail design such an interesting field to work in. The event runs from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. and coincides with the Institute’s 2026 International Design Awards celebration in New York.
Some of you may recall that we originally imagined this gathering as a summer happy hour and membership drive. But as plans developed, we saw an opportunity to make it something bigger, so we gave ourselves a little more runway.
Now, with the support of our friends at Henderson, we’re bringing the energy of the International Design Awards a little closer to home, with local food and drinks, tastings, music, creative activations, prizes, and, most importantly, plenty of opportunities to meet the people shaping branded environments across Kansas City and the broader Heartland.
I’m particularly excited about the new faces.
There is an incredible amount of work happening right here in our own backyard, yet many of us still operate in overlapping circles without ever properly crossing paths. Designers, architects, engineers, fabricators, strategists, visual merchandisers, makers, storytellers, and brand people are all helping shape how this region looks and feels. We just don’t always end up in the same room.
On October 21, we will.
And while we’ll be watching standout projects from around the world receive some well-deserved recognition, I hope the evening also serves as a reminder that compelling work is happening here, too. Kansas City does not need to wait for someone else to declare it a design city. We can build that identity ourselves by showing up for one another, sharing what we’re working on, and creating a stronger regional network around the work already happening.
Because after a year of asking What’s worth it?, I keep coming back to the same answer:
Connection is worth it. Community is worth it. And yes, occasionally putting on real pants and leaving the house is worth it, too.
If you haven't already signed up to join us, now is the time! Registration closes Sunday, October 18.
And if you've attended one of our events this year, enjoyed the conversations, made a new connection, or simply appreciate what we're building here in the Heartland, we'd love for you to consider becoming a member of the Institute. Better yet, anyone who joins RDI at the event will have their $25 registration fee waived.
RDI Membership opens the door to a year-round community of retail designers, strategists, architects, brand leaders, fabricators, and experience-makers. Beyond local programming, you'll gain access to events, resources, thought leadership, and professional connections from across North America and around the world.
More importantly, your membership helps make all of this possible. It allows us to create more programming, reach more professionals throughout our region, support emerging talent, and continue building a stronger, more connected retail design community here in the Heartland.
After a year spent asking What's Worth It?, I'd argue this community is. We'd love to have you as part of it.
Making a Scene in St. Louis
Our in-person calendar may be winding down, but the Heartland Chapter still has one more creative project ahead for 2026.
As has been our tradition for many years now, we’re excited to once again begin designing this year’s Central West End holiday window in partnership with AC Hotel in St. Louis.
The Heartland team, lead by chapter secretary Janine Buettner, is preparing to visit the hotel, document the available window area, and begin shaping a concept that is festive, memorable, and, ideally, achievable without anyone having to suspend themselves from the ceiling.
This crafty little tradition of ours is a group effort in the truest sense, and we would absolutely love any and all additional hands, minds, ladders, glue guns, and moral support.
We’re looking for volunteers interested in helping with any part of the process:
Concept and design
Material sourcing and preparation
Fabrication and assembly
On-site installation
Photography and documentation
Takedown after the holidays
You do not need to commit to the entire project. If you can contribute a clever idea, an afternoon of preparation, a vehicle with decent cargo space, or a willingness to hold something in place while another person says, “A little to the left,” we can probably use you.
Interested? Email us at heartland@retaildesigninstitute.org and let us know!
One More Time, Together
2026 has been a year of experiments for the Heartland Chapter. Some ambitious, some scrappy, some held together with planning calls, shared documents, and a frankly heroic amount of follow-up.
But each one has reinforced why this chapter exists: not simply to host events, but to create space for curiosity, honest conversation, new relationships, and a stronger creative community across Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Southwest Illinois.
If you’ve joined us this year, thank you. If you’ve been watching from the sidelines, consider this your nudge. And if you join us at RDI Connect: Kansas City, please find me and say hello. I’ll be the person simultaneously trying to greet everyone, check the schedule, and pretend that we have everything completely under control.
I can’t wait to see you there!
Michael Trenary, RDI
President, Heartland Chapter
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