Jacksonville's 'hidden beauty' to be star of 2022 Winter Design Show for Wolfson benefit

Fitz Pullins, a Jacksonville interior designer and consultant, believes every home should have a soul.

So when he was asked to be creative director of the "2022 Winter Design Show: Flaunting the First Coast," a Dec. 2-4 fundraiser for Wolfson Children's Hospital, he used the same philosophy.

Pullins put his mind's eye to what he views as the city's soul — its natural resources and the character of its neighborhoods, from Avondale, Riverside and San Marco to downtown, the Northwest side and Mandarin.

"It's the hidden beauty," he said.

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The oak trees, the Spanish moss, the river. The lion statue in San Marco, the Ritz Theatre downtown, historic houses across the city. All that will be represented in the layout of the show, for guests to experience in the Prime Osborn Convention Center.

"Bring the outside in," Pullins said. "I want them to feel like … this is an escape into the heart of Jacksonville, walking through the neighborhoods, getting a taste of each of them."

The Design Show, hosted by the 50-year-old Wolfson Women's Board, is a "reimagining" of the longtime Art & Antiques Show fundraiser for the hospital. Originally planned for 2021 but postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the show will feature for the first time local designers, artists and galleries, architects and visionaries.

Proceeds will go to an endowment that will provide programs, equipment and services for the Wolfson's Neonatal Intensive Care Center that opened in April in the hospital's new Children's Critical Care Tower. Baptist Health, Wolfson's parent, will provide a 150% match.

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"As we reach our five-year, $4 million pledge to fund an endowment to support the new Neonatal Intensive Care Center, we are also marking five decades of helping to bring a world-class children’s hospital to our region," Women's Board president Robin Albaneze said. "We hope to see thousands of returning and new faces come out to support and enjoy this event … with many new experiences that reflect the best of Northeast Florida."

The event will feature more than 45 exhibitors, including decorator showrooms, art exhibits, antique dealers and decor retailers. Nationally recognized and celebrity lecturers, including TV personalities Ty Pennington and Dr. Jennifer Arnold, are scheduled, along with signature events such as the Opening Night Gala and Children’s Fashion Show featuring current and former Wolfson patients.

Behind the vision

Among the visionaries planning the event are co-chair Kymberly Wolfson, part of the family that founded the hospital in 1955, and her longtime friend, Pullins.

"We met in our early 20s when I moved back to Jacksonville after college and Fitz was waiting tables at Carrabba’s," she said. "We hit it off immediately and I remember we were in constant fits of laughter whenever we got together back then and still are today."

Wolfson and fellow event co-chairs Heather Creel and Kristina Powell came up with the new concept for the show about two years ago.

"We knew we wanted to bring in a local designer to help us take this very nebulous vision and make it something tangible and real," Wolfson said. "Fitz was the person who immediately came to mind for many reasons — obviously his design talent and creativity but also his love of our community, personal connection to the First Coast, his can-do attitude and his generous heart."

Pullins is a fourth-generation Jacksonville native who spent 10 years as an emergency room technician for Baptist Medical Center, followed by a career as a personal shopper for St. Johns Town Center customers and a personal stylist.

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After 10 years in the ER, the fast pace wore him down and he eventually morphed from designing for people to designing for places.

"I had family in health care, it's what I have always known," Pullins said. "Helping people, I felt that it was my calling. I don't regret it, I loved it. I loved the rush."

By working on a benefit for the children's hospital, which, like his former employer, is part of Baptist Health, he said he has "come full circle."

When the Design Show opens, after two years of work, he said he "might cry." Wolfson said she and other event organizers "are so excited to see all of his ideas brought to life."

"Our community has so many treasures — our stunning natural surroundings and waterways, the incredible talent of local designers and artists, and one of the most important, our world-class Wolfson Children’s Hospital," she said. "We hope the Winter Design Show is an opportunity to shop local and support the incredible designers, artists, and businesses from our area while also supporting and raising money for our amazing children’s hospital."

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Founded in 1973, the all-volunteer Women’s Board raises funds and community awareness for Wolfson, which is the only dedicated children’s inpatient health care facility in the region. Since its inception, the Women’s Board has raised about $34 million for the hospital and its two annual fundraisers — the Winter Design Show and Florida Forum speaker series — bring Wolfson about $1 million a year.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

2022 WINTER DESIGN SHOW

The event is Dec. 2-4 at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, 1000 Water St., Jacksonville. General admission tickets are $15 and include the entire three-day event; individual lecture tickets start at an additional $30. To purchase tickets, donate or get more information, go to womensboardwch.com/2022-winter-design-show. For sponsorship information, For more information call (904) 202-2886.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Wolfson benefit to star Jacksonville beauty, design talent