Whether you go for ideas on how to make
the most of your home’s tight quarters, you go to hire the designer
who can custom make the piece of furniture you’ve been fantasizing
about, or you go just to order a set of mugs, Brooklyn Designs
has something to offer anyone who has a home, office or home
office.
The home furnishings show, an initiative of the Brooklyn Chamber
of Commerce, will fill St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO June 13-15
with the work of dozens of Brooklyn-based artisans displaying
lighting, linens, rugs, furniture and decorative accessories.
Exhibitors include:
· Brooklyn Navy Yard-based furniture designer Robert Martin,
who creates an assortment of sleek furnishings including steel-and-wood
dining tables, workstations and garden furniture.
· Williamsburg-based Milder Office, whose artists fashion
products for the office, home, institutional and retail environments.
· Bushwick-based Elseware atelier, whose artists don’t
shy from injecting a bit of humor into the home, like the aquarium-toilet
combo, "the Aquariass."
· Williamsburg-based interior designer Dominic Gasparoly,
who has also created his own contemporary furniture collection
incorporating African and Asian influences.
· Navy Yard-based furniture designer Evan Hughes, who
sculpts seemingly impossible curves out of wood as can be seen
in his oval-shaped satinwood maple bureau and cherry wood "Mathews
Library Shelving Unit."
"This is a chance for us to showcase Brooklyn’s vital creative
economy," said Brooklyn Chamber President Kenneth Adams.
"Our exhibitors come from across the borough. Attendees
will get a chance to visit DUMBO, New York’s newest home furnishings
destination, to see what’s new in lighting, furniture, rugs,
linens and accessories from designers and manufacturers working
across Brooklyn."
Brooklyn Designs is also hosting a series of seminars, which
are free with admission.
On June 13, from 10 am to 5 pm, the show is open to trade persons
only, who can register for free at www.brooklyndesigns.net. The
show opens to the public at 5 pm. At 6 pm, sculptor and performance
artist Vito Acconci will present the keynote lecture. He has
focused on furniture and architectural installations since 1988,
and his talk will cover a range of recent and current projects,
including an artificial island in Graz, Austria, an adjustable
gallery in New York, and a clothing store in Tokyo.
On June 14, the show will be open from 11 am to 7 pm. At noon,
Julie Parchesky, director of product development for West Elm,
will present a talk on "Adding the Contemporary Touch."
West Elm is a subsidiary of Williams Sonoma that operates its
mail order catalog of contemporary home furnishings out of 55
Washington St. in DUMBO.
At 2 pm, the senior buyer for ABC Carpet & Home, Chris Kraig,
will talk on the topic of "The New Baroque." The Manhattan-based
store took a 10-year lease on 40,000 square feet of retail space
in 20 Jay St. at Plymouth Street in DUMBO last October.
At 4 pm, a Furniture New York panel discussion will address "Commissioning
Work: The Rewards and Mysteries of Custom Furniture." Furniture
New York is a not-for-profit organization that supports the city’s
furniture trade. Led by moderator and "furnituremaker"
Michael Puryear, designers Robert Martin and Scott Braun will
present some of their recent custom projects and discuss the
process of creating them.
Braun, vice president and programs chair of Furniture New York,
manufactures his furniture in East Williamsburg. He believes
the public needs to be educated about – and encouraged to explore
– the commissioning process. Braun says most designers not only
do custom work but also enjoy it.
"We’ve been planning to do some kind of event trying to
help demystify the custom commissioning process," Braun
told GO Brooklyn. "People often don’t even know I can do
[custom work]. If a client likes someone’s aesthetic, they should
pursue it. Fully 90 percent of us – if not more – derive most
of our income from custom commissioned work. We are willing to
work with people."
Braun’s 10,000-square-foot shop is open by appointment.
"Talk to the designer, tell them about your needs, what’s
important to you," said Braun. "For some, it’s budget;
others longevity; for others, high style. These are all things
the designer can help you with. That conversation is crucial."
Braun also explained that when you pick out a piece from a store,
you have to pay in advance and wait – often four to 12 weeks
– for it to be delivered.
"A custom designer will take that much time, but there’s
a built-in layaway plan," said Braun. "Only 50 percent
down until you get that piece. You don’t have to pay in advance,
so it’s more affordable."
Among the items Braun will have on display are his "ebonized"
("chemically altered") mahogany and calfskin chairs,
a new commission in progress, a "highly carved" waterfall
table, a colorful child’s rocker, a desk, nightstands, a coffee
table and a bench.
Joel Hoag, one of the four designers who make up the Bushwick-based
Elseware design collective says his artists come up with made-to-order
product ideas based on gallery show themes they generate. The
collective is also a creative consultancy.
"For example, an entrepreneur came to us who wanted a toothpaste
dispenser," said Hoag. "We also recently designed a
line of soft-sided coolers for a piece goods company, where we
just did the design work."
"All four of us will be exhibiting at Brooklyn Designs,"
said Hoag. "’Mazellaneous,’ [a wood shelf designed like
a maze] by Perry Dixon, came from one of the gallery shows surrounding
the word ’fuse.’ ’Mazellaneous’ came from things that confuse
and how much junk you collect and how confusing it can get."
In addition, Elseware’s booth will feature Daniel Harper’s ceramic
set of six tear-drop-shaped mugs in a circle, "Mugpie,"
and Hoag’s own "Squish Sink," a flexible sink made
of silicone rubber.
"It came from our very first show, ’Watershed,’ featuring
objects for the bathroom. This challenged the idea that sinks
are hard and cold," said Hoag, adding that he’s had some
success with the "Squish Sink."
"It’s in someone’s apartment now in the Village."
Elseware will also display Oliver Deckert’s "Aquariass,"
a Plexiglas fish tank cum toilet. "The fish are safe,"
assured Hoag. "There’s a separate container."
Hoag explained the group’s originality with the tagline, "Everybody
starts somewhere, we start Elseware."
Caila Rossi says her partner, the artist, architect and blacksmith
Walter Rossi, has a showroom in Manhattan, but makes and designs
his furniture in Crown Heights.
The Walter Rossi works that will be on display at Brooklyn Designs
will include new works and "a glass screen on wheels made
out of neon glass tubes and a brushed metal frame; a really sleek-looking
stainless steel dining room table and chairs; and some classics;
like a new version of our love seat," said Caila Rossi.
Brooklyn Designs promises to not only be a showcase of fine home
and office furnishings, but an exciting opportunity to meet and
quiz dozens of the borough’s talented artisans, who have enough
advice and skill to fill a DUMBO warehouse.
Guide to exhibitors
Brooklyn Designs will be on display at St. Ann’s Warehouse (38
Water St. at Dock Street in DUMBO) June 13-15. The show is open
June 13, 10 am-5 pm (for trade persons only) and 5-8 pm (to the
public); on June 14, 11 am-7 pm; and on June 15, 11 am-3 pm.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and free for trade persons.
All seminars are free with admission. Trade persons can register
at www.brooklyndesigns.net.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com, or at the
St. Ann’s Warehouse box office.
Many of the exhibitors’ workshops and ateliers are open to the
public by appointment only. Call for locations and appointments.
Brooklyn Designs exhibitors:
3 Square Design, (212) 989-4341
A Loomful of Hues, (718) 757-8572
Burgeoning Studios Inc. (917) 494-7994, www.burgeoningstudios.com
Chris Ross Furniture, (718) 599-6016
City Joinery, (718) 596-6502, www.cityjoinery.com
Dform, (718) 384-6887, www.dformdesign.com
Dominic Gasparoly Furniture, (718) 486-8166
DYAD Studio, (917) 612-4570, www.dyad.com
Elseware, (718) 366-0888, www.elsewareinc.com
Epoche Studios, (718) 387-6888
Eric Manigian Studio, (718) 855-9097, www.ericmanigian.com
Ethan Ames Builder, (917) 449-0515
Evan Hughes Furniture, (718) 643-0561, www.evanhughesstudio.com
Hive Mind, (718) 782-3539, www.hiveminddesign.com
Kea Carpets & Kilim, (718) 222-8087, www.keacarpetsandkilims.com
Martel Fab, (718) 963-4780, www.martelfab.com
Matt Gagnon, (646) 226-7859, www.mattstudio.com
Michael Puryear Furnituremaker, (212) 620-9607
Milder Office Inc., (718) 382-0767, www.milderoffice.com
Modern Modular by resolution:
4 architecture, (212)
675-9266
Rico, (718) 797-2077, www.shoprico.com
Robert Martin Designs, (718) 797-1183, www.robertmartindesigns.com
Robert Russell Furniture, (718) 388-3055
Scott Braun Furniture, (718) 381-9200, www.scottbraunfurniture.com
Scott Jordan Furniture, (718) 852-4935, www.scottjordan.com
Siegal Arts, (718) 855-8757
Space Manufacturers Corp, (718) 599-6722, www.spacemfrs.com
Walter Rossi, (212) 228-5840, www.walterrossi.com
Zia-Priven, (718) 398-6777
