Oh Canada!

As I walked around the From Quebec showcase, I couldn't help but imagine myself at the Montreal Expo of 1967. I've conjured up a faux nostalgia for the World's Fair of yore. I can only imagine the collective ooh and ahs as nation's peddled their finest wares. Luckily for me, From Quebec was able to recreate the kind of futuristic wonder one might have felt under Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome.


This World's Fair feel was enhanced by the hands-on nature of product display. The Quebecois designers were in house for a show and tell, encouraging guests to test their products and ask questions. Like moths to a flame, many attendees lined up to touch Olonia's interactive light panel. This luminescent wall piece responds to your touch changing color and mood. Hands-on, indeed!


Other products were equally as colorful and eye catching, including plastic zip ties used for light shades and Brut's animal cutting board (the Rat design, a nod to New York), pictured below.



Many of the featured designs emphasized their mode of production. Although these designers are aesthetically driven, they also insist on supplying method and material specifics. They are re-imagining design as a total process. It's no wonder then that you could have found me poring over the À Hauteur d'homme display. I was interested to see a relatively new company embrace the same craftsmanship mentality toward wood as Grange. À Hauteur d'homme draws inspiration from the material itself, believing if you start with quality material, you will create a lasting and durable piece of furniture. Sounds familiar, no?


From Quebec is open through October 22nd. Drop by their pop-up store and be transported, if not light-years, at least a few hundred miles to Canada's innovative capital.

Bastille Day!

Happy Bastille Day!

In honor of the heritage of Grange Furniture and the great influence that France has had on design, I thought I would write a little bit about Bastille Day.

Bastille Day is the French national holiday celebrated on July 14th each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (National Celebration) and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, a feast and celebration that was held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14,1789. The Bastille was a prison in Paris, which the people stormed and seized in 1789, starting the French Revolution that toppled King Louis XVI and the aristocracy. Bastille Day is a historical symbol of revolt against injustice and festivities are held on the morning of July 14th on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris

If you want to get your French fill on Bastille Day, New York City has a large Bastille Day celebration each year on 60th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the Empire State Building is illuminated in blue, white and red.

Take a look at some of these inspiring photos…How have the French influenced your design?

It's HOT!

As the temperatures soared near the century mark along the East Coast this week, all I could think about was laying by a pool with a cold fruity drink in hand. Apparently, I am not the only one! As I spent time with our showroom managers this week, they were hectic busy with placing orders for summer homes in fun, bright, custom colors. This inspired me to learn a bit more about a few of the popular “summer home” lines.

I am absolutely in love with our St. Tropez outdoor collection. It reminds me of refined and sophisticated wicker, perfect for feeling at home, outdoors and in!

The light weight and weather resistant aluminum frames are wrapped with Hularo ® - an especially durable synthetic fiber with variations in texture and color similar to natural wicker. The result is a stylish piece that is impervious to heat. But outdoor use isn’t the only way to use the St. Tropez collection. Check out the way that Daher Design (http://daherinteriordesign.com) included the collection in an indoor setting – calm, cool and serene.

Check out these chic photos. Makes me want to relax in the sun!

Runway To Room!

On the evening of June 14th we at GRANGE hosted an upscale event bringing together the worlds of fashion and interior design. Runway to Room was an immense success! Three top New York interior designers were chosen for the challenge. The Runway to Room challenge consisted of creating a room vignette (using GRANGE Furniture of course!) inspired completely by a fashion trends. The stunning vignettes can be seen in our showroom through the summer.

Armando Lugo created a hot and sultry vignette inspired by Oscar de la Renta. “Luxe de Caribe” brought the feeling of old Havana Nights into the showroom mixing glamour with a cool Caribbean feel. You can almost feel the tropical breeze graze your skin when you see his designs. And those gorgeous gowns? They are thanks to fashion designer Jose Luis Victoria.


Lisa Frantz and Lydia Marks’ (www.marksandfrantz.com) room creates a harmonious juxtaposition of rocker chic and demure glamour. Basing the design from the recent designs of the late Alexander McQueen, Lisa and Lydia tastefully created a soothing and soft, yet interesting area of rest. And check out that dress! It is completely made from paper, how chic!



Designer Harry Daniell (http://www.harrydaniell.com/) brought together his expertise in fashion AND interior design to create a sophisticated space for work and play. Yes, that is right, Harry is not only an interior designer, but also has a line of clothing (Horse Country) that was featured in NY Fashion Week! He even did a photo shoot for his line on site! Harry created a masculine space featuring rich textures and colors that would make anyone want to kick up their heels and pour an expensive glass of scotch. The space truly melded his country club chic fashion designs into an interior space.

Throughout the evening, our guests, an eclectic mixture of interior designers, fashion designers, clients and friends mingled through the vignettes nibbling on French Cheese and crudite (provided by “The Works” (www.housingworks.org/social-enterprise/the-works-catering), red velvet cupcakes provided by “Baked by Melissa” (www.bakedbymelissa.com) and rum for cocktails provided by “Cabana” (http://cabanacachaca.com)). All of guests had the opportunity to wander, network and even shop (“Derek Loves Shopping (www.dereklovesshopping.com) and Julie Jewelry Designs were there to provide a shopping fix). A silent auction was held with the proceeds going to benefit Housing Works – a charity created to help those afflicted with AIDS, and $6000 was raised that night!
A an intern and aspiring interior design student, it was a privileged opportunity to be part of such a high profile event that still went to benefit an altruistic cause. I was fortunate enough to witness the event take shape and to see how each designer put a diverse and unique spin on their vignette. If you want to see these stunning vignettes for yourself, come check it out at the Grange Furniture showroom in the New York Design Center.