That, and another coffee and I’m ready to rock!
Filed under: Personal Notes | 2 Comments »
This poor guy, like so many this winter…needs a nice cup of hot chocolate. If you’re dreaming about summer, this video will help!
Stay warm…it’s cold outside!
Filed under: Personal Notes | 3 Comments »
I woke up at 5AM this morning with a major craving for corn beef hash, so with coffee in hand, I started click’n for recipes. I found this one at The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. No time this morning, but this evening I’ll be picking up some missing ingredients for tomorrow’s breakfast…
Hope you have an awesome day!!!
Filed under: Great Food | 3 Comments »
They’re based in Dallas, and their collection is so cool and modern, but still light and organic. The company was started by Mark Moussa in 1987, and they are now a leading award winning company catering to Designers and retailers. 
Feast your eyes on some more of their awesome pieces….
The website says they’ll soon be blogging. I’m really looking forward to reading it. I’m now a big fan of Arteriors Home.
You guys are awesome!
Filed under: Cool Peeps, Furniture I Love | 4 Comments »
I was walking home from the coffee bar on the evening of the Epiphany. That’s the night that La Befana visits all the children, and brings them presents and chocolate. All of a sudden a parade of people started coming down the street, and of course my camera was in hand 🙂
Sorry for the blurry video!
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Right about now I should be touching down in Washington D.C. It was such a wonderful month in Italy, but now it’s time to get back to the grind in the U.S. So much to do, so much to accomplish! I have only two shorts weeks to prepare for the Las Vegas Furniture Exhibition…
Filed under: Personal Notes | 5 Comments »
In this post, I would like to introduce you to a really cool dude named Michele Gargaro. He’s a young man I worked with at a factory in the south of China. Together Michele and I braved conditions that I could never truly describe here in this post. It would take a 100’s of pictures and 1000’s of words to even get close.
Michele’s father was one of the great craftsman in the art of making upholstered furniture in southern Italy. When he was just a young boy, he worked in his father’s factory in Italy during the summers and weekends. There, he also learned the fine art of handcrafting upholstered furniture just like his father did before him. Sadly, Michele’s father passed away years back, and along with our industry, Michele eventually found his way to China.
Michele simply has a level of talent and experience I’ve never before seen in a young man of his age, and I learned so much from him during our time together. Each morning we would walk together amongst the sea of humanity and uniforms through the vast courtyard past the open sewer system, to get to the long bank of turnstiles. We would wait for our turn to scan our badges and pass through to the factory buildings. Then the long walk down the dark dirty hallways to get to our shared office in the prototype room.
I was designing, and he was engineering. Every couple of hours we would sneak away to the bathroom across the hallway for a cigarette. The conditions in this bathroom were unspeakable! I do have a photo of it, but I’ve decided not to post it just in case you will be eating soon. I can tell you this…each day a man would come in with a big hose, and spray down the walls, floor, and the toilets which were just holes in the floor! As we stood in there being careful where we put our feet, and not to touch anything, the conversation would always be the same…”How are we going to get out of this place!”
Because both Michele and I were not so fond of the chicken feet, bird heads, and the other unidentifiable foods in the cafeteria, we would escape from the factory complex each day for lunch, driving past the pig trucks we headed to the nearby town of Danshui. And of course over lunch the conversations about our final escape and starting our own company’s would continue. And of course after returning from lunch the first stop was that dreadful bathroom for one last cigarette before returning to work.
Well, the reason that I always say believe in your dreams is because I did get out, and today I’m living the dream of my own company. Also several months ago I got a call from Michele, and he’s finally made his great escape too, and he’s now back in Italy living his dream as well! Last weekend he came to Gioia Del Colle to pick me up, and take me to see his new prototyping shop. He’s now running his own small company. I’m so happy and proud of him!
His company is located in his home town of Santeramo, and he now has several small local furniture factories as clients, and he’s making their prototypes for them. He has one sewing machine and two work stations. Take a look at him in action in his new shop…
Congratulations Michele! You’re living proof that dreams do come true if you believe and never give up!
If you happen to be launching a furniture line and need samples and patterns made, or an established furniture company looking to outsource, contact Michele at gargaromichele@hotmail.com
Filed under: China, Italy, Personal Notes | 3 Comments »
Design On The Edge 