I can never be in North Carolina without having a scratch-made sausage biscuit for breakfast. OK, so these things are not on the top of the healthy foods list, but they are soooo good!!!
It was a great week spent with my client Metro Home Furnishings. But now it’s time to go back to Philly…
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This week in North Carolina is all about doing the final tweaks to our new furniture designs at Metro Home Furnishings. We’re going over every inch of the new modular concept, and we’ll be applying some great new fabrics that I’ve totally fallen in love with. I may even be proud enough to post some photos soon.
While I’m here, Robert Thomas the Sales Manager for Metro, is graciously hosting me at his mountain top cabin home in Fancy Gap, Virginia. It’s just over the state line from Mount Airy, NC, and it’s a magnificent place! His property borders the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The luckiest part is the meteor shower. Last night I woke at 3AM to see it, but it had become cloudy. I was so bummed I was missing it. But tonight I went outside and the sky was completely clear! Pitch black! The stars are so vivid up here at 3,000 feet with no light polution. You can see dense clusters of stars. It’s totally awesome! And I’ve seen 4 shooting stars so far tonight 🙂
I wish I had a really good camera with me, but here’s some decent photos I took with my sony phone. Oh! Did I mention there’s a horse out back too?!
I had to stop and photograph this old house on the way down the mountain this morning. It just makes my imagination wander to the history it must have sheltered over the many years. I really love this photo.
And finally, tonight’s dinner was pork tenderloin in the oven with peaches, ginger, garlic, and other spices, with baby red potatoes and a Caesar salad. It was SO good!
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It was so great to see Natuzzi at the Market. Having previously worked for the company for almost a decade, it was so nice to go back and see old friends and colleagues. And, the Natuzzi showroom and American headquarters building is an amazing work of art. It was designed for Pasquale Natuzzi by the famous architect Mario Bellini. Take a look inside…
The furniture inside is just as amazing. Pasquale Natuzzi is solely responsible for sparking a whole industry. He simply made leather furniture “cool” and affordable. And, he did it with an unrivaled talent, determination, and vision for living beautifully. Take a look at some of the amazing pieces from this Market…
Gorgeous! The top of European style. Thanks to Sherry, Lauren, and their team for the amazing presentation, and an awesome lunch too!
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Right now I’m working on a couple of features from the furniture market. I will hopefully be able to post them very soon. It was a fantastic show. The mood was very upbeat, and I saw people writing business. Our new pieces also sold very well. Soon I will be able to talk about where our new designs will be available. We’re so excited! In the meantime, here’s some random images from the show…
Angelo Surmelis and I at the Natuzzi showroom
Entrance to Halo Styles showroom
One of our new designs introduced by Metro Home Furnishings
Cool funky chairs by Aribesque
Beautiful tufted wing chair by Burton James I’m going to need one more button on this chair…
“Ok” says Richard Brown
Awesome occasional chairs and ottoman by Candice Olson
Great chandeliers always make me stop and stare!
Union Jack Ottoman by Halo Styles
The upholstered VW in the Culp Fabrics lobby.
My good friend Craig Ruse. I will need to write a post about him. He’s such a wonderful person. One of the coolest, and most interesting peeps I know.
More to come…
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The feeling in the showroom is so hip, cool, and wonderful. And just like the showroom, every piece of furniture is a work of art! We’re talkin’ some serious decor porn. The best way I can describe them is…Antique glam meets mod cool! Here’s some more…
There are so many images I could never post them all. Visit their website. If you’re into this as much as I am…you’ll be there for a while! And check out this really cool video…
Much more to come. Stay tuned for coming posts about Natuzzi and Culp Fabrics…
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I learned two extremely important things today at the furniture market. Number one, never never never buy brand new shoes for the show. And, I’ve now learned this for the 50TH TIME! The second is, I’m a terrible photographer…especial when I’m on a mission to see everything I possibly can.
I did manage to take a lot of photos, and I saw some truly amazing things the first day! It’s really going to take me some time to organize it all, and be able to post it all properly. So for now, here’s a sneak peak…
I was shopping some fabrics for a manufacturing client of mine today, and I ran into Art Barber, the owner of Charleston Forge. Art and Susan Barber’s talent is matched only by their passion and integrity. Truly wonderful people. They own a real steel forging factory in beautiful Boone, NC. We’re talking real craftsmen hammering on anvils. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Awesome!
Art told me I wouldn’t believe his showroom, and that dude was not kidding! They have been long known and admired for their rustic hammered tables, and hand forged bakers racks. I walked in the showroom and I was blown away! This “aint” your mamma’s bakers rack…
I will post better pics and much more about them soon. They’re stuff is totally hip!
Later I went to the coolest showroom I’ve ever seen in High Point! Seriously! The company is Aribesque. It’s owned by Tracy Krohn. Words and these photos cannot truly show the totally amazing showroom and collection she has created. Check…this…out…
She does upholstery, tables, barstools, art, accessories, fabrics, bedding, and more. And it’s all amazing! I’ll try to get better pics, and I will post more about her and her amazing company soon.
Ok, one more and I have to call it a night. I started at 5:30 this morning and it’s now after midnight.
This next company blew my mind!…Haute House They’re located in Los Angeles, and these totally awesome pieces are designed by a guy named Casey Fisher. You gotta see this!…
This stuff is SO on the edge! I love it! I’ll definitely be posting more on this…
There’s was a lot more…it was a long day. My new pieces at Metro Home Furnishings have done really well. I’m very excited about the results so far. I will let you know the details as things progress 🙂 By the way…the second container was spotted somewhere around Papua New Guinea, and it will arrive on Wednesday…after all the buyers are gone. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow…for dreams to come true.
At the end of a long and wonderful day, I got to share dinner with two very special people. Tom Erdman, and Angelo Surmelis. We had a great dinner, and lot of fun together.
Dinner was lobster bisque, and a cheeseburger. Yes, you read that right…lobster bisque, and a cheeseburger. It was an awesome recommendation Tom! By the way, if you don’t know who Tom is…check out his blog. Besides being a great person, he’s also a gifted writer. And, he will write the most well written email explaining that he’s not. Tom a top expert on product development, and the logistics of getting it to the market. Tom knows the furniture business!
Angelo Surmelis you all know, and if somehow you don’t…welcome back to earth! Where have you been? Please tell us what you saw out there! He’s so great, so cool, so genuine, and so much fun. He’s also my favorite design dude in the world!
Goodnight all…can’t wait to hit the ground running tomorrow…much more to come, so please stay tuned…
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Design On The Edge 