Cautious...or risk taker?

Our ad. in Luxe Interiors+Design and in Rolls Royce Bi-Centenial book

When budgets are tight, it is really a tough decision to either go forward and invest in marketing and advertising, or sit tight and be cautious. I guess, I am more of a risk taker in my personal and professional life, and I chose at a time when business is the most challenging and tough, to expand the brand, invest in advertising, marketing, added an experienced  sales and marketing director to our team, who will be calling on architects, designers and  project specifiers for the hospitality industry.

The process of expanding the Interieurs brand, which is known for its industrial chic furniture and style,  was first to relocate  our New York hip Tribeca location to a contemporary 2 story space with outdoor terrace in the heart of the design District, on 58th by the D and D building. That was quite a risk and our clientele espressed really strong reactions to the move. However, I felt the brand was getting too locked into a specific look.

Did I make the right decision? ... I will find out. All I know is that I am more scared of inertia than being bold.

To describe Interieurs in 3 words...Modern...Global...Eclectic. 

I took a gamble and played our ad campaign (as seen above) on the modern luxurious side of Interieurs. We will also participate in Designing Greenwhich in early November and our booth  will be curated with furniture and lighting reflecting my vision of modern  eclectic.

I also display our antique and industrial pieces on  First Dibs, as seen above. We are actually in the process of changing our store front . I put together an advertising plan to give our first Dibs store front more visibility. I chose a mix of our latest lighting collection , the Simon Collection (introduced in my previous post) and my newest designs, contemporary Wave bench, the Xander sofa and the Ethiopia inspired Kamara buffet

Below is the ad campaign currently running on First Dibs. I would love to hear your opinion..

A Bientôt,

Francine

Inspirations... Modern Eclectic

Interieurs Showroom

January could be referred as "mensis horribilis", dismal business, hardly a client in sight, very few purchase orders.... Having just returned from antique shopping in France, a full container ready to leave, I start fretting, worrying about the state of Business and its enormous financial demands...running a showroom in New York is not for the faint of hearts. I actually run 3 separate businesses, Scenes d'Interieurs d/b/a ... Interieurs ... which is the furniture, lighting, accessories Showroom featuring the Interieurs furniture collection, unique antique pieces and other exclusive collections... Interieurs Inc., which is the wholesale component of the business and Interieurs Design Studio which as it clearly states is the interior design element. I need to be constantly abreast of new products, materials, be inspired to design new pieces for the interieurs collection, understand the upscale market and its demands, utilize the new marketing tools and keep a presence as a key player in the industry.

Getting ready to pitch a new client or an existing client is always a challenge. We had a presentation last friday for an amazing client, incredibly stylish, creative and extremely prominent in the entertainment industry. The client mentioned that  2 top internationally known designers also wanted the project. That kind of challenge is exactly what I needed to chase the blues. In the midst of the frantic gathering of materials, inspirations, preparing boards, CAD elevations and floorplans, I received an email from probably my favorite client from our Tribeca showroom. He had just sold a very large penthouse to a foreign buyer and wanted to show him a few ideas of what could be done with the space. We had 2 days to present an electronic  portfolio of our work  that would be relevant to this amazing space. At 4 AM, my alarm clock woke me up, coffee in hand,  I mentally enter this truly amazing apartment with 360 views of Manhattan, a giant glass fish bowl of sorts, on top of the world. I envision a young, successful single person living there... 

Modern eclectic came instantly to me... not the expected pure contemporary design, but a mix of modern, with surprises of warm wood, corky pieces, custom lighting that would define a space, give a glow and some warmth and a cosmopolitan fee. The international client, whom I may never meet, might spend very little time in this penthouse.

Portfolio ready, I also prepared two inspiration collages the would more clearly define my vision of the space. This prospect is a real long shot as he may have a specific designer in mind, but it was a great exercise to re-awaken my creative juices.  

Inspiration: Eclectic

Inspiration: Contemporary eclectic

Do you have a favorite?

A bientot,

Francine

What Might Have Been....

Last fall, Linda O'Keeffe - then Creative Director at Metropolitan Home - , photographer Antoine Bootz and I worked on a photo shoot for what would have been featured in a Spring 2010 issue of Met Home. Alas, days after the shoot, HF-USA announced the closing of Met Home. The designers whose projects had been shot and slated for later publication were able to purchase the images for their respective shoots. Below are a few of the photos taken of my client's very special duplex apartment in West TriBeCa complete with wrap around terraces that loom above the Hudson River.

Originally our client had retained the incredibly talented Clodagh to design the space. A few years later, she called me at my design studio for a meeting to discuss a new interpretation she was envisioning for the space. After many long meetings we were able to re-interpret the space and redesign the main rooms to create a soft, harmonious, sexy feel.

The first time that I ever agreed to sit for a portrait
for a magazine project photo shoot

Living room: it took us close to a year from concept to installing the wool
and silk rug. I was inspired by a photograph I took of rippling water.

The chaise was custom made in walnut, it is
now part of our Interieurs esprit collection

The bedroom was envisioned as a spiritual retreat.
We designed the bed with soft silk chenille textile.

Custom daybed designed to echo the feel of the bed

We kept Clodagh's original bathroom
because it perfectly reflected our sensitivity

Daughter's bedroom

The inspiration behind this media room came from a photograph
of my son and I sitting in a common room of one of my favorite hotels
in the Palmeraie of Marrakech. The silk rug was custom made as
were the sofas. The pillows were cut out of antique shawls.
The chair is from l'Eclaireur in Paris.

The following detail shots were not part of the Met Home spread. They were taken by Michael Grimm for our own records. Most objects are tribal artifacts, and I actually carried the antique alabaster statues of Buddha in my bag from a trip to Burma.