After weeks and weeks of work, our showroom is finally open. We tried to share glimpses of the blood, sweat and tears that went into construction, but I’m afraid the five blog posts don’t quite do justice to the over 4,000 nail heads that were hammered into the upholstered walls or the panic and mayhem that ensued every time the freight elevator broke down. Those five blog posts don’t fully represent the early mornings or the late nights, when the D&D building was completely empty and eerily quiet but for a small pocket of activity in suite 1632. They don’t even mention the daunting task of covering the new wings, many more and bigger than before, with the fabric from the old wings and the latest arrivals from Venice. But somehow, we managed to get it done.
To celebrate the beginning of a new era, we threw ourselves a much-needed party Tuesday night. The first guests arrived at 5:30, and it wasn’t until their spirits were poured that we finally realized we had finished. The ingredients for the rest of the evening included delicious food, wonderful company, amazing music and that festive atmosphere that accompanies the feeling of great accomplishment.
We put our new bar to use serving wine, Prosecco and spritz al Aperol. Friends and family settled into different corners to chat over the musical stylings of the ever-talented Dave Cook on a stunning 1917 Steinway A-III grand, gratefully loaned to us on consignment. Surrounded by our lush Fortuny fabrics and the famed velvets of
Bevilacqua, the multi-national crowd of designers, press and our D&D neighbors mingled under the new spectacular glass lighting from the Veneto by
Vistosi and our very own Pietro Lunetta. By the end of the night, we all knew we had done an exceptional job.
It took many hands to build our showroom, but we would be remiss if we didn't specifically mention a precious few. We would like to extend a very special thanks to Barry Dixon, Laurel Mitchell, Michael Schmidt, Felice Ciancarelli, Patrick Clarke and the Celtic crews, and of course, Maged Riad for their incredible talent, diligence, hard work and faith in our ability to make this dream a reality.
Here are a few more images of the showroom, but you'll have to stop by in person to see it for yourself!
Raul retired last year after working at Fortuny for 40 years. Here he is with Marcos admiring the lighting designed by Pietro Lunetta
Wolfgang Zwiener with his wife and the manager of his restaurant: Wolfgang's Steakhouse in our very own NYC. If you're in search of unparalleled beef we recommend you pay them a visit!
Mona Riad with a true designer-to-be, Naomi Riad.
-Mick
images were taken by Mickey Riad and Dan Bloch
