Check out Décor House

The great news just keeps coming! My newest Allison Paladino Collection for E.J. Victor gallery has opened in Coral Gables, Florida at Décor House Furniture, during the gala opening of Décor House’s new design center and showroom last month.

The South Florida social schedule is always a whirlwind of excitement during December, but this was a party to remember! Co-sponsored by Décor House Furniture and Ferguson Bath, Kitchen and Lighting Gallery, it rained like cats and dogs the night of the opening, but the weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the more than 500 special guests who enjoyed the sneak peak at the new space, great music and champagne. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to catch up with many of my good friends in the design community and get personal feedback on my furniture designs.

Owner Pepe Rodriguez is rightfully proud of the new space and was just as excited about the turnout for the event. Plus, he said he expects my soft modern furniture designs to really resonate with Décor House’s design-conscious customers.

I’m honored by his confidence and thrilled to have a new venue for everyone to see my work, particularly in such a fabulous store. Whether you’re in the business or just love great design, Décor House is well worth a visit. Find it at 4119 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33146, 305-448-6200.

(Left to right): Senior interior design partner Zita Rudd, Allison Paladino Interior Design, John Hunter, E.J. Victor, Pepe Rodriguez, Me! and Madeline Rodriguez, Décor House Furniture.  

To our Clients, Colleagues and Friends in the Media:

We’ve got exciting news to share and want you to be among the first to hear!

I'm proud to report that business at the design firm is on the upswing and we are very busy, with a growing client roster and multiple projects throughout South Florida, as well as New York. My furniture collection for E.J. Victor is also gaining new placements in retail stores and design centers across the country, as well as international venues.

Just last month, we opened our first international gallery in Panama, at Addison House, a high-style contemporary home furnishings chain that also has showrooms in Aventura and Miami. Addison House represents more than 100 of the finest furniture manufacturers in the world, primarily from Europe, Brazil and Indonesia, and I’m thrilled that the Allison Paladino Collection for E.J. Victor is now represented among their offerings. I had an opportunity to travel to Panama for the Grand Opening of the gallery, and it was a great experience for me to interact personally with the store’s executive team, and to introduce their customers to my designs.

As this busy and exciting summer winds down, I’m hard at work preparing for the upcoming High Point Market. I’ll be sharing more about the new designs I have planned for introduction this Fall in upcoming reports and blogs, but watch for news about the modern, low-profile Legend sofa named for my friend Steven Avitale, senior director of furniture galleries at Ralph Lauren, and the over-sized Kuester club chair, and 1930’s French-inspired coffee table with a waterfall edge. All push my design aesthetic (and comfort zone!) further into the modern realm and I can’t wait to show you!

Finally, if you are attending the High Point Market, please mark your calendars now for Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at 2 p.m. and join me in the E.J. Victor showroom at 116 S. Lindsay Street in High Point for a special seminar: Luxury Design Insight 2012. I’ll be joined for the talk by Sarah Kammlah and Cecilia Berber-Thayer. Ellen Gefen, host of Home Fashion Report and editor of thehome.com is moderating. We’ll be focusing on key trends and the changing needs of the high-end consumer. Email erikab@ejvictor.com to reserve a spot!

Allison Paladino Interior Design is in Growth Mode!

by Allison Paladino

Good news to report! While signs of a newly percolating economy and revitalized housing market remain elusive for many, we’re expanding our executive team at Allison Paladino Interior Design. We’ve also added a new design position in order to meet the increasing demand for our services.

Here’s the scoop: Zita Rudd who has served as senior designer for the past five years has been promoted to the position of Junior Partner of Allison Paladino Interior Design.

As many of you know, Zita—who emigrated to the U.S. from her native Holland as a teenager—is something of an American success story. She was born and raised in Amsterdam and relocated here at the age of 14, literally knowing how to say two words in English: hello and goodbye. A hard worker, she joined my firm following graduation from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and her perseverance and drive were apparent early on.

“I’m a multi-tasker, and there are so many working parts to a successful project that there’s always something new and exciting to deal with,” Ziti says. “There’s never a dull moment around here, and I take great pride in working for this company. Allison challenges me every day and she’s given me a great opportunity. She’s taught me what it means to make clients’ dreams come true.”

(O.k., I’m blushing).

Seriously, I’m incredibly excited about Zita’s more senior role moving forward. Over the past five years, she has grown into an integral and invaluable member of our team. Talented, efficient and personable, she has proven herself capable of assuming increased responsibilities and she’s earned this new title.

Our client roster is growing and we have multiple projects underway throughout South Florida, as well as New York and the Allison Paladino team is rising to the challenge. Please join me in extending warm welcomes to Zita in her new role!

Stephanie Dining Table Named Best of Market!

by Allison Paladino

Wow! The May 9, 2012 issue of industry trade publication Furniture/Today just hit the newsstands and the Stephanie Dining Table was named to the publication’s bi-annual “Best of Market” section.

Introduced two weeks ago at the High Point Market—the world’s largest home furnishings trade show—the Stephanie Dining Table is among the newest additions to my furniture collection at E.J. Victor.  Offered in two different sizes (84 and 96-inches), I designed it without a leaf to simplify peoples’ lives. The oak table surface is an interesting checkerboard pattern, surrounded by a textural apron. The table’s legs are situated in horseshoe patterns above a pair of dramatic C-shaped stretchers (does it remind you of a certain fashion house logo?) and have been carefully positioned to ensure everyone around the table enjoys plenty of leg room. 

The news this Market was a new, lighter finish called sand. While lighter finishes and oak and typically associated with more casual looks, the story here is about sophistication. Until now, I’ve focused on beautifully rich, dark woods like crotch walnut, rosewood and zebrawood in all of my designs for E.J. Victor. This season, I was inspired in part by the needs of my luxury interior design clients--many of whom are gravitating toward lighter finishes--and in part by the juxtaposition of light and dark.

In the background of the picture, you see my new Lorelei Cabinet, a terrific companion piece to Stephanie, with its creamy limestone top and alternating wave pattern door and drawer fronts. Lorelei is also decidedly smaller scaled and lower in height to leave enough room above it to accommodate a great mirror, wonderful painting or a TV in spaces with lower ceilings. This is a multi-purpose piece that could be used as a dresser, buffet, media cabinet or bar. I love its undulating curves, which remind me of a wave.

Both of these pieces, along with the accompanying Parker Dining Chairs, could only be produced by a company like E.J. Victor which is steeped in the art and craft of quality furniture making. Achieving the wonderfully warm sand finish requires a complicated bleaching process that few other companies would even attempt today and certainly none domestically. I am tremendously gratified that furniture like this can still be produced in the U.S., and to be working with the incredible craftspeople required to bring it to fruition at E.J. Victor!

Heading To High Point Market!

PERFECTLY PALADINO

By Allison Paladino

Two of my favorite weeks of the year, professionally speaking anyway, land in the months of April and October. Clients, friends and family (and just about anybody who knows me including the postman) have come to know them as “Market.” This is the time when each Spring and Fall, an entire industry converges on a small city in North Carolina called High Point.

If you’re an industry insider, you may know that some 85,000 people from around the world--manufacturers, retailers, designers like myself, suppliers of every stripe, as well as hundreds of members of the press, from design bloggers (hello!) to shelter magazine and newspaper editors--will be coming together next week in what’s known as the world’s home for home furnishings (aka High Point) for Spring Market 2012. With 180 showroom buildings, that span nearly 10 million square feet and the entire downtown of the city, trust me when I tell you it’s a trade show unlike any other on earth.

Market Week (think Fashion Week with chairs instead of super models) is officially set for April 21 to 25^th, but preparations have been underway for months. Right now, my friends in the area tell me the normally quite city streets are a beehive of activity with trucks unloading product and showroom personnel painting, pushing, packing, unpacking, and well, you get the idea. And while I may be hundreds of miles away down here in the Sunshine State, I’ve been hard at work getting ready for the big show too.

For one thing, I designed some of the furniture that will be hitting the runway next week (and yes, I think my designs for E.J. Victor definitely qualify as super models!), and I’m incredibly excited to see my vision go from the first sketches in my notebook to prototypes to the showroom floor. No matter that I’ve been imagining every angle, fabric and finish (sand!) in my head for months. Seeing it come together at last, and how everyone who visits the showroom reacts to the new designs, takes my breath away every time. Right now, I’m like a playwright who nervously paces the theater lobby on Opening Night, waiting to hear the audience laugh at all the right moments in the performance.

But it’s not just anticipation that’s keeping me pacing the floor the past few nights. I’ve been busy preparing for a keynote presentation that I’ll be delivering next week in High Point as well. Last December, I got a call from the people who handle the educational seminars at the International Home Furnishings Center (the grand-daddy of all the Market’s showroom buildings) to speak about the business of interior design. My assignment? Talk to other designers, media, students and other Market attendees about what’s important now, from the creative process to building a personal brand as a designer. It’s a great honor to be asked to speak and I’ve taken getting ready for this special event very, very seriously! If you’ll be in High Point, and would like to attend (cheer me on please!), email lchastain@imcenters.com for reservations. I speak Monday, April 23 from noon to 1 in the 11^th floor ballroom of the IHFC Green Wing and afterward will take attendees on a personal tour of the E.J. Victor showroom.

And if you’re not attending High Point Market, just stay tuned! I’ll be posting reports (with plenty of pictures) here from the center of all the action to keep everyone I know, in the know! 

Posing in the E.J. Victor showroom last Market.