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| Apr 17, 2013 |
Celerie Kemble discusses her foray into furniture
Boh staff
By Staff

This week at High Point Market, interior designer Celerie Kemble launched her two new home collections: a 60-piece furniture line for Henredon and a 70-piece accessories and lighting collection for Maitland-Smith. The Celerie Kemble for Henredon collection consists of wood and upholstered pieces and represents Kemble’s unique point of view.

"I would describe the collection as a commingling of generations of design I admire, mostly 20th century," said Kemble. "It is softly modern, full of sculptural, glamorous, elegantly scaled and curated pieces that were inspired by my experience as an interior designer and lover of beautiful comfortable and practical furniture."

The collection includes rich woods like French and American walnut, mahogany and rosewood—plus other tactile design elements such as leather, iron, brass, eglomise, acrylic, aluminum and emerald green dyed penshell. Pieces include a lacquered crème leather console and a petal shaped oxblood leather-topped cocktail table.

"The biggest challenge was material selection," said Kemble. "I'm pretty fussy about finish and decadent when it comes to the idea that sophistication comes from layers and variation, so I wanted a collection that looked like a collector had been shopping centuries in terms of construction, techniques and finishes."

The Celerie Kemble for Maitland-Smith collection incorporates her favorite materials—bamboo shapes, gold leafing and a lacquered burned sugar leather, which she describes as “the color of crème brulee just before it burns.”  Exotic materials are evident such as dyed shells, faux shagreen, acrylic and brass.

Besides lighting and accessories, the collection also includes a few case pieces: a leather-inlaid bar, barstool, game tables and small occasional tables. Mirrors and screens round out the assortment, and all are chic, stand-alone pieces.

"This collection is much vaster in size and range than anything I have done previously," said Kemble. "To be honest, it has blown away my expectations—it exceeded my hopes!"

"When I first signed to work with Henredon, I wasn't aware of the full scope of what they could do and hadn't even considered the possibility of putting out a collection of accessories and lighting simultaneously," she added. "But, as we began working our way through strata of inspiration files and drawings the response I received form the Maitland Smith and Henredon creative and production teams was 'yeah, we can do that. Yes. Yup. Sure. We will find a way.'"

Daniel Bradley, President of Maitland-Smith and Henredon, is enthusiastic about the new licensed programs. He said, “Both brands will benefit from our association with Celerie.  She has a keen eye for detail and passion for creating one-of-a-kind, intriguing designs.”

"The process so far has been so invigorating creatively, off-the-chart exciting professionally, gratifying personally, and then sprinkled with moments of complete terror because we have all worked incredibly hard," said Kemble. "I am awed by the skills and sense of the Henredon, Maitland-Smith team."

Both collections with debut at the Henredon and Maitland-Smith showrooms during High Point Market, April 20-25.

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