Yesterday evening, the Avery Boardman showroom in the Decoration & Design Building opened its doors to more than 200 industry friends and unveiled its fresh new look, the first revamp in more than 20 years.
Guests joined Avery Boardman President Dennis Scully, CEO Darren DeMatteo, and J+G Design partners Georgie Hambright and Jennifer Beek, who played a major role in creating the new look.
From left: Darren DeMatteo, Dennis Scully, Jennifer Beek and Georgie Hambright
"When I first arrived at Avery Boardman, I thought, here’s this venerable brand that needs a bit of fluffing up and the infusion of a young voice," said Scully, who celebrated his one year anniversary with the company last week. "J+G Design turned out to be our botox injection! As soon as we stripped off the tired drapes and mirrored walls, I let Jennifer and Georgie loose with our catalog and the clear directive—show me something new."
J+G started by ripping down all the heavy drapes, putting up a fresh coat of paint, and bringing lots of color in, according to Hambright. "We really wanted this to be a place where people can come and get ideas," she said. "A lot of showrooms in the D&D Building can be intimidating and stuffy, so we wanted this to be very approchable and we wanted to attract a younger demographic who maybe doesn't know so much about upholstery. I think this is a really good mix that both old clients and new clients will appreciate."
After being introduced by an industry friend, Robyn Pocker of J. Pocker and Son who took care of all the framing in the showroom, Scully, Hambright and Beek got to work on the re-imagination of not only the showroom, but the company.
Other vendors who helped make the showroom re-design possible included Studio Four NYC, Canvas, Christopher Spitzmiller, DwellStudio, Uplo, Nicole Cohen's Trespass Collection and Drusus Tabor.
"I am incredibly excited. This is beyond my wildest dreams, honestly," said Scully. "The showroom looks fantastic, and I knew that, but I didn't know that we would be able to draw this kind of a crowd and reintroduce Avery Boardman to this big a group a people in one night."
Party guests from top: Ken Wampler, Patrick Hamilton, Darrin Varden, Young Huh, Harry Heissmann and Sampson, the Studio Four NYC team, Georgie Hambright, Robyn Pocker and Jennifer Beek
Notable attendees who came out in a rally of support included Pocker, Harry Heissmann, Darrin Varden, Patrick Hamilton, Charles Pavarini III, Young Huh and Ken Wampler, among others.
"So this is really the first step in creating a more welcoming and inviting environment," said Scully. "The next step is building on that and training my sales staff to be as energetic and welcoming as the showroom suggests. And, I love J&G, I never want it to end, hopefully it won't."
Avery Boardman showroom staff
"Avery Boardman is such an established brand and we're so excited that we got to help re-shape it and bridge that gap for new and emerging designers," said Hambright. "We wanted a fun mix and I think we attained that."
Stay tuned for EditorTV coverage with Sophie Donelson from the evening.
