Today in Boston, interior architect Amanda Pratt unlocks the doors to Salon, her new contemporary design space—a concept store, gallery and studio with a focus on furnishings and art by female designers.
“Women are underrepresented among galleries like Salon,” Pratt tells Business of Home. “Women are definitely making headway, but there is still a long way to go before female designers and makers reach parity in both representation and valuation of work.”
Pratt says that many women in the industry continue to rely on trade shows as a platform for debuting their work, which require a large upfront investment without the individual focus that galleries often have. With Salon, she wants to give both emerging and established female designers a place to showcase their work.
“I was 13 when my father put me to work as a laborer on one of his construction sites,” says Pratt. “While I was less than thrilled to be nailing floors all summer, what I have come to understand is that these early jobs my father forced upon me taught me an invaluable lesson: There is nothing a girl cannot do. Now I have to pass this message on to my three daughters. Salon is my answer.”
Marrying her love of art and design with the desire to create a platform to help women in the industry, Salon is a passion project for the designer, who launched Amanda Pratt Design in 2012.
Her hope is that the new gallery will continue to represent original content. The first exhibition, titled "Lawless," showcases furniture and lighting from Aratani Fay. Product from designers Shanan Campanaro of Eskayel, Brit Kleinman of AVO, Aja Blanc of Ben & Aja Blanc, Stephanie Dedes Reimers of Sarkos Wallpaper, Ayako Aratani of Aratani Fay, Alexandra Vaga of Source and Tradition, Debra Folz and more will be on display.
The gallery grand opening will be held this evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at 126 Charles Street in Boston. "Lawless" will be on view until November 17.
