The showroom model gets ever more complicated—and fascinating—with the launch of The Stable, a new design collective by designer Frederick McSwain and PR maven Alexandra Polier. The Stable is presenting, for the first time in New York, works from metal fabrication brand Neal Feay and Swedish furniture company Fogia.
“We’ve always been looking for organic ways to show off a lot of the great design we’re seeing around the city and overseas,” Polier, who founded the marketing and PR firm DNA Strategic Consulting, tells Business of Home. “The whole idea came out of our relationship with Fogia, which is based in Stockholm. They didn’t have any presence here, and we thought there had to be a way of providing them some visibility.”
The Stable is located at 35 Great Jones Street, near Washington Square Park in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood, on a floor shared by Polier and McSwain. It’s a prime location, one Polier has held on to since she inherited it in 2016 and morphed accordingly based on the needs of her evolving business model. (Previous incarnations involved a photo studio and event venue.)
Before DNA, Polier was a staffer at Dwell, and has long developed relationships in the industry. Now, she hopes, many will come together to support The Stable and its makers. “Through our New York design base, we’re able to open the doors for these brands,” she says . “It’s a designer showcase, in a way—we’re able to promote the products, show them, and sell them as well.”
The vendors, which for now comprise Fogia, Neal Feay, McSwain, and lighting designer Carolyn Cartwright, pay for the representation that DNA provides in the space. DNA also has a revenue-share model in place—everything in the office is for sale, including the Fogia table that Polier has adopted as her desk. “We thought hard about the way we could put the puzzle together, put players in place where it wasn’t a competition but a synergy,” McSwain tells BOH. “It feels like a showroom, but at the same time it doesn’t. It has a warmth, it feels curated and collaborative. There’s a real energy.”
Following a decade or so of industry immersion, both Polier and McSwain were tired of seeing the same stuff: “There’s an oversaturation of certain brands in the marketplace now, without naming any names,” says Polier. “What you’ll see at The Stable, you won’t see anywhere else [in New York]. … We see this as a place where interior designers can find representation and find their footing. We want to turn it into a place for conversation.”
The Stable is open for appointments at 35 Great Jones Street in New York.
