Andrew Martin's Flagship New York Showroom Displays High-end Fabrics, Smoke Machines and 15-foot Buddhas
January 29, 2004
NEW YORK – Andrew Martin, Britain's second largest privately owned international furniture and fabric house, opened the doors in October to its U.S. flagship store in New York.
The company is relying on this venue to attain in the U.S. the kind of fanatical acclaim Andrew Martin has known in Britain for decades. If the past few months are any indication of the company's future here, Andrew Martin is, to say the least, in good shape.
The showroom comprises two floors of the D&D building annex on 59th Street and Third Avenue and is open to the public. Manager Chris Aliverto said he mainly hosts interior designers and architects in the 5000 square-foot space. Its 20-foot ceilings make the showroom an ideal setting to display 15-foot Buddhas, one-of-a-kind rocking horses and eerily lifelike tigers. The permanent collection of vintage cars, smoke machines and a 1904 wood and canvas biplane alone make a visit worthwhile.
Martin Waller, founder and Managing Director of Andrew Martin, launched the business because of his love for stores and belief that trade is the source upon which all great civilizations thrive. "The great cities of antiquity, like Alexandria, were full of traders who exchanged silks, spices and artifacts," he said.
Andrew Martin's showroom is reminiscent of the great trade routes of yesteryear, staying true to the company philosophy to "surprise, stimulate and astonish." Waller is an attentive shopper who has honed his skills at trade markets in Africa and Thailand, and in such obscure locales as northwest Burma – where he was the first Englishman to have visited in forty years – which do not have markets at all. He scours such place for inimitable, zany treasures to furnish the Andrew Martin collection, an assortment of handmade pieces, quality reproductions, and high-end fabrics and furniture.
Andrew Martin introduced the fabrics – formerly sold in the U.S. through Kravet – at Decorex 2003. Its high-end leathers, velvets, sheers, silks, linens and wovens are manufactured internationally and are produced by multiple mills, including Nelen and Delbeke & Co in Belgium and Edward Turnbull Company in Britain.
Fabrics comprising the collection include a floral watercolor line inspired by the paintings of Elizabeth Blackadder, a first-of-its-kind fiber optic-based line called Luminex, a fresh line of Safari from the Thackerey collection, and the sassy Footloose line, designed to complement the razzle and dazzle of city life.
Waller said interior decorating should begin with a search for attractive objects. "A good place to start is with a thing, not a paint color or fabric," he said. "Those come into play later." The New York showroom indeed contains a vast array of "things" to start with. The collection contains traces of Pop Art; vintage Coke machines and Cadillacs; the singles scene of 1960s Playboy magazine; tin textures, and a "celebration" of the color white.
The ceremony for the annual Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award took place in December at the new showroom to much fanfare. The event was co-hosted by Martin Waller and U.S. House and Garden Editor Dominique Browning, and was judged by Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell and Babbington House's Nick Jones. Beating over five hundred entrants, New York-based designer Jamie Drake – whose repertoire includes Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Gracie Mansion, New York's City Hall and a showplace for Madonna in Los Angeles – eagerly accepted the honor.
The company is relying on this venue to attain in the U.S. the kind of fanatical acclaim Andrew Martin has known in Britain for decades. If the past few months are any indication of the company's future here, Andrew Martin is, to say the least, in good shape.
The showroom comprises two floors of the D&D building annex on 59th Street and Third Avenue and is open to the public. Manager Chris Aliverto said he mainly hosts interior designers and architects in the 5000 square-foot space. Its 20-foot ceilings make the showroom an ideal setting to display 15-foot Buddhas, one-of-a-kind rocking horses and eerily lifelike tigers. The permanent collection of vintage cars, smoke machines and a 1904 wood and canvas biplane alone make a visit worthwhile.
Martin Waller, founder and Managing Director of Andrew Martin, launched the business because of his love for stores and belief that trade is the source upon which all great civilizations thrive. "The great cities of antiquity, like Alexandria, were full of traders who exchanged silks, spices and artifacts," he said.
Andrew Martin's showroom is reminiscent of the great trade routes of yesteryear, staying true to the company philosophy to "surprise, stimulate and astonish." Waller is an attentive shopper who has honed his skills at trade markets in Africa and Thailand, and in such obscure locales as northwest Burma – where he was the first Englishman to have visited in forty years – which do not have markets at all. He scours such place for inimitable, zany treasures to furnish the Andrew Martin collection, an assortment of handmade pieces, quality reproductions, and high-end fabrics and furniture.
Andrew Martin introduced the fabrics – formerly sold in the U.S. through Kravet – at Decorex 2003. Its high-end leathers, velvets, sheers, silks, linens and wovens are manufactured internationally and are produced by multiple mills, including Nelen and Delbeke & Co in Belgium and Edward Turnbull Company in Britain.
Fabrics comprising the collection include a floral watercolor line inspired by the paintings of Elizabeth Blackadder, a first-of-its-kind fiber optic-based line called Luminex, a fresh line of Safari from the Thackerey collection, and the sassy Footloose line, designed to complement the razzle and dazzle of city life.
Waller said interior decorating should begin with a search for attractive objects. "A good place to start is with a thing, not a paint color or fabric," he said. "Those come into play later." The New York showroom indeed contains a vast array of "things" to start with. The collection contains traces of Pop Art; vintage Coke machines and Cadillacs; the singles scene of 1960s Playboy magazine; tin textures, and a "celebration" of the color white.
The ceremony for the annual Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award took place in December at the new showroom to much fanfare. The event was co-hosted by Martin Waller and U.S. House and Garden Editor Dominique Browning, and was judged by Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell and Babbington House's Nick Jones. Beating over five hundred entrants, New York-based designer Jamie Drake – whose repertoire includes Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Gracie Mansion, New York's City Hall and a showplace for Madonna in Los Angeles – eagerly accepted the honor.
