On November 2, Business of Home held its very first field trip for members of its BOH Insiders community to New York’s legendary decorative painting and faux finishing school, the Isabel O’Neil Studio Workshop in New York. Designers Sarah Storm, Penelope August and Courtney McLeod, along with BOH’s editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen and founder Julia Noran Johnston, learned a painting technique to create a faux malachite finish on a pair of coasters. After the workshop, attendees gathered for lunch at a nearby restaurant to further network and connect.
The following week, on November 10, BOH Insiders experienced the expansion of Jouffre, the renowned French upholstery and drapery workshop, at their new workroom in Long Island City, Queens. Attendees, including Logan Force, Valerie Legras, Jacqueline Cutler, Catherine Blair, Michelle Jacobson, Luba Libarikian, Lee Hunt, Tomoko Saho and Christina Kim, learned about several extraordinary projects in the design and conceptualization phase (including 3D model printing) and met with seamstresses and upholsterers hand-making products. Jouffre’s team of experts, including head of Jouffre Ateliers Romain Jouffre and head of operations Nikita Shah, led the tour through the 18,000-square-foot space. After, attendees previewed specialty embroidered textile samples from Ateliers Lison de Caunes.
On December 1, BOH Insiders learned about period hardware, custom hardware and contemporary stock hardware at P.E. Guerin’s historic Jane Street foundry in Manhattan’s West Village. While touring the facilities, attendees, including Stacy Waggoner, Julie Liepold, Shannon Connor, Rosario Mannino, Katherine Wood, Katie Musorrafiti, Alix Calligeros, Kara Marmion, Janet Gorgone and Kacy Shepps, learned about the company’s storied history, experienced sand-casting in action and explored chasing and finishing processes with the foundry’s skilled artisans.
“These field trips have been such an extraordinary opportunity to connect more closely with our design community,” said Petersen. “Each one offered fresh insights into a unique corner of the industry, abundant inspiration, and a great way to meet and reconnect with peers. And this is only the beginning! I can’t wait to share what we’ve got coming up as we continue to grow this program and offer our inside access to our amazing members.”
