Denver Merchandise Mart opens Western Home and Design Center By Susan Clotfelter The Denver Post POSTED: 01/12/2013 12:01:00 AM MST
The new owners of the Denver Merchandise Mart are having a soft opening of a new space called the Western Home & Design Center. This furniture is from the Eleanor Rigby Leather Company display. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
The new owners of the Denver Merchandise Mart are having a soft opening of a new space called the Western Home & Design Center. John Doyle, right, is CEO of the Denver Mart and Phillip Smith is designer and manufacturer for Steel Strike Leather Products of Buena Vista, CO that has a display. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
If your horse sense is humming on three busy frequencies this weekend, you're not hallucinating. There's the thunder of hooves from the National Western Stock Show. There's also the patter of boot heels from the Western & English Sales Association trade show, which opened Friday and continues through Monday at the Denver Mart, formerly known as the Denver Merchandise Mart. At that event, wholesalers of equestrian equipment and Western apparel strut their stuff for more than 6,000 retail buyers.
Embellished leather furniture from the Eleanor Rigby Leather Co. is on display at the new Western Home & Design Center (. Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Those attending the Western & English trade show are being treated to a first look at the Denver Mart's new Western Home & Design Center, which will help interior decorators outfit homes in true cattle-baron style. We're talking hand-tooled leather, forged metals, turquoise-embedded mesquite wood and the best that custom upholsterers, carpenters and other artists can offer. While the center is now a work in progress, it's aiming high. "There's nobody who competes with us in (showing) Western boots, apparel, tack," said mart CEO John Doyle. "We want to have that same presence in furnishings."
Doyle, with Woodhaven-Hawthorne partner Ted Herrick, bought the Merchandise Mart in February. So far, the private-equity real estate partnership has pumped $2.2 million of a planned $4 million into renovating and rebranding the facility, including mechanical and HVAC updates, renovating interior lobbies and facades, repaving the parking lot and repainting. Retrofitting the lighting was a huge project, but will cut the facility's energy consumption by 30 percent, the company's website says.
The new owners of the Denver Merchandise Mart are having a soft opening of a new space called the Western Home & Design Center. These colorful guitars are are part of the Steel Strike Leather Products display. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Doyle has 10,000 square feet in the new design center's showrooms leased now; another 10,000 square feet is likely to be taken by the end of February, with a third 10,000-square-foot chunk leased by the end of June — that last sector filled by smaller-volume artists. In 2013's fourth quarter, the home center is slated to get its own elevator, further defining it as a separate space within the Denver Mart. When the rollout is finished, Doyle said, "You'll be able to outfit a 10,000-square-foot log home in one spot and never have to leave. Or a 1,000-square-foot loft, if you're hooked on Western." Durable style
Left, the Heritage Oakridge Hutch Top by Green Gables. Far left, from Steel Strike Leather Products: a funky decorated guitar and the studded arm of a longhorn bench. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
Those who get hooked on Western design tend to stay hooked regardless of what the economy does, said Michelle Andrews, leasing director at the mart. "Like any industry, it has ups and downs, but it's not a fad. It's a way of life," she said. Andrews has been working to corral furnishing manufacturers for the center since June. Not just any vendors, either.
The new owners of the Denver Merchandise Mart are having a soft opening of a new space called the Western Home & Design Center. Detail of a leather table top by Steel Strike Leather Products from Buena Vista, CO. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
"We really want high-end in this area. We want the best of the best," she said. So far, the confirmed list includes 23 vendors, among them Steel Strike Leather Products Inc. from Buena Vista; the Eleanor Rigby Leather Co.; Rusticos Mexicanos; Desert Digs Fine Furnishings; Tahoe Rugs; Classic Forge; Handle-Bar Ranch; Kohler Lamps; Skyhawk Rugs; Scenic Mesa's Buffalo Collection; and Creative Western Design.
"These are artisans. These are not just furniture makers," Andrews said. "This stuff is handmade here, mostly in the Rocky Mountain region. Some is made in Mexico, but the Mexican cowboy was one of the first." To be clear: Like the Demver Mart it is located in, the Western Home & Design Center won't be a retail space. Consumers' access to it will be through its two concierge interior designers: Linda Johnston and Elizabeth Campbell, the duo who ran the 28,000-square-foot Rocky Mountain Home & Design Center in Evergreen, which shuttered in 2011. "But anyone can call the number on our signs and make an appointment," Andrews said. Johnston, Campbell or a client's own designer will be able to show the lines without the makers having to be on-site. That's what makes it cost-effective for high-end custom and artisan producers to be there. Johnston said she and Campbell will work with a wide range of clients, from those pursuing a single item to complete a room, to commercial or hotel accounts that might want six lobby-furnishing suites. While the price points will be a mix — it won't all be $6,000-to-$10,000 sofas — the merchandise definitely won't be sold at barn-sale prices, Johnston said. And she's comfortable with that. "I think people, whether they buy one piece or furnish the entire house, they're investing in their home, and they're staying home more. And they're entertaining," she said. "So they want something that's different and unique." Building an institution An eventual goal for the Western Home and Design Center is that its vendors become "a true association," Andrews said, with a board of governors that figures out its own rules and becomes self-sustaining. The Western & English Sales Association, with its nine-decade history and two trade shows a year, is one model of such progress. WESA has made a 10-year commitment to having its two annual shows at the merchandise mart. Doyle and Andrews said such events will likely be in the mix for the design center eventually, and might be somewhat akin to the Western
Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in September. But they will have to be carefully thought out. "It's like any other event that you try to do — you try to see where other events are and be complementary," Doyle said. Right now, Doyle, whose home is in Austin, Texas, is spending every other week in Denver to shepherd the continuing updates to the mart and the home-design center's rollout. He characterizes the latter as a natural offshoot, but one that will endure. "Western furniture is still relevant, and will always be relevant," he said. "It may be hard times in the mountains, but people will still spend money on Western furniture." Susan Clotfelter: 303-954-1078, sclotfelter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/susandigsin
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October | november 2013
From Cowboy to Contemporary
Among Masters: Howard Post Remington’s Nocturnes Art Through the Lens of Science Pared Down Elegance: Frank Welch and Texas Modernism
plus:
Wanderings: Salt Lake City, Utah Architecture in the West: From Scottsdale to Park City A Life They Know: Cowboy Artists D. Michael Thomas, Charles Dayton and Cary Schwarz
Designing the west
Fresh Western
In an expansive new showroom at the Denver Mart, the Western Home & Design Center curates an eclectic collection of Western furnishings from top artisans, furniture makers and craftsmen written by
Eliza Cross
Much like the fashion industry, interior design trends come and go. Yesterday’s “almond” appliances give way to brushed stainless steel, and wall-to-wall carpeting is replaced with sustainably sourced bamboo. The interior styles and colors that are in vogue today may be outdated next year, but Western design’s iconic forms and classic lines seem to remain perennially popular. From Molesworth-inspired furniture to Navajo rugs to materials such as solid wood, tooled leather and hand-woven wool, Western furnishings tend to embody good design, sturdy materials, inherent craftsmanship and lasting quality. In a new, 30,000-square-foot space, the Western Home & Design Center at the Denver Mart corrals more than two dozen vendors of Western-style furnishings, from handcrafted furniture such as leather sofas, hand-tooled chairs and oversized dining tables to original art, rugs, lighting and accessories. The brainchild of Denver Mart are owners John A. Doyle and Ted Herrick, the space is a sprawling complex where designers and store buyers can see a wide variety of furnishings displayed in appealing vignettes. On-site interior designers Elizabeth Campbell and Linda Johnston help visitors navigate the large collection. “I think people continue to be intrigued and inspired by the romance and history of the Old West, and that’s part of the reason why Western design remains classic,” says Campbell. “Our vendors are true craftsmen, and the pieces we offer have such character at many different price points, from small accessories to highend, one-of-a-kind artworks. Many of our lines offer custom options like uphol-
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This page: The Eleanor Rigby Leather Company’s Urban Cowboy features unique stitching details and topgrain leather. Photo: Courtesy of Eleanor Rigby Leather Company Opposite, clockwise from top left: A mirror trimmed in shed antlers is by Gilende Dittrich Designs. | Showroom furnishings are arranged in vignettes, like this arrangement featuring a chair from The Great Blue Heron Furniture Co., a rug by Escalante Rugs, a Desert Digs chest and artwork from Ashton Fine Art/Kellogg Home. | Turquoise inlaid table and chairs are by Andy Sanchez. Photos: Povy Kendal Atchison
stery in hair on hide, leather cushions or antique brass nail-head trim. Steel Strike Leather Products will even put a hand-tooled, personal leather brand on your furniture. We can get very creative.” “Western design is informed by many historical cultures: Native American, Spanish and even the settlers who arrived here with their Victorian furniture,” says Johnston. “We represent styles ranging from rustic to Modern, with pieces for cowboy cabins, ranch estates and everything in between. You can furnish a whole house or just pick up one unique piece to build around like an Andy Sanchez turquoise-inlaid table, which is truly a piece of art in and of itself.” The Denver Mart is open to the trade only, serving buyers from retail establishments and businesses as well as professional interior designers. Individuals who are looking for
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Designing the west
Western
flair
for Every Design Discipline
The Denver Mart’s Western Home & Design Center represents a wide-ranging variety of eclectic furnishings and styles, and the staff encourages interior designers to stop in with their clients and explore the offerings from these vendors: Always Unique American Natural Resources Andy Sanchez Blue River Traders Carol Braden Guitars Classic Forge Cleveland Creek Log Furniture
Creative Western Designs Desert Digs Furniture Eleanor Rigby Leather Co. Escalante Rugs Gelinde Dittrich Designs The Great Blue Heron Furniture Green Gables Furniture
JLT Studios Karen Kreek Camp Design Kellogg Home/Ashton Old Hickory Furniture Co. Rohma Mesquite Rusticos Mexicanos Silverado Home
Skyhawk Rugs Sonoran Range Southwest Looms
furnishings can gain access to the exclusive complex with their designers. “If your designer doesn’t belong to the mart, call us and we’ll come down and escort you both up to the showroom,” says Campbell. “If you’re not currently working with a designer, you can work with one of the mart’s concierge designers; just check in at the front desk and ask for an introduction.” The center’s furnishings can work in many different interiors, according to Campbell. “Our primary draw is the Western market, but we encourage
This page, from top: The mixed media Rodeo guitar is from Carol Braden Guitars. Photo: Courtesy Carol Braden | Antiqued cowhide is trimmed with a hand-tooled damask motif in The Eleanor Rigby Leather Company’s Weatherford collection. Photo: Courtesy of Eleanor Rigby Leather Company
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all designers to come in — no matter what style they’re working with — because they might find that one eclectic piece that works in any setting,” she says. “For example, because of their graceful shape, antlers can look terrific in contemporary interiors; you might try an antler-trimmed mirror in a modern context. A chair or stool covered in Tibetan goat can add textural contrast and a touch of whimsy to a room. The great thing about our showroom space is that it gives designers the opportunity to mix and match pieces on the spot and see firsthand how things look together.” In a new, 30,000-square-foot space,
Western Home & Design Center at the Denver Mart cor-
the
rals more than two dozen vendors of
Western-style furnishings, from handcrafted furniture such as leather sofas, hand-tooled chairs and oversized dining tables to original art, rugs,
lighting and accessories.
Western furnishings can work in traditional settings, too, Johnston says. “Eleanor Rigby’s tooled leather furniture looks perfect on a Persian rug; the combination is evocative of an English library. The tooling is elegant and doesn’t scream Western, but the piece would also be right at home in a ranch or mountain setting. Some of our rug vendors offer Navajo-inspired patterns that go very well with different styles and color palettes. Pendleton has an Arts-and-Crafts line that looks great in a bungalow, and the hues of brown, turquoise, red and burnt orange can
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Designing the west A barrel chair is customized with Western detailing, including hair on hide, leather cushions and antique brass nail head trim. Tibetan goat covers a whimsical antler stool from Sonoran Range. Photo: Povy Kendal Atchison
add a pop of color that really brightens a room. Tables with iron bases often have crossover appeal, and you can accessorize with
a rustic antique barnwood piece or a vintage movie poster. Sometimes just a pop of Western will add pizzazz to a room.” “Western design pays homage to the American West and a proud, elegant way of life, with influences from European, cowboy and Indian heritage as well as historic lodge, ranch and hacienda settings,” says Steel Strike Leather Products’ Philip Smith, who was one of the center’s first tenants. “It’s an enduring style that remains truly classic and timeless.” Eliza Cross (www.elizacross.com) is a senior contributing editor for Western Art & Architecture and the author of five books, including the award-winning Family Home of the New West (Cooper Square Publishing). A member of the Authors Guild and American Society of Journalists and Authors, she has written more than 250 articles for a variety of national and regional publications.
Karen G. Schultz painting and sculpture
Award of Excellence “Showcase Sunset” Western Art & Architecture 94
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Sunset Galleries · www.karenschultzart.com · 806-358-9953
Western Home & Design Center your inspirational resource for
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