LCR West Hartford Heads to the City

It’s that time of year again! LCR West Hartford will be making our fall shopping trip to New York City. We take 4-5 shopping trips each year and it’s always an exciting time for us; one of our favorite parts of the job. At LCR West Hartford we are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting artists from all over the world, and we are regularly searching for the next great thing to bring to our clients. Whether it’s a new gift line, a gorgeous new china pattern or a fabulous home accessory, we will be sure to find it! We cannot wait to bring it back to our retail shop and send it home with one of our retail clients or have one of our interior designers use it as a finishing touch in a clients home.

We love going to visit our favorite showrooms such as Michael Aram, L’ Objet and Michael Wainwright and seeing what new product they are debuting for the upcoming season. So far we have already set our sights on pieces from Michael Wainwright’s Capitol Collection, which is inspired by Washington, DC, as well as the new Sleepy Hollow Collection by Michael Aram. These collections will be great additions to our retail shop, especially as the holiday season draws near. The Capitol Collection makes a beautiful tabletop, especially when set with crystal stemware from Orrefors Kosta Boda. Michael Aram’s Sleepy Hollow Collection will make a stunning holiday gift or can be purchased as the perfect addition to your own entertaining collection. Including everything from cheeseboards, to casserole dishes, to wine bottle coasters; this collection has something for everyone. You can expect to see these collections online and in the shop for our Fall 2011 Season.

Another exciting aspect of our shopping trips into the city is the chance to bring new lines to both the shop and the website. Two and a half years ago, we discovered Tamara Childs, which is now a favorite line of ours. We love that Tamara was an American artist, working out of her studio in Seattle; as well as how pieces from the line harmonize beautifully with other collections, such as Annie Glass. Tamara Childs quickly became a go-to gift line in our retail shop, and is now the newest addition to our website. We are always on the lookout for new lines that we can bring in, paying special attention to any American artists we meet. From gift to tabletop, small home accessories to furniture; LCR West Hartford is always looking for a new and exciting addition to share with our clients. Shopping becomes an exciting adventure for home accessories as well. We take care to find unique pieces for our clients to fall in love with, knowing that this piece could be the perfect finishing touch in a room or an inspirational piece for a new decorating project. With a wide array of vendors to choose from, each with product from all over the world; we are able to bring in a wide variety of accessories, sure to fit any style of décor, color scheme and price range.

LCR West Hartford’s owner and lead interior designer, Peter Robbin, accompanies us on the shopping trip, not only finding home accessories for the shop but also for his own design clients. Peter has been an interior designer in the West Hartford area for over 25 years and enjoys selecting pieces on the shopping trips to be the finishing touches for current projects. Peter keeps in mind the colors of the project as well as other textures found in the room, as well as the scale, when selecting these pieces for clients. As we shop with him he is always sure to educate us on why he is selecting pieces so we can pass that information on to our retail shop clients as we are assisting them in selecting the perfect piece of home furnishing for their décor.

Many lines that are loved in our retail shop are also used by our interior designers in their designs for their client’s homes. Garden stools are an example of one home accessory that we carry in our retail shop that are quite often used by designers in a room. Robin Jones, an interior designer at LCR West Hartford, recently incorporated a turquoise blue garden stool in a family room that he is currently working on. It will sit between two wing chairs and will not only be a pop of color that finishes off the room but is also useful as a small table or extra seating. Peter Robbin recently purchased two Kushi Pourpre Chargers by Jaune de Chrome for a design client of his to be displayed in a new china cabinet. Because of the unique texture that the chargers have they stood out in the china cabinet and were a perfect backdrop to a beautifully set table. Jaune de Chrome is a newer line for LCR West Hartford; it has been in the retail shop and on the website since we discovered it on a shopping trip last year and decided we couldn’t live without it as part of our tabletop selection.

With less than a month to go until our big shopping trip we are excitedly counting down the days. It’s always a pleasure to bring back new product to share with our clients. This year especially you can be sure to see some great new finds that will prove to be the perfect gift for a loved one or a furnishing or accessory that serves as the finishing touch at home.