People
His first foray into home rehabbing involved gutting and re-envisioning a 1920’s residence in Beverly Grove. Once on the market, that home received multiple offers and sold within a week. With his latest real estate investment, 8671 Clifton, Saghian has a bold new concept: His goal is to sell the Beverly Hills home, then stay on as the interior designer, working every step of the way with the new owners to create a truly customized dream home.
Headquartered in Martinsville, VA, Hooker Furnishings is ranked among the nation’s largest publicly traded furniture sources and encompasses 12 operating businesses. These brands include: Hooker Furniture, Bradington-Young, HF Custom, Shenandoah Furniture, H Contract, M, BOBO Intriguing Objects, Pulaski Furniture, Samuel Lawrence Furniture, Prime Resource International, Samuel Lawrence Hospitality, and Sunset West. Hooker Furnishings Corporation’s corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities are located throughout Virginia and North Carolina, and the company has showrooms in High Point, North Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Hooker Furnishings operates distribution centers in the United States, China, and Vietnam. The company’s stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol HOFT.
Low is a self-taught interior designer, albeit one who grew up with a mother who is an interior designer and a father who is a general contractor. At one point, Low’s mother asked her to take Sandra Funk’s Interior Design Standard program focused on the business side of design and to implement its templates, processes and recommendations in her mother’s business. “I went through the entire course in one day,” Low recalls, “and by the end of the day, I was like, ‘Oh, this is how you run a business!’”
“Bret is laser-focused on solutions for Trivantage customers,” said Leib Oehmig, CEO of Glen Raven. “He demonstrates every day the power of relationships and puts the customer first and foremost in every decision. Bret’s vision and tireless energy will serve him well as the next president of Trivantage.
Sunbrella is known for its durability and resistance to fading and stains. How do you balance these functional requirements with creating aesthetically pleasing designs?
GV: At Sunbrella, we never have to worry about compromising the look and feel of new designs to maintain performance. Sunbrella fabrics are filled with texture and softness due to our unique bank of specialty yarns, weaving and finishing techniques. Each fiber of every yarn is saturated to the core with UV-stable pigments, resulting in vibrant color that allows our fabrics to retain the same look over time, even after continual cleaning and usage.
“The Design Influencers Tour is a win-win for participants and for the sponsoring showrooms,” says Tammy Nagem, president and CEO of the High Point Market Authority. “This is one of our most popular Market programs and there’s a lot of brand exposure to be gained for everyone involved.”
HPxD also confirmed Emily Mansfield as Assistant Secretary. Mansfield is an accomplished and versatile human resources specialist and ceramicist living in High Point. Adept at building and maintaining relationships across all levels of an organization, her passion for organizational growth while fostering an inclusive and engaging work environment aligns with HPxD’s vision and values.
HPxD Board Officers Tom Van Dessel (President), Cass Key (Vice President), Frank Leyon (Membership), and Jack Hendrix (Treasurer) will continue in their roles.
In 2023, he launched an online store, Ryan Saghian Mode-De-Vie, which features a curated collection of furnishings, art, and accessories from his favorite trade vendors and artisans. He is one of the first interior designers to embrace the metaverse with his own virtual showroom, optimized for a fully interactive VR experience. Saghian received his Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Architecture and Design from the Art Institute of California.
John Conrad’s career in home furnishings has spanned nearly five decades. From furniture rep to executive director of the International Society of Furniture Designers to design podcast host, he’s worn many hats and still has his finger on the pulse. In conversation with DNN Editor in Chief Courtney Porter, John Conrad discusses what’s changed and stayed the same in the industry, what it’s going to take to make the industry attractive to young talent, and what keeps him excited about the industry.
Gunawan defines herself as a progressive architect. When people hear the term progressive architect they get intimidated. In her experience, people assume it means something technical and lofty, but she stands by the term. It means always improving, turning failures into opportunities. In practice that means building upon what already exists. This is the philosophy behind the name of her architecture design and build firm, The Only Way is Up.