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December 23, 2009

All I want for Christmas is less poverty

All I want for Christmas is......actually I want a million things, not really for Christmas or for myself, but for the world. At the top of my list is the alleviation of poverty.

I know, I know, that will be a long time coming or "nah soon come" as my Caribbean family would say. BUT, there are many ways that as individuals, we can play our small (or large) part in poverty alleviation - through giving. I love the idea of giving rather than increasing personal collections of STUFF.

With the help of technology, we can easily give to people near and far through organizations like Kiva, Tia Foundation, and Doctors Without Borders, SheaYeleen, ACCION, the list goes on and on...

Each of these organizations provide solutions against poverty or provide access to health care (which is intricately linked to poverty - if you can't work due to illness, then...well you get it).

Kiva for example, offers unique gift certificates which allow the recipient to make a micro loan to entrepreneurs around the world and once repaid your happy giver can decide to lend again and again. What is not good about that?!!?

Find a way to give, of yourself. Personally, it is my favorite thing to do.

Happy Holidays! I cannot wait for the new year!!!

-Stacy

November 6, 2009

Green Home Chicago

I've been on a quest to find partners and customers who really truly love beautiful products AND live by the standards for sustainable design and green building.

Here's one I've added to my list and I hope you find resourceful. Green Home Chicago http://www.ghcdesigncenter.com// is the mid-west's pre-eminent destination for Green Building products and LEED certified projects.

Located in a modest space in the Fulton Market neighborhood of Chicago's west loop, the showroom is well appointed, yet carries everything that you can possibly imagine and need for design projects: furniture, flooring, lighting, cabinetry, counter tops, ...EVERYTHING.

Founder Karen Kalmek, a South Africa native, has committed the space as a Leed certified resource for Green design and education. To help clients avoid green-washing, GHC has produced a 10 point product classification system. You don't have to remember them all, nor does a product need to meet all points. But it's great to have criteria (to which you can add your own) to see how products measure up.

Ideally its great if the product meets at least 3 of the criteria listed here.

1. Recycled content
2. Non-toxic
3. Locally produced
4. Sustainable/renewable resources
5. Cradle to cradle - product can be used, recycled
and used again without losing any material quality
6. Green manufacturing processes
7. Certifications
8. Artisanal/handmade
9. Community building/poverty alleviation
10. Vintage/reclaimed/repurposed

My additions
11. Durable/Long Lasting
12. Socially Responsible
13. If a product is not locally produced, the design and quality should justify shipping across the world.

October 13, 2009

Preview of our new website



Web site redesigns can cause more stress than preparation for the GMAT (I took them more than once so I know how stressful they can be). The dilemna of a color and font selection, layout, host servers, preparing against hackers, etc.... the absolute angst and sleepless nights. The thought that geez, "my friend/web developer is going to hate me when this is all over." In the end its all worth it, but the process is as painful as a pre-mba word problem.

I'm proud to say that we are almost in the final stages...of deciding on colors and font... Here's a preview of our homepage and an inner product page. Notice the change in font type and colors. That's where we can't decide which is best.

We're going for a relatively clean space dominated by white background images namely because its the standard for high-end furniture and because our furniture doesn't need too much embellishement.

Now we need your help.We would love your feedback. Tell us your thoughts: what do you like, what don't you like? Is there something missing?

Thanking you in advance for your candor....

Stacy


August 29, 2009

Summer Fun and lighting

Adult Summer fun in design and architecture.


Last night, I attended the opening night party for the Architecture and the City Festival organized by the AIA San Francisco. The venue, Arkitektura In-Situ, was FANTASTIC!


Despite the 90+ degree temps outside, and the 95+ 90% humidity inside, the space was lively and filled with nearly 700 architectural and design professionals.


I was drawn to fantastic design in lighting. Here are some of my favorites.

What a fantastic take on the chandelier. Hand-cut Swarworski Crystals. Oh my!



I literally felt like a moth attracted to lightbulbs. Of course, sans the fear of getting burned.

Modern, yet serene lighting and seating.

June 16, 2009

Modern African Furniture at the San Francisco Design Center

The San Francisco Design Center has a new addition: you guessed it, Contemporary African Home.Contemporary African Home's Studio Furniture: Essence Cocktail Table and Ultra Modern Sofa

Contemporary African Home's premium furniture and decor collection was recently picked up by Gaul Searson Ltd., a well-established designer showroom in the San Francisco Design Center.

This is a huge milestone for us as we establish our footprint as a premium line of goods from Sub-Saharan Africa. The SF Design Center is one of the premier design centers in the country, serving the interior design industry and bringing forth cutting edge concepts in green living and globally inspired design. We at CAH are constantly working to bring our products buyers and consumers in the luxury furniture space while distinguishing the CAH line as a sustainable, luxury line of furniture made by Africa's best Artisans.

Visit CAH at the SF Design Center: Gaul Searson Ltd. Showplace #300, 305, Two Henry Adams, San Francisco, CA

June 15, 2009

Off-topic: why I discourage use of a broker in startup funding

I know this is completely off topic of design but its related to funding a startup, so I thought I'd share.

In tough economic times, when so many small business owners seek additional funding, there's often the temptation to engage funding groups or brokers to apply for small business grants on our behalf.


One of my consulting clients was recently approached by Las Vegas Funding Group. For a fee of $3,000, these brokers offer services related to "assisting and aiding clients to identify and apply for small business grants." I can just imagine these guys working out of a trailer in the middle of the desert and driving away when things get hairy. But I digress....

Here's a quick summary, (besides the aforementioned trailer desert scene), why this can be a bad idea.

  • In addition to charging the small business an up-front processing fees ($1,500 - $3,000), these brokers also charge the Foundation or Governmental agency a broker fee of 3% to 5% of the grant amount!
  • Although the fee is not a direct expense to the small business, the cost comes in the now very small pool of Foundations that the small business can approach. Why? Most Foundations will not work with brokers.
  • With fee-based broker assisted applicants, money leaves the Foundation and a sizable portion doesn't reach the target beneficiary. Keep in mind that Foundations need to justify grant allocations and total costs related to recipients.
    • Example: Startup X requests and receives a grant for $50,000: in addition to the flat up front processing fee paid by Startup X, the brokers also also earn 3-5% of the grant. The greater the grant, the greater the broker's fee. e.g. a $500,000 grant garners a fee of $15,000 to $25,000!!!!
    • At a time when foundations have lost so much of their portfolio value and are at the same time faced with increased demand for grants, the pay-out of sizable brokers fees or commissions doesn't make economic sense.
  • Government grants specifically prohibit the build-in of a finders fee or brokers commission as part of grant applications.
  • Last and VERY Important, grant funding brokers require clients to sign a "non-circumvent agreement." This agreement prohibits clients from independently seeking grants from other sources during the contract period (usually 12 months). Buyers Beware!!!

Check into these alternatives for grant writing and funding assistance:
  1. Your local SBA office has tons of resources
  2. Organizations like Skoll Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation invest in social ventures as well as provide references for other funding sources
  3. Grant writers/consultants will work for an hourly fee or a flat cost per grant (no hidden fees)
  4. Try connecting other small business owners who have been successful in the grant-writing process.

June 9, 2009

Christies Interiors - Art of living

Good information from some the best specialists in all things collectible, design, art, etc.

For over a century the auction houses Christies and Sotheby's (my alma mater) have been synonymous with good collections and having tons of information on everything luxury. The catch is you need to pay for it - at minimum you had to buy the catalogs. However, over the last few years, Christies developed an incredible website full of information that was previously reserved for paying customers. My friend Kristen De Bruyn and her team are constantly adding more umph to the site and recently added Christie's on the Go for us "busy" folks who only have time for social media. Go Christie's!! Go Kristen!!!

May 2, 2009

What is African Furniture?

Very African Chair in solid laminated Wenge by Contemporary African Home

Over the last two years, I've been challenged with questions regarding the definition of "African furniture" and the place of African goods in the global marketplace.

In one very telling exchange, the owner of a well-established African Art Gallery insisted that products from the Contemporary African Home line would have a better chance of success if we didn't tell anyone that the furniture is African because, "it just doesn't Look African."

Yes, yes, I was as perplexed and offended. However I didn't want to unleash my New York/New Jersey attitude out all over this woman (who, btw, is a black Kenyan). So in response, I asked, "What do African Products look like?" Her reply told me what, in her mind, African products DON'T look like: "Your furniture is modern, the lines are clean, it is well made," etc., "no one is
going to believe that this was made in Africa." She went on... "just call it Contemporary Furniture."


Contemporary African Home's very modern Showcase Sofa with Mosaic Ribbon Arms

As absurd as it sounds, I'm thankful for that conversation because it reminds me a) of the need to speak on the long-standing history of fine craftsmanship found in so many regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and b) of the need to break away from the narrow definitions of "African goods." The expected examples being either unprocessed raw materials or ceremonial art and tchotchke which fall into a 3 buckets: 1) the originals with provenance and acquisition issues attached, 2) the well made replica which may or may not be presented as an original, and 3) the made-in-china mass produced item that you can buy in TJMaxx for under $20.

To those of you who'd expect that African products be broadly defined and reflective of the diversity of people, resources, and talent found throughout the continent, I agree with you! However, I've learned that the proliferation of this idea will come after a whole lot of targeted product branding efforts and the increased footprint of the wide array of African products in the global marketplace. Only then will we see a mind shift on "what is African."

I hope this shift comes with a greater demand for quality, value-added goods from Sub-Saharan Africa and that those goods support the continent's talented entrepreneurs.

April 27, 2009

Let's move away from Planned Obsolescence

Here's my idea: let us minimize waste of resources in furniture creation and see more cost savings over the long term.

How? Move away from products created in the space of planned obsolescence.

Planned Obsolescence is the opposite of long-lived products and usually:
• Includes product made to fail within a specified (short) period of time. Think of Furniture that you buy knowing that it will fall apart in less than 3 years.
• The manufacturer has used inferior quality components which drives product failure, and in turn, the consumer to repurchase or replace said product within a short period (3-5 years).
• This is an "OK" model with rapidly changing technology. However, with certain goods like furniture and home décor, it’s downright misleading, because the real costs related to the product are hidden.

Example: The cheaply made $500 table may be a fraction of the cost of its a well-made, more expensive counterpart.

However, think about replacing that $500 table every seven years (if you’re lucky). When you add up the ten purchases of "that table" over the average 70 year lifetime, the total cost of having the inferior table is $5000!

That doesn't include the cost of shipping, handling, tax, financing charges, disposal, shopping time, etc.

On the other hand, think about buying furniture that lasts a lifetime and as a result, can be passed on to your kids or grand kids, gifted, resold, etc., AND INCREASES IN VALUE OVER TIME!

Above: Contemporary African Home side table in solid laminated wenge.


I always think about my Trinidadian grandparents who were very humble people with very little money. But oh boy did my grandmother love her depression glass collection and her solid antique Victorian high boy. She and my grandfather (innocent bystander) bought those items from their savings when they were newly married. Those pieces are still holding strong in my dad's home nearly 70 years later.

April 22, 2009

Green Side of Luxury Furniture. Cont'd

Previously, I posted my top-of-mind criteria when it comes to purchasing furniture and the green side of luxury furniture.

Not only should we think about 1) the efficient use of (scarce) materials, but also 2) how much product is created. Do you ever get that sick to your stomach feel when you walk into a shopping center and there is just so much stuff? Custom orders are very good for the environment. We're less likely to make an impulse purchase and less likely to quickly dispose of it, if we take the time to think about what we're ordering.

Some additional criteria for evaluating the Greenness of Luxury Furniture:

3) The Product Longevity of Luxury Furniture. We should seek out products constructed to last more than 2 human lifetimes. That's not so hard, in principle. However, longevity also means the product should be:
  • Designed to serve its purpose. Is it functional as well as beautiful?
  • Aesthetically pleasing over a very long timeline and in different cultural contexts. There are many examples in French, Italian Renaissance, mid-century furniture (which has now made a revival), and African Furniture (such as traditional stools and hand-carved doors) which last for centuries and increase in value over time.
Side note: If a product has a shorter life span, then the materials MUST be easily biodegradable and the financial and environmental costs related to acquisition and disposal should be minimal.

And last but not least, I come to my fourth criteria...

4) Price - Is the product price supported by the quality and longevity? The answer should be a definitive YES!
  • The expected life expectancy of a product should be positively correlated to its price. (sorry throwback to my finance days).
  • Products made to last beyond one’s lifetime will inevitably have a higher price to cover the costs of superior production, material, and design.

A shorter life should be positively tied to a lower price. However, lower price doesn't mean lower cost to the consumer over a long period.
Look for my forthcoming note on planned obsolescence.

The Green Side of Luxury Furniture

In the space of Luxury Home furnishings, I believe that we must offer consumers well designed, long-lasting products that make extremely efficient use of (scarce) materials.

In honor of the official Earth Day, Joe Gaul of GaulSearson asked me to share some thoughts on the Luxury Side of Green. Here are some of what we'll discuss at GaulSearson's showroom in the SF Design center later today. I'll be adding to this series, including responses to our discussion, over the next few days.

The original question was: What is the Luxury side of Green? I think the better question is: What is the Green Side of Luxury? Why does the commitment to superior quality, long-lasting furniture and home decor mean a greener planet?

My response was to develop some criteria for Luxurious & Green Furniture:

1. Use of material - look for the efficient use of scarce material: Veneers, laminated or engineered woods, and other materials which are made to biodegrade with minimal impact to the environment AND minimal likelihood of product failure.

2. Building for demand, aka custom, is oh so green because manufacturers and craftsmen who offer this service don't produce in excess of consumer demand or what the market can sustain.

There is a clear distinction between building for demand and what has become the common trend of flooding the market with product with the purpose of driving down prices. Think volume discounts and dumping practices of some manufacturers.

The questions we should pose in the face of excess supply (even though it's cheap) include:
  • What is the source of the resource?
  • Is this level of production sustainable?
  • What about shipping, disposal, excess waste? What are the long term costs of manufacturing, shipping, storing, and disposing of all that stuff, over and over and over.

Which brings me to my next criteria...Product Longevity and Price. Please See next post.

April 19, 2009

Taking the Show on the Road




Here's an old concept which is regaining popularity: the trunk show! It's as easy as finding a location, inviting friends, customers, etc and showing up with some eye catching product.

Above left: Hand printed damask napkins, malachite jewelry bowls and wood finishes from the Contemporary African Home 2009 Collection.

Above Right: African quilts, Throws, and modern hand-printed damask tablecloths.

Last week Contemporary African Home was invited to Dana Skinner's home in Marin county. We had a great time presenting our textiles, wall decor, and Dana and her friends enjoyed checking out our wares.

April 17, 2009

Hand spun cotton


What's not to love about hand-spun unbleached cotton? I can't come up with an answer. Well, maybe that there isn't enough of it out there. Then again, the scarcity is probably due to the time consuming process which requires the diligence of saints.

This natural white throw is made of hand-spun cotton from Cote d'Ivoire. Once spun into thread, 2" wide strips are woven by hand and then tacked onto a natural cotton backing. 100% Natural Comfort. 100% Green. 100% Luxurious.

March 26, 2009

Hand Printed Damask

Textiles are a wonderful way to change the look of a room with a simple change of accessories.

Throw pillows, table linens, curtains, duvets, etc., made with the right choice of fabric, will add color and texture to any space and should be chosen to enhance existing furniture.

Contemporary African Home's textile collection features premium table linens, runners, and pillows all made in the hand block-print transfer technique.


In hand block-printing, a wooded plate is created with the artist's design pattern. The design is then perfected and color themes are selected. Fabric is then secured onto a table where the design is transferred by applying the dye or pigment (in the form of a thickened paste) onto the plate, which is then evenly stamped onto the fabric.






The block stamping process is repeated until the entire fabric design (dimension dependent) is complete. Pigments are then fixed and lastly, excess dye is removed by washing. If the pattern is complex or involves multiple colors, the fabric is then pinned or waxed, and secondary colors applied.



Contemporary African Home's Artists create hand block printed textiles on damask. Damask is known for its wonderful sheen created in the double weave which is reminiscent of silk, yet requires the simplified care of cotton. Our damasks include 100% cotton, cotton-polyester blends and 100% silk.

March 12, 2009

Making the table


Many West and Central African countries can boast highly skilled craftsmen in the home and decor sectors. These men and women use the most rigorous processes and the best materials: mortis-and-tenon joint fittings, engineered solid woods (laminated wood as opposed to press board), bronze molds using the lost wax casting technique (used most famously by the Italian Rennaisance artist Michelangelo), hand-block printed textiles, etc.

These items have centuries of technique in each detail resulting furniture and accessories created for beauty and timeless longevity.

The Side Table: Simple, yet beautifully complex

Occassional tables, aka the side table, can add a layer of complex beauty and artfulness to a room. The idea of the side table is to make a statement in your room in a very simple way.















A great occasional table should really anchor a room and showcase the personality of the residents. Lines and color should be taken into consideration in light of the users. For example, you probably don't want super sharp edges and lots of glass if you have young children or if like me, you tend to bump into things.

Rather than relegating the side table to a sad lonely function of "place for magazine or ....fill in the blank," we believe the side table can have the value of a work of art - functional art - in your favorite room.

March 4, 2009

Getting Picked up by retailers: Sacramento Street, San Francisco




I started this posting writing about the challenges of selling high-end furniture in today's economic climate. Then I realized that I, personally, don't need to slather on more bad news, so I changed my mind and decided to share the good news.

Today, Contemporary African Home got another win! Select accessories are at Wynne Alex a beautiful retail store on Sacramento street, in the heart of San Francisco's high-end retail district. In addition to beautiful and quite affordable furniture, accessories, pillows, notebooks, candles, etc. owner Wynne Alex offers interior design services and custom work. Besides, our product selection works, it just works.

The ceramic items shown here are hand thrown on a hand/foot controlled wheel and then fired in a wood-fired kiln with applications of Italian glazing. The artist, Samuel Eseka Ndjon lives in Cameroon where he comes from a family of potters. His training included time at the Mbalmayo Arts School where he mastered multiple styles of ceramic art and various glazing. Since these items are hand-made, no two works are exactly alike. Contact us for more information.


The Sacramento Street shopping district is located along the border of the very well-heeled neighborhoods of Presidio Heights and Pacific Heights, from Spruce Street to Broderick streets. The stores along Sacramento Street have something for everybody: designer clothing, consignment stores, home furnishings and accessories, carpets (check out Boga Carpets), children's clothing, toys & books, etc., interior designers, art galleries,.... The list goes on and on.

So, we're happy that while we're not yet selling furniture at the scale that we'd like, we're building great relationships and getting into great stores.

February 24, 2009

In August 1995, I made my way to Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, to "Study" African Art and History with some incredible people. Leading the group were Jerry Vogel and Phil Peeks. Jerome Vogel, along with Susan Vogel, founded the Museum for African Art in 1984. The MAA's original location, Broadway and Houston, NYC, was the of the universe - for my collegiate eyes at least. Phil Peek, professor of Anthropology and chair of that department at Drew University, is a specialist in Arts and culture of West Africa.

We were roughly 30 participants on this trip: from art students and art historians like myself, to teachers, retirees, and others who simple had a desire to travel to Africa. We came from all walks of life, and had equally varying expectations of this trip. Those differences and expectations were given less and less attention as each day passed and we climbed into cramped minivans for caravan rides from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro to Bouake to Khorogo and back to Abidjan.

For many of us, this was the first trip to Africa, and the experience was eye-opening. We spent time with filmmakers (Idrissa Diabate), writers, historians, painters (of note, the late Gerard Santoni), world class potters, bronze casters, iron smelters, textile weavers, etc.

At each stop, there was new information to absorb, talent to appreciate, product to buy (or haggle over).

At the time, I couldn't figure out why seasoned travelers such as Jerry and Phil would even tolerate the nuisance of 30 travellers tagging along (need I mention the complaints, stomach ailments, frustrations with money, language, etc). But I was surely grateful. The Ivoirienne people showed us not only the best of hospitality, kindness, generosity of time, but also shared priceless history on craft and living arts (textiles, sculpture, decor) which, though passed on among generations by practice and oral history, are often missing from written record.

While traditional the African Arts (performance masks and such - a few of which, we saw (randomly in the streets!!) and during organized group performances) have been fairly well recorded and traded for global consumption, contemporary African art and design are sorely underrepresented in the western marketplace.

For the first time, I realized that African Art, film making, craftsmanship, etc goes well beyond the traditional to the very contemporary.

I've since travelled to over 10 African countries and lived in one, Cameroon, for nearly 3 years. After a very long journey since that first trip in 1995, I've come full circle (I think) to launch Contemporary African Home. Our mission is to feature modern African aesthetics in a way that elevates the cache of African goods in the global marketplace: from decorative or traditional to modern masterpiece.

So the outcome is contemporary, premium-quality furniture and case goods made by craftsmen in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I'll be sharing our stories, old and new, as we evolve.