THANKFUL

What a perfect way to start the holiday season!

We are thrilled to share and so THANKFUL that our Woven Rush Side Chair has been chosen to be featured in this months, December issue of Elle Decor - The Top 10 Occasional Chairs. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible. You can also watch the video of the designers discussing their choices here.

Warhol + Smilow. Great Minds ...

"The idea is not to live forever, it is to create something that will."

This great quote from Andy Warhol rings true for Smilow Furniture too! Made in America since 1949 our designs remain “enduring, modern, classics.

#andywarhol #smilowfurniture #enduring #modern #classic #MelSmilow #midcentury #Design

Smilow Furniture Featured in Elements of Craft

Smilow Furniture has been invited to participate in 100% Design @ London Design Festival 2014.

The Smilow Furniture 60” Woven Rush Bench RLB 60 will be featured in the exhibition Elements of Craft, Mint Shop - Brompton Design District, 2 North Terrace, London September 13 - 21.
Opening reception Thursday, September 18 from 7 - 10pm.

The talented Lina Kanafani, owner of Mint Shop, curated the exhibition focusing on the influence of craft in design. Mint Shop is an interior design store established in 1998. It is based in central London and is renowned for its contemporary collections and creative merchandising, offering cutting edge design cleverly mused with innovative one off pieces.

100% Design is expected to attract over 30,000 visitors and is touted as the biggest event during the London Design Festival from September 18 - 21, 2014. If you’re in London make sure to come by and check out this terrific shop & exhibit and say hello!

Don’t miss these other great venues/sites during London Design Week:

Brompton Design District

Design Junction

Mint Shop

Design Museum
East London Design District
The New Craftsmen
designjunction

And if you are not in London follow @smilowdesign on Instagram and Facebook to stay in the know during the Festival.

And check out our complete SMILOW Furniture 2014 catalogue.

For more information and U.S. locations contact us at info@smilowdesign.com.

It Still ROCKS Today (Testimonial #1)

Last winter I posted one of my all time favorite pictures on the Smilow Design Facebook Page. The picture was “The Chair that Represented America,” my father’s quintessential American Rocking Chair that was honored with selection for use in the US Pavilion at Montreal’s Expo ’67.

Right after I posted the picture this comment appeared: " I have this chair. It was purchased in 1964 to rock my baby in. It still ROCKS today! Love it!!"

She continued to tell me more about the furniture and her daughter even chimed in about how much she adored growing up with Smilow Furniture.  “...Her furniture is what I compare all others to, the furniture that has always felt like home and nothing comes close.”

Read the entire heartwarming exchange.

And keep a look out, we hope to be reintroducing this iconic piece later this spring!

A Gift to Be Cherished, for your Valentine!

It’s that time of year again when you ask yourself -what shall I give my loved one for Valentines Day?

You want to find the perfect gift, something they will cherish for a lifetime. That will represent your ever lasting love. A present that is ‘enduring, modern, classic’ is what you strive for.

That is the essence of Smilow Furniture - a timeless gift that will last a lifetime and beyond. 

Contact us about giving the enduring gift of Smilow Furniture.

It will be forever cherished by those you cherish.

2013 It's A Wrap

We had a fantastic 2013 and we are looking forward to an even more productive and exciting 2014. Here is a round up of Smilow Design and Smilow Furniture’s accomplishments in 2013 and a look forward.

2013 Was Action-Packed!

We Reintroduced Smilow Furniture - including 2 signature collections - the Woven Rush and Railback Collections featuring 10 pieces.
Branded & Launched SmilowDesign.com
Got a lot of great Press - Dwell, Elle Decor, Treehugger, Worth Magazine, Dering Hall & WGSN and received many heartwarming testimonials from legions of lifelong fans of Smilow Furniture.

More Great Things In 2014

Smilow Furniture is proud to announce the next pieces in our expanding furniture offerings with the reissued WLC22 Woven Leather Lounge and WO22 Woven Leather Ottoman originally designed in 1956 and the Classic Pedestal Extension Table PDT48 designed in the late 1950’s.

The furniture continues to be on display and available at reGeneration on Renwick Street, NYC and available online and through select dealers. Inquire for specifics and don't forget about our custom capabilities. Email: info@smilowdesign.com

We have recently become a proud member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and are part of an invited group of manufacturers in PORTE-COCHÈRE, the members-only online marketplace for interior design firms as well as continuing on 1st Dibs. Online we are also featured on the new website MadeClose.com.

Please follow us and stay tuned for more exciting news about smilow furniture and its enduring, modern classic furnishings and design.

November continues to be an exciting month for Smilow Furniture

This month, Worth Magazine in their Curator section, features the Smilow Furniture
Rail Back Collection.

We are thrilled to be featured in this terrific piece by Editor in Chief, Richard Bradley. By the way... the Art Direction is beautiful as well.

Thanks to the entire Worth crew. You can read the Curator section of the Magazine and see this page online here

History of an Ottoman

In 1955 the Woven Rush Smilow- Thielle Ottoman was chosen and included in the Pratt Institute's exhibition featuring well designed objects.Today the newly reintroduced ottoman proves the smilow furniture motto: enduring, modern, classics.

Now almost 60 years later, in the current issue of Elle Decor Nov, 2013/ "Truth in Decorating column, Smilow Furniture's Woven Rush Ottoman (RLO44) was chosen as 1 of the 10 best ottomans by designers Bernie de Le Cuona and Brian J. McCarthy.

To watch a fun video of the designers describing and enjoying the ottomans (especially coveting the Smilow funiture ottoman! click here

Smilow Furniture, RLO 44 Woven Rush Ottoman

Almost 50 years later...

It was a horrible day in 1963 and a pivotal point in the Civil Rights movement when the “four little girls” were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Today almost 50 years later Congressional leaders hosted a ceremony at the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on the four girl killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, on Sept. 15, 1963.

In that same year, my father Mel Smilow, active in the movement for civil rights was inspired to make this woodcut, "Four Birmingham Mothers" to commemorate that horrific event.

Mel Smilow's woodcuts can be seen and are available online and at the Annex Gallery in Santa Rosa California.

Smilow Furniture in the News

A mid century re-introduction. Authentic design by Mel Smilow

It has been an exciting month since the Relaunch of Smilow Furniture at the ICFF. Read about Smilow Furniture in the News. Mid-Century Designer Focus: Mel Smilow Magazine July/August 2013 An unsung mid-century designer is poised for a triumphant revival. MORE >> Dwell Magazine Slide Show >> Smilow at ICFF 2013 A notable trend among the smaller makers is domestic manufacturing. East Coast factories are partnering with designers to bring back skill sets that have been handed down through the generations, reviving some long lost disciplines in the process. One of our favourite finds this show was the American company Smilow. An authentic mid-century brand that started as a retailer in NYC in 1949, Smilow has created a collection of enduring modern classics in a very accessible way.  MORE >> 50 Years In the Making: A Mid-Century Modern Master Debuts at ICFF Perhaps there’s no better testament to the enduring power of a designer and his designs than celebrating the relaunch of his signature pieces half a century after they were first produced. For Judy Smilow, who is launching a capsule collection of furniture based on Mel Smilow’s original designs at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, this enormous undertaking was much more than reintroducing the world to some of the best examples of mid-20th century modern furniture, it was a labor of love. MORE >> Old Is New Again Mel Smilow (1922–2002) was an American furniture designer, manufacturer and retailer whose seating, case goods and lighting are widely regarded as among the very best of the mid 20th century. The works were entirely crafted by hand (in America) of solid walnut, birch and oak, rather than the more common teak of the time. Known for clean lines and impeccable proportions, they were sold under the name Smilow-Thielle and offered through namesake retail stores, from the late 1940s through the 1970s. MORE >> For more information contact us at info@smilowdesign.com or visitsmilowfurniture.com. Additionally you can see and purchase the Smilow Furniture collection at reGeneration Furniture at 38 Renwick Street in New York City and DeringHall.com

ANNOUNCING the Smilow Furniture re-launch!

This spring, look for and visit the re-launch of Smilow Furniture at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair...booth # 2039!

Rush Woven Lounge Chair part of the WR Collection, Made in Solid American Walnut, design c. 1955

So pleased to announce that we have chosen reGeneration to host the re-launch of the Smilow Furniture line in their booth 2039 at ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) May 18-21 in New York City. In addition, at an event co-hosted by Dering Hall, reGeneration will be featuring an additional selection of Smilow Furniture at their 38 Renwick Street showroom concurrent with the show.

Smilow Design has sourced a 50-year old family-run factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where the furniture will be hand crafted and made from the original Mel Smilow drawings.

reGenerations's 20 year reputation selling the finest vintage mid century modern furniture as well as their keen eye for the current market (they have their own line of contemporary pieces, "re") make them a perfect fit to partner with, for the reintroduction of the Smilow Furniture line .

"Mel Smilow's iconic work is familiar to design enthusiasts and collectors, but because most of it was unsigned, we are particularly excited to let people know whose work this is after so many years of misattributions". - Val Guariglia, co-owner reGeneration

The same Rush Lounge chair as it appeared on the cover of the New York Times Home Magazine in 1975

Between the store on Renwick street and the booth at ICFF, there will be a selection of Smilow Furniture on view, both vintage and new, including lounge chairs, tables, sofa, table and pillows with Smilow Textiles. 

Appropriate for residential, hospitality, contract, institutional and retail applications, Smilow Furniture is fully customizable and made to order.  It will be available beginning this spring to consumers and design professionals through ReGenerationFurniture, and Smilow Design.

Register for ICFF and visit us at the booth or email me if you'd like an invitation to the Smilow Furniture launch party at reGeneration on the evening of Monday May 20th. 

 

More of the  furniture that will be on view from the Smilow Furniture RB Collection. design c. 1950
These pieces will all have upholstered cushions with Pollack Fabrics inspired by the mid-century