We are very pleased to announce that two Pratt lounges will be featured at this year's METRO Show. The lounges were designed by a team of faculty, undergraduate and graduate students from the Department of Interior Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, which is committed to social and environmental responsibility. More
2014 Metro Show Designer Events
On Thursday morning, January 23, starting at 10 AM, is a conversation between celebrated interior designer Clodagh and marketing guru Ilene Shaw on the subject “What’s American about American Decorating?” They will discuss the characteristics that make American design unique and different. In words and images, they’ll show how an eclectic approach and an interest in this country’s heritage have made American-designed interiors and objects, past and present, part of our national identity. This talk is held in cooperation with the New York School of Interior Design.
About Clodagh and Ilene Shaw
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| Clodagh Photo: Jonathan Beckerman |
Perhaps because she hails from the Emerald Isle, Irish-born Clodagh was green long before it was fashionable. Today she is recognized as a leader in the sustainable movement and in the use of nontoxic materials, which are reflected in her range of eco-conscious projects and products that include hotels, spas, restaurants, retail stores and showrooms, offices, women’s apparel and cosmetic packaging, rugs and carpets, tiles, plumbing accessories, hardware, textiles, lighting, furniture and home furnishings. Architectural Digest named Clodagh among the Top 100 Designers, and The Robb Report put her in their Top 40 Interior Designers. Through ClodaghCares.org, Clodagh supports the Thorn Tree Project and Azama Project, which foster education in the developing world. An in-demand inspirational speaker, Clodagh has authored two books: Your Home Your Sanctuary, released by Rizzoli in 2008, and Total Design, now in its third printing.
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| Ilene Shaw |
As President of Shaw & Co! Productions, Ilene Shaw has devoted her career to the advocacy of good design. She conceived the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and leads the New York NOW initiative Sustainability: Design for a Better World. Shaw & Co! Productions has produced a variety of trade events and has an international clientele that includes Material ConneXion and Relais & Chateaux. In 2013, Shaw advised and helped spearhead The Art Commission’s CoD+A Awards. Shaw serves on the board of trustees for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Shaw cofounded and is currently president of Operation Design, a not-for-profit that creates mentorships and creative programs between architects, designers and artists and New York City public school students. She is a standing member of the Steering Committee for NYCxDesign, New York’s annual citywide celebration of design, spanning all design disciplines.
Following their discussion, Maureen Footer, a leading American interior designer, sought after for her continental flair which mixes an amalgam of all periods and styles, will guide visitors on a walking-tour of the METRO Show, pointing out her favorite selections from among the 35 galleries.
About Maureen Footer
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| Maureen Footer photo: Zev Starr-Tambour |
Maureen Footer’s studies in French and English literature at Wellesley College and in Paris engendered a lifelong interest in the 18th century. After stints at Vogue magazine and book publishing in New York, she acquired an MBA from Columbia University, then fused her interests in decorative arts, architecture, history and the Enlightenment with graduate studies at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris, where she specialized with honors in 18th century interior architecture and furniture.
Her interior design career includes engagements with McMillen Inc, Molyneux Studio and establishing an interior design division for an architectural firm. She has designed apartments, houses, private clubs, and jets. She established Maureen Footer Design in 2005. Showhouse credits include Kips Bay Designers’ Show House in New York and the French Designers’ Show House.
Ms. Footer is a certified designer via the National Council of Interior Design Qualification, and a member of A.S.I.D. She serves on the Designers Committee of Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club and has served on the board of the Decorators’ Club, juries design competitions, and lectures on French furniture.
