Part 3: IFDA Take A Seat Designer profiles -- Ondine Karady, Alan Tanksley, Rose Ott, Andrea Mihalik, Sara Touijer, Esther Sadowsky, KathArine Wood, Claire Russo & more

one week from tonight, 
the fun begins... 
Our 2nd Annual Take A Seat chair charity auction

Our media sponsor will be there, 
so come mingle with the team from NYC&G magazine.
Spend a celebratory evening at Room & Board's beautiful space in Soho on Wednesday, May 14 from 7-9 pm.  With the excitement leading up to the ICFF show the neighborhood will be buzzing with activity.  

Please purchase tickets here!
Part 3:  
more sneak peeks of designers and their chairs for our 2nd annual chair charity auction 
on May 14 in New York City.

First, meet our lively auctioneer, 
Harrie Copeland II, who has been wielding his professional skills at his own firm, Copeland Auctioneer since 1976.  Copeland is a licensed and bonded auctioneer with an eclectic set of education and experiences, hailing from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Harrie will auction the 28 chairs alongside our MC for the evening, renowned interior designer Libby Langdon.
More about Libby:
Libby Langdon is a designer, author and makeover television personality.  She is the creative force behind New York City-based design firm Libby Interiors, Inc.  Her residential and commercial projects, embody her easy elegant, everyday style, and have won widespread fans.  She is fast becoming known for her growing collections of branded home furnishings products.  

To read more the chairs and designers, please check out Part I and Part II profiles,
and here today is Part III:

14. Ondine Karady's

Bench, I LOVE EMILIO! 

Ondine has fond early memories of her mother glamorously sunbathing beach-side in an original Emilio Pucci monokini bathing suit.  Ever since, she has been enamored with his iconic fabrics.  The mid century bench was kindly donated by Modest Designs.  The Italian silk upholstery and the re-done chestnut and caned finishes are a homage to the great master, 
Emilio Pucci. 

Ondine Karady is an internationally recognized designer and TV home decorating personality with offices in New York and clients throughout the country.

She began her career as a set decorator, designing for films and television shows including "Requiem for a Dream,'' "The 25th Hour" and "Sex and The City."

After appearing as a finalist on Bravo's Top Design, Ondine went on to host the Ikea design series" Minute Makeover" She has been featured in Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Interior Design Magazine, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and was named one of the" Top 20 Designer to Watch" by Traditional Home Magazine. 

check out Ondine's tour on Houzz

of her beautiful Brooklyn loft

find her on Facebook at OndineKarady

and Twitter @OndineKarady

15. Alan Tanksley and Matt Austin's  

AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

Let the Good Times Roll, Baby! 

 the before

in the works...

Alan Tanksley is collaborating with decorative artist extraordinaire, Matt Austin to transform this donated chair. Alan is a multi-talented, acclaimed designer known for his versatility and attention to detail.  He excels with his architectural approach to interior space planning and his timely delivery of handsome and approachable rooms for living.  An expert colorist, Alan creates rich and appealing palettes that manage to make every interior space both exciting and relaxing simultaneously.  

Matt Austin is a self-taught designer and artist living in New York City.  He engages fully, with an attention to quality and detail, in projects for private and commercial clients.  Matt seeks to make the world a better place as it passes through his hands, one project at a time.  

16. Rose Ott's

JACK WILLIAM chair

Rose found this charming, small-scale Windsor chair at The Salvation Army and named it after her new darling baby nephew, Jack William. With new caning, a modern finish and fabric the chair honors the joy of a little boy. A special thank you goes out to Robert Allen fabrics and The Complete Window.

With a background in fine arts and fashion, coupled with her interior design education, Rose Ott Interior Design is known for its stylish mix of sophistication and sensibility when it comes to designing residential and commercial interiors.  After two successful careers, one at Louis Feraud and the other painting murals and faux finishes, Rose was inspired to start her own interior design firm. Since launching her business in 2003, she has been featured in House magazine, Newsday, NBC Open House and George to the Rescue. She is regarded as a construction specialist in the industry.  Rose is the co-chair VP of Social Media for IFDA, is an Allied Member of ASID and was the Associate Editor of ASID from 2004-2005. You can find her tweeting as @RoseOttID and on behalf of the NY chapter @IFDANY as well.  Our very own social media guru, Rose has generously offered a chair for the second year.

  17. Andrea Mihalik & Victoria Larson's

DOT.CALM

Andrea Mihalik of Wild Chairy painted this lovely chair frame, which took over 50 hours of detailed work!   She was inspired by a beautiful fabric called Stardust in a color called Water, which was donated for the chair by Victoria Larson of  Victoria Larson Textiles. Andrea couldn't stop thinking about all the dots, then decided to paint the chair in the manner of a pointillism painting where dots produce a delicate texture to the entire frame and it looks as if the fabric spilled over to the woodwork.

Andrea Mihalik of Wild Chairy creates one-of-a-kind functional art, combining old-world upholstery techniques with unexpected designer fabric choices. Each chair is crafted by hand using coil springs, horsehair, all natural cotton and white goose down feathers to breathe new life into these vintage treasures.

Andrea Mihalik

Please find Wild-Chairy on Facebook.

Trained as an interior designer Victoria Larson appreciates the play of pattern, scale and the inherent beauty of natural materials.  She is influenced by travel and inspired by earth and sea, with her designs translated onto all-natural fabrics.  She creates Graceful simple, modern designs, responsible to the earth -- each pattern has a story.

18. Sara Touijer's
VIBRANT IN COLOR,
with a zest for "life"

The chair is dedicated to the courageous nurses, who assisted during WWI.This year is the centennial (100 year) anniversary of WWI: 1914-2014

Sara and Moncef Touijer are the dynamic duo from Touijer Designs, an International architecture and design firm based out of New York City and Casablanca. These rising stars of interior design and architecture are appreciated for their distinctive vision, elegant style and professionalism.Their work inspires and reflects the personality and creativity of their clients. Currently, they are developing an unique line of Moroccan rugs, ceramics and textiles, beautifully mixing the traditional Berber motif to bold contemporary patterns, colors and creations. 

Sara and Moncef Touijer

Please read their blog, Design, Tips, Trends

19. KathArineWood for Antonia Tile's

GLITTERY SEAT

ANTONIA TILE is a small custom tile company specializing in vitreous enamel (glass fused to copper) tiles and murals.  Luckily, enamel tile and enamel mosaic looks great on furniture too! Wood is transforming a plain, boring stool into a glittering art piece with a mixture of enamel and other mixed mediums, beginning with a fresh new coat of paint. 

20. Esther Sadowsky & Jim Partlow's ,

FIT TO BE TIED

Esther Sadowsky was inspired by the idea of dressing up her furniture with fashion, noting her husband drapes his ties on this chair when laying out his clothes. Esther is the owner of Charm & Whimsy, founded in 1983. Carving out a niche in the design industry with her creative and multifunctional rooms for children, her work is much sought after by NYC metro area parents and has been featured in numerous publications, books and show houses. Esther’ rooms have been featured on HGTV, NBC’s “George To The Rescue”, among others.  Charm & Whimsy has grown to become a full service design firm offering such skills in renovations, workroom services, color consultations & more.    

21. Claire Russo & Liza Serratore's

FISH BOWL CHAIR

Traditional koi, also known as carp or goldfish, are a true fixture of Chinese garden design. This duo's upholstered chair draws inspiration from the design of Shanghai's Yu Garden koi ponds. At the center of this modern metropolis of 22 million people, there exists a tranquil series of pools in a traditional Chinese garden. Imagine an indigo dyeing artisan, many generations ago, perched in observance of just such a koi pond, penning the Fish Bowl print LuRu Home prints today. 

 About LuRu Home:

LuRu Home crafts traditionally-dyed textiles that are relevant to a contemporary way of living.  They make it their mission to support the Chinese artisans who print their fabrics by bringing patronage back to the craft through their own line of authentic textiles and accessories for the home. LuRu works with indigo-dyed cottons, hand-crafted on China's eastern seaboard. Nankeen dyeing is a 3,000 year-old technique which remains, today, sustainably produced by hand. While living in Shanghai, Liza Serratore and Claire Russo founded LuRu Home in 2010.   Liza lives in Shanghai currently, while Claire has just set up shop in The Brooklyn Navy Yard.

22. Gregory Allan Cramer's

MANHATTAN BRIDGES

was inspired by his favorite Brooklyn Bridge, in fact all the amazing bridges criss-crossing this great city,  the rivers, and the steel trusses against a beautiful New York City sky! The vintage chair is stamped (on the chair leg) Southwood Furniture Company built in 1988.

Please find Gregory on Twitter @gacramer

and Gregory.a.Cramer on Facebook

Since 1986 Gregory Allan Cramer & Company, Inc., has created residential and commercial interiors for a wide range of clientele.  From rustic chic to ultra-modern minimalism, the firm is well-equipped to handle all phases of the interior design and decoration process, regardless of the size, style, scope, budget or location.

Stop back over the weekend for the final profiles and up-to-date information on our event.