Gratitude comes to mind when recapping our 2nd Annual Take A Seat chair charity auction in New York City

Recap of  the 2014 IFDA NY chapter
Take A Seat chair charity auction!
With NYC&G as our media sponsor, Room & Board as our host, Habitat for Humanity NYC our charity, and 28 talented designers on board transforming chairs, the stage was set for a spectacular evening!  

sampling of chairs created and donated from
Andrea Mihalik of Wild Chairy (left) 
Karim Rashid (right)

Libby Langdon, Kendell Cronstrom, Editor In Chief of NYC&G magazine, Lisa McMahon

Libby Langdon and Harrie E. Copeland in action...

June issue of NYC&G (left); 

Michael Tavano's chair (right)

generously raising the paddle, member & chair contributor Scott Hohl

Board & Committee member, interior designer and 
chair designer, Rose Ott with her daughter

This year we are over the moon with how our event came together.  In short, there were over 250 in attendance, with all 28 chairs selling to an enthusiastic audience at Room & Board store last Wednesday evening.  Interior designer Libby Langdon and professional auctioneer Harrie E. Copeland did a wonderful job of engaging the audience to create a fun-filled event.  Additionally, the entire team from NYC&G magazine was in attendance, and the CEO of Habitat for Humanity spoke to our audience about the exciting organization. We had additional sponsorship from AXOR and shopping website VIYET this year. On behalf of all of the IFDA board and committee members, we want to thank you for helping to make this event a success.  We hope to see you at our TAKE A BOW celebration on October 1 at the AXOR showroom in downtown NYC.  It will be time to come together, thank our sponsors and participating designers while presenting our gift to Habitat for Humanity as well as to SKYPE with other chapters to celebrate their upcoming events.  The TAKE A BOW event will kick-off six other chapters around the country as they prepare to host their very own Take A Seat chair auctions as well.

Thanks to 
Take A Seat founders 
Karen Wirrig and Maureen Klein

Lisa McMahon and I were this year's Co-Chairs.  
We are grateful for the outpouring of support and dedication within the community!

First, let's begin with our signature cocktail, 

(Tamara's homemade basil, 

lime, lemon vodka gimlet) 

It was the talk of the town, a hit, 

and aptly named by Lisa,

TAKE A CAB!  

28 designers put their talent to work together with their generous spirit to gift us these beautiful chairs.  

 committee members and chair designing team,
Andrea Algaze and Deborah Martin

chair designers Justin Shaulis 

& Toma Clark Haines

Chair designers Michael Tavano and Robin Baron with the evening MC interior designer Libby Langdon

chair designers strike a pose 

with our generous media sponsor, 

Editor In Chief NYC&G, Kendell Cronstrom 

designers and IFDA members 

hamming it up for the camera 

blogger and designer Carrie Leskowitz
with public relations guru Andrew Joseph  (left)
Lisa McMahon with our photographer 
Kate Jerte from Editor at Large

some members of our committee:

Andrea Algaze, Andrea Brodfuerer 

& Catarine Wright

Chair designer Vanessa Deleon (center) with friends

The incredibly supportive and talented 

Room & Board team 

 Lisa playing Vanna White for the evening...

Popular blogger Rio Hamilton

chatting with Carrie Leskowitz

 IFDA NY chapter President, Kara Marmion with
Kravet's Jennifer McConnell

 Lisa and I posing 
with Sara Fox Tracy of Habitat for Humanity NYC

 design team Moncef & Sara Toijuer

Jade Ng, IFDA (left) and Amanda Mobley (right) 
AXOR Hansgrohe.  Axor is hosting the IFDA Take a Bow event on October 1 when all six chapters will kick off the fall exhibits.

with chair designers Toma Clark Haines, Saxon Henry & Pryor Calloway 

Dustin O'Neal and his assistant with Joan Dineen, interior designer and chair designer 
(and, this year's IFDA Rising Star) 

  We even garnished great press.  

With Editor At Large taking professional party pics and covering our auction, we were in good hands! Check out the Editor At Large recap. 

Andrew Joseph with NYC&G folks

Habitat NYC's CEO 

giving us the skinny on the organization

interior designer Robin Baron's Chloe chair

IFDA's 2nd annual Take A Seat chair charity auction in NYC on May 14--Part 1, profiling the designers and their chairs

With only a couple of weeks until our 
2nd annual Take A Seat chair charity auction, we are happy to tell you more 
about this exciting event.

Acclaimed interior designer, Libby Langdon will MC our lively gala and auction on May 14, along with professional auctioneer Harrie E. Copeland III, who promises to work the crowd.  Add to that 25 talented interior designers and artists, all of whom will decorate then donate a chair to be auctioned off, with proceeds gifted to non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity, and Take A Seat promises to be one of 
spring's premiere design events! 

 This year, NYC&G magazine is our generous media sponsor and Room & Board showroom has graciously offered to host our May 14 auction in their gorgeous, expansive Soho store.  The chairs will be displayed throughout the Room & Board windows and vignettes in the days leading up to NYC's ICFF furnishings show.  On the evening of Wednesday, May 14 the chairs will then be auctioned off during a festive celebration.

 Room & Board in Soho

Take a look at a few of the 

designers and their 

"before" chairs and inspirations...

1. Michael Tavano's 

TANGO INDIGO

Michael Tavano brings his astute eye for color, scale and proportion mixed with a touch of whimsy and a passion to create a superb quality of life to his designs. Besides designing, he stars in the BBC’s hit television series House of the Year and is also the creative director of Marks & Tavano Workroom, which handcrafts custom draperies and upholstery for many of the country’s most respected designers. Please find him busy on social media as well at Michael Tavano Design on Facebook, and @MichaelTavano on Twitter.

2. Michelle Slovak's 

PENELOPE PRINCESS CHAIR

IFDA board member, Michelle Slovak

is a graduate of Parsons School of Design and has been involved in almost every aspect of the design industry over her career, including designing textiles, glassware, furniture and accessories.  Slovak often whips together makeover stories for print publications as well.  Utilizing her color expertise, she plans to transform the chair into a sparkling wonder.

3. Tracy Steele's

CLOTHES HANGER CHAIR

Since our chairs often hold our garments that may not make it to the closet, Steele's chair will become an unique perspective as a creative hanger.

Originally hailing from Virginia, Tracy Steele began her career here in NYC as a furniture designer, creating high-end custom upholstered pieces for select clients.  Since 2000, the firm has grown to offer full-service interior design options.  With a downtown, modern sensibility she specializes in residential work, often time focusing on family and kid's spaces.  Steele's work varies in scope, and she recently began offering specialized spaces for people with special needs, developing a furniture collection called Little People, BIG DESIGN.  

Look for Tracy Steele Designs Inc on Facebook

4. Saxon Henry and Pryor Callaway's 

MISS WELTY

Pryor Callaway and Saxon Henry teamed up to create a chair they aptly named Miss Welty.  The duo plans to bring their wit and talent to embody writer Eudora Welty.  The chair has great bones, a stylish profile and a resilient structure all symbolizing Welty's character.  They also plan to incorporate Welty's gentleness and gracefulness into the chair as well. To begin the process, Callaway covered the chair with fiberglass. 

Pryor Callaway (left) and Saxon Henry (right)

Callaway, a New York City-based artist and designer born in Mississippi, received her Bachelors in Fine Arts from Millsaps College, and a Masters in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute.  She began her career working in architecture and furniture design, and also pursues pure installation and sculpture work.  Henry is an author, journalist and new media strategist who has written for a variety of national publications, as well as the author of Four Florida Moderns and Home of the Brave, and has an extensive portfolio of design articles to her credit. Online publication credits include, The Curated Object and Roaming by Design. Saxon Henry is the founder of The Literary Blog to Book Movement on Google+ and an early adopter on social media.  Please read Henry's blog, Improvateur, 
Please find Saxon Henry on Facebook and Twitter @SaxonHenry; 
Pryor Callaway on Facebook and @PryorCallaway on Twitter

5.  Peter Fasano's
CLARENCE HOUSE chair
was inspired by Kazumi Yoshida's designs, which he read about in the lovely book gifted to him about the history of .Clarence House.  

For over 30 years, Peter Fasano has been creating hand-painted silk screened fabrics and wall coverings.  Fasano pulls from an eclectic array of inspirations to create myriad patterns and designs.  He uses water-soluble, earth-based pigments and all fabrics are printed to order with custom options readily available. The designs are offered in 23 showrooms in 14 states in the U.S., as well as in Australia, U.K., New Zealand and Singapore.  

6. Caleb Anderson's 

GEOMETRY MEETS VANITY

Caleb Anderson is the visionary and creative-force behind Caleb Anderson Design.  After earning his design degree he honed his skills under the tutelage of Jamie Drake and architect, David Mann.  Anderson utilizes his tasteful eclecticism and graceful color palette choices to forge an understanding between timelessness and today.  His diverse portfolio showcases his polished sensibility and unique design vision, while he balances luxury, curation, functionality and beauty. Please find Caleb Anderson on Facebook and Twitter, @CalebADesign

Please follow our MC, interior designer, author and makeover television personality, Libby Langdon over on social media as well.  Langdon is the creative force behind New York City-based design firm Libby Interiors, Inc.  Her residential and commercial projects embody easy, elegant, everyday style, and she is fast becoming known for her growing collection of branded home furnishings products. She shares her extensive knowledge in makeover television, drawing inspiration for her own collections from the thousands of conversations she has with consumers across the country about how we really live and what we really want.  You can find Libby Langdon active on Facebook;

and Twitter, @LibbyLangdon 

Please stop back for more profiles 

of our illustrious designers and hear about their chairs, 

and follow our IFDA TAS pin board to see the "before" and "after" chairs and designers.