“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Monday September 1st — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Monday September 1st — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Monday September 1st — —

WorkOf

Since its foundation in January of this year New York-based WorkOf is changing the way interior designers and consumers connect to independent, locally made home décor by creating a go-to source for direct access to the nation’s independent designers and makers. Founders Charlie Miner and John Neamonitis saw that interior designers wanted an easier way to source independent design, and consumers were interested in furnishing their homes with locally made home décor but neither had a reliable destination to source these pieces and therefore they created the digital platform to provide in this service. Since its launch in January the start-up has grown to include over 40 designers and makers with more than 300 home design objects. During NYCxDesign this last spring, WorkOf debuted the inspirational WorkOf Apartment. Using close to 40 pieces from their partnered designers, the whole apartment installation introduced products from Calico, Souda, Eskayel and Vidi Vixi, among several others, resulting in an amazing overview of their catalogue which is now also offered online.

I found when I was trying to furnish my new apartment, the options were primarily the same five or six big box retailers. What I really wanted were pieces I hadn’t seen before and that told a story. I didn’t want the same coffee table as my neighbor downstairs. I also felt strongly that I wanted my money to go to- wards supporting independent designers, not a big furniture store. It was frustrating that there wasn’t a resource geared towards that.

WorkOf founders Charlie Miner and John Neamonitis met while both working in finance in New York City. The idea for WorkOf came out of their mutual frustrations with the state of the furniture industry. Charlie grew up working and traveling with his uncle, renowned New York City furniture designer, Tucker Robbins, and saw firsthand the difficulties emerging designers face in scaling their businesses. John had just finished furnishing a new apartment in early 2013 and was exhausted by the process of discovery and the difficulties in finding well-made, authentic pieces. From these experiences, Charlie and John both saw that interior designers wanted an easier way to source independent design, and consumers were interested in furnishing their homes with locally made decor but neither had a reliable destination to source these pieces. It was a problem that deprived consumers of original design and denied the local maker community a broader revenue source.

We love the beautiful products represented by WorkOf and how they were tastfully implemented in the inspirational WorkOf Apartment.

For more information and to order the pieces from the WorkOf selection see here.