Last Wednesday evening I was the last one to leave the studio. As I stood at the door, ready to switch off the lights, I looked around at this hardworking, sample-strewn, beautiful space and blew it a kiss goodbye. I won’t be back for three months; Countdown to Baby Boy has begun and I am officially on maternity leave.
As I prepare to temporarily divert all attention away from my first baby (Design Manifest) and towards my littlest baby and his two year old soon-to-be big sister, I can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve come. 2022 was Design Manifest LLC’s 7th year of business and by far it’s strongest in terms of sales volume and quality of projects. We saw the team grow from 3 of us to 5 full time and 2 part time staff. We were able to work with several repeat clients as well as some very special new clients who have trusted us with complete home transformations. This year was all about growing, planning, and truly finding our rhythm and next year is looking to be full of fireworks with several spectacular installs.
What are we seeing in design right now? BLUE! But not your standard royal or navy. Blue-greens paired with rusts, reds and berrys. Accents of brown, aubergine, greens and mustards. Brass is still going strong, but we find ourselves moving away from light woods in favor of richer tones. We’ve seen a theme of making spaces feel cozier with a heavier emphasis on function and character more so than open-concept and airy. And of course layers, pattern mixing and that collected, modern/traditional blend continues to be a central theme for us. Here is just a sampling of a few of my favorite design boards for projects that will be coming to life over the next year:
LOUNGE IN MEDFORD NJ / DINING ROOM IN RITTENHOUSE SQUARE / GIRLS BEDROOM IN SOUTH PHILLY
DINING ROOM IN RITTENHOUSE SQUARE
DINING & FIRESIDE IN HAVERFORD / LOUNGE IN RITTENHOUSE / HER PRIMARY BATH IN HAVERFORD
LOUNGE IN RITTENHOUSE
KITCHEN IN SOUTH PHILLY / KITCHEN IN MEDFORD / KITCHEN IN RITTENHOUSE
LIVING ROOM IN SOUTH PHILLY
POWDER ROOMS IN RITTENHOUSE / LIVING ROOM IN RITTENHOUSE / BATHROOMS IN SOUTH PHILLY
KITCHEN & BUTLER'S PANTRY IN HAVERFORD
I am so proud and grateful for my amazing DM team. Each person is so dedicated, hard-working, talented and manages to perfectly balance out our needs. While admittedly a control freak with all things that come to the business, I can rest easy knowing our projects and operations are in good hands this winter. Leading our charge is our newly minted Co-Creative Director, Megan Stein. Heading into her 6th year with the company, Megan has helped push our designs and our business practices to the next level. She is our Director of Sourcing- always on the hunt for the best quality and most beautiful products out there. She pushes me and I edit her and together each design is better because of our teamwork. Jessica, who is celebrating three years with the company, is leading her first design projects next year as well as project managing every single DM project (Which is a Herculean task- we wish we had two of her.) Our project coordinators, Emi and Kristy help us execute every aspect of our projects from quoting, ordering, tracking, running to job sites, inspecting items, coordinating trades and solving every headache that comes with operating a logistical business. On top of that we highly value Emi as our Chief Hugging Officer and Kristy (a former professional organizer) for her attention to detail and helping us juggle the massive workload we had the second half of this year. New clients are familiar with Tori, our New Client Coordinator, who eloquently and superbly navigates prospective clients from initial inquiry through explaining our process to signing on our next projects. And I should add that she keeps me sane as I no longer have to juggle this very important task! And last, but never least, our father, Andrew, who is our Business Manager, Cabinet double-checker and all-around fixer/ consultant / construction expert / wings-beneath-our wings support. Suffice to say, I am incredibly lucky to know and work with such brilliant beings.
THE DM FAMILY: ANDREW, MEGAN, MYSELF AND OUR EXTENDED BROOD
PART OF THE DM TEAM VISITS HIGH POINT MARKET THIS YEAR
FIRST ANNUAL DM POOL PARTY
ME AND MY DAUGHTER... PATIENTLY WAITING FOR BABY BROTHER TO ARRIVE
And with that, I sign off. Wishing you a lovely Holiday break, happy new year and cozy winter. We have a few new project reveals heading your way soon, so keep an eye out for those. And if you are needing some DM in your own life and home, be advised we are scheduling new projects for Summer 2023. (Reach out to Tori HERE) Yes, in these first few days of frost Summer seems so far away, but time has a way of moving fast, and we like to think that good things (like us!) are worth the wait.
With Gratitude,
Naomi
