A Piguet in Ballet

In Ballet, a Pique (meaning "pricked") is a movement in which the strongly pointed toe of the lifted and extended leg sharply lowers to hit the floor then immediately rebounds upward. It is also a movement in which the dancer transfers a stance from one leg in plié to the other leg by stepping out directly onto pointe or demi-pointe with a straight leg. However, an Audemars Piguet is a very expensive, often diamond-studded, piece of jewelry. And now, the talented and beautiful Prima Ballerina of the Russian Bolshoi Svetlana Zaharova will dazzle us all with her Pique in Piguet.

Zakharova was recently named the newest ambassor of Audemars Piguet and to celebrate, Geoff was asked to design and install a window at the Madison Ave flagship to highlight this connection. For this display, Geoff wanted to create a feeling of a stage, and an abstraction of descending stairs as the risers for the watch displays. on the "stage" stand two mannequins wearing simple ballerina costumes. Black and white photographs of Svetlana are framed, finishing off the Bolshoi theme.

Watch carefully for Zakharova's delicate Pique in Piguet!

Zakharova in action as the Swan of the lake!

The final window of Mrs. John L. Strong

Geoff's drawing for the window display design celebrating the 80th anniversary of legendary stationery maker Mrs. John L Strong at their NYC atelier on Madison Avenue.
The consistent theme in Mrs. Strong's windows was that everything was made of paper. This window was no exception. The mannequin's dress is entirely made of tissue paper, with the cards and letters tucked into the skirt and ruffled explosion below.
behind her the giant gold leafed 80 was made of gator board and seamless paper.
Like the unfurling dress below, her exploding head dress,made of gilded paper ,
fills the entire ceiling of the display.



Ironically, this window is also the final window for the company before sending their regrets and closing.
Oddly enough, the store never actually "closed" and this window stayed in place for many, many months, well past its prime.
Apparently, there is now a new owner...good to know, as the product is gorgeous!

American Art Awards at the Whitney Museum.

The American Art Award Event at the Whitney Museum of American Art was sponsored in 2009 by Bloomberg L.P. One of the design prerequisites for this event is a patriotic color scheme of red, white and blue. In order to maintain freshness for this traditional color scheme, the entrance lobby was designed to showcase only blue. Enameled steel panels with magnetic LED stars greeted guests with brilliant blue hues.




After leaving the lobby, guests were escorted up the elevator and as the doors opened onto a wide gallery above, they were welcomed with a vibrant red palette. Floor to ceiling columns wrapped in layers of sheer fabric separated the entrance lobby from the dining area.







As focal points on the three walls of the dining room, floor to ceiling monolithic sculptural walls were built from many red panels on alternating planes, once lit, creating a visual illusion of geometric movement.

The tables and chairs, all in white, featured a low center piece of underlit White Peonies surrounding a 6 foot tall chrome standard holding a single bright LED star.

Many of the attendees said that the design of this event was one of the most beautiful!

(A few shots from the installation showing the red walls going up:)

New (backdated) Posts!

As we organize our new blog, posts on past events will be a regular feature for awhile. So please check out these new posts from the past. In particular:

Victoria's Secret in Soho

Patrick Mavros @ D. Porthault

Tick Tock Tower

Independence Day River Picnic to benefit the Thomas Cole Historic Site

There's No Face Like Gnome

Christmas Time

According to their luxurious watches, it's time for Christmas at the Manhattan Audemars Piguet store on 57th St. and we decked out their front window with chic holiday cheer. Featuring a decorated 12-foot tree using gold and burgundy trimmings like gold flecked velvet leaves, globes of blown burgundy glass and ribbons. Beribboned gift boxes around the base of the tree highlighted an inset selection of diamond encrusted, gold, silver and platinum timepieces.

Another Day at GHS

Hard at work in the design office!

*Video by Finishing Manager Greg Clark

Snow & D. Porthault

Geoff's original drawing for the design of the winter windows at the luxury French Linen maker D. Porthault at 470 Park Ave.


The final result, a wintery scene featuring light- studded white laurel branches with perching doves reaching out over a pair of Porthault Blue velvet upholstered authentic 18th century chairs featuring a luxurious selection of D. Porthault's products.




The interior of the store was styled to showcase holday gifts and the latest arrivals.


PRESS: Geoff designs are featured on Guest of a Guest during a D. Porthault Holiday Party on December 18th.