Designer Attache - inside look

Last week we introduced you to Nicole Villi and Brittany Marom, the duo behind Designer Attaché. We were dying to know how they work, how they shop and what they love. We caught up with the native New Yorkers in the DDB, their home away from home (or maybe that's studio away from studio?). What are your favorite showrooms? Brittany: I am obsessed with Maharam. I don’t think a lot of people realize that they have more than just commercial, contract fabrics! All of their prints and designs are modern and great quality. I also just love that they pay homage to many designers and artists in their collections. Nicole: I love Lee Jofa and Donghia. Donghia has the widest variety of fabrics of all the showrooms. You can literally find almost anything you are looking for and when you're least expecting it, there is something that is highly glamorous and out-there. They aren’t afraid to push the button! Lee Jofa tends to be a bit more on the conservative-traditional side but I just love the Kelly Wearstler collection so I always find myself popping in to see what she has added to her line. Designated days for shopping? Every Monday you will find us at the DDB shopping for our clients. Of course if a client needs something last minute and we are available, we will go anytime, but having a designated shopping day assures our clients that without a doubt we will be in the building and they can contact us at any hour in the day to find them what they are looking for. So keep your eyes open designers, we are always around! What's your shopping strategy in the building? One of our most important/daily tasks as design assistants is sourcing fabric and furniture for our clients. Many of whom have paid us hourly, so they expect us to know exactly what showrooms to shop in without having to scour the entire building searching for what they want.  After all being educated in the showrooms is half our job! That is why we have created a master list of all the showrooms filtering them down to price, style, product and specialty. In fact we used the design directories to help us organize these lists! What do you mean by a showrooms specialty? Specialty generally means something that makes a showroom stand out or an overall theme that runs in the showroom that many of our clients would be looking for. For example when looking for vinyl’s we go to Pollack for their Joseph Nobel Textiles or Kravet which always has everything. This list keeps us organized and assures designers that they aren’t wasting their money and time on something they could be doing themselves. Favorite neighborhood lunch spot? P.J. Clarke's of course! In the summer we cant get enough of the Forty Carrots frozen yogurt. Lastly, what showroom would you say has the best snacks? Pierre Frey. The varieties of 100-calorie packs are always the best to take with you when you’re on the run! Here are some of Nicole's favorite finds: (Clockwise from left: Yellow is from Lee Jofa-GWF-2806-416 Ombre Maze Saffron - Kelly Wearstler; Blue is from Lee Jofa-GWF-3104-511 Mineral-Indigo/slate Kelly Wearstler; Floral Fabric is from Lee Jofa-2010150-909 Nympheus Print-Aubergine Thomas O'Brien; Brown Fabric is from Donghia-Rubelli Venezia - 07597-005 Loredan-corda) And Brittany's: (Clockwise from left: Ralph Lauren: Carleigh Embroidered Ticking; Jerry Pair- Jim Thompson – Gemstone color 2; Maharam – Denth Heath by Claudy Jongstra 003; Maharam – Borders by Hella Jongerius color 003)