Timeless-designs for modern tastes.Interior designer Sheila Bridges' signature is culturally classic and ageless It was a fascination with Roman architecture and history that first piqued Sheila Bridges' interest in decorative arts decorative arts, term referring to a variety of applied visual arts, both two- and three-dimensional, including textiles, metalwork, ceramics, books, and woodwork, as well as to certain aspects of architecture (see ornament), public buildings, and private houses (see . Today, the 33-year-old designer is the owner of Sheila Bridges Design Inc., a four-year-old, New York-based interior design firm that generated $1.5 million in revenues in 1997. After graduating from Brown University in 1986, Bridges moved to the Big Apple to explore opportunities in the fashion industry as a retail buyer. A year later, she went to work in men's designer clothing at Bloomingdale's department store. That job landed her a gig with world-renowned Italian couturier Georgio Armani. But by 1989, she tired of the fashion business and went to work as an interior design assistant for a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of architectural firm An architectural firm is a company which employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture. History Architects (master builders) have existed since early in recorded history. The earliest recorded architects include Imhotep (c. that did both commercial and residential design work. Bridges, who studied part time at New York's Parsons Parsons, city (1990 pop. 11,924), Labette co., SE Kans.; inc. 1871. It is a shipping point for dairy products, grain, and livestock. Manufactures include ammunition, wire and paper products, plastics, and appliances. School of Design, quit her job in 1992 to study decorative arts in Italy at Polimoda, a design school in Florence. By 1994, she was ready to go it alone. She acquired a business license, incorporated and converted one of the bedrooms in her Harlem apartment into an office. Initially, her clients were people who didn't want to spend the kind of money top full-service design firms commanded. But soon the firm was garnering upscale clients such as Andre Harrell Andre Harrell (b. September 26 1960 in Harlem, New York) is an American entrepreneur and founder of the now defunct record label, Uptown Records. Harrell also served as CEO of Motown Records. He was also half of the hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde. , the former Motown chairman. Bridges has gained fame among bankers, entrepreneurs and other entertainment personalities, including Bad Boy Entertainment CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Sean "Puffy" Combs and MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. host and comedian Bill Bellamy Bill Bellamy (born April 7, 1965 in Newark, New Jersey) is an African American actor and stand-up comedian. He gained national notoriety on HBO's Russell Simmons' Def Comedy Jam . Her portfolio also boasts such projects as designing an apartment in the Trump Towers building in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Bridges Design handles six major jobs and several smaller projects per year. Any given job may take months or years to complete, ranging from $100,000 to over $1 million in design costs. "I have positioned myself as a high-end residential interior designer. If you were to use the fashion industry as an analogy, I would describe what I do as creating a couture line," says Bridges. "But as my business grows, I hope to assume a more mass market appeal." Bridges' design team comprises a staff of four plus an ongoing pool of freelancers. There's also a network of independent contractors that she uses to staff up for larger projects. Bridges' vision for growing the business entails writing a series of books on design/lifestyle and creating a line of furniture and rugs. She's already put her mark on various home furnishings from dining chairs to bookcases. "Because I do a lot of custom work for my clients, it seems only natural to do a collection or line of furniture," she explains. "A lot of interior designers eventually create their own collections or license their designs. Most people recognize my work. I like things that are timeless and classic." Sheila Bridges Design Inc., 1925 Seventh Ave. #8M, New York, NY 10026; 212-678-6872 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion