September 29, 2015
Brandon Baker/PhillyVoice
Robert Morowitz (seated) and William Ortiz inside their 1926 East Passyunk Avenue showroom. In the background is a classic French clothing armoire from Hooker Furniture and an abaco chair from Lexington Furniture. Both can be purchased from the soon-to-open retail space.
Interior designers Robert Moskowitz and William Ortiz are targeting Oct. 10 as the opening date for a new home design showroom at 1926 East Passyunk Ave., which they said will sell "quality" furniture at a heavily discounted price.
But don't think of French Bleu Home Design as Marshall's, South Philadelphia-native Moskowitz told PhillyVoice.
“My thought when I got into the design business was there always seems to be – and I think this has gotten worse in the 15 years I’ve done this – big box places like Raymour and Flanigan and Ashley, and then there was the marketplace design center and $12,000 sofas, and not a lot in between," he said.
"There’s middle ground for folks who don’t want Raymour and Flanigan and don’t want to spend $12,000 on a sofa, and I try to be that in-between spot. That’s my goal.”
Forty-five-year-old Moskowitz, who previously owned a small showroom in Center City, said French Bleu Home Design also will offer residential design services through an in-house team. The 900-square-foot space will, to boot, host an art gallery curated by PAFA alum Vanessa Werring, and will boast home restoration services with an emphasis on Venetian plaster.
Furniture pieces, which Moskowitz describes as "classic with a twist," are sourced from furniture collections around the world and include Baker Furniture and French Heritage, among others.
The goal is to add a design space to East Passyunk Avenue that constantly updates with new pieces, and will surprise customers with furnishings they won't find at, say, Home Goods. The idea is to offer the kind of furniture that can be passed from generation to generation. The business also will have an extensive in-store catalog to order from, so as not to be limited to the small size of the storefront.
Moskowitz quipped that the store is more of a back-to-basics approach than you'll notice in mainstream home design right now.
“HGTV has given people a bad idea of what decorating your house means," he explained. "Everybody thinks they can take $1,000 in 48 hours and redecorate your whole house by wrapping your coffee table in Reynolds Wrap and spraying it.
"That is not my reality.”
While he added that DIY isn't bad, per se, he wants customers to know it's not a style they'll be emphasizing in their store, beyond a DIY design class they may offer in the future. Instead expect, for example, a lamp from Baker that retails for $1,590 and sells for $585 at their store.
"That means Beyonce might get it at $1,590, and you’re getting it at $585. So, we’re cutting down the cost," Ortiz told PhillyVoice. "It’s reasonable, and the product's not fake."
Part of the decision to set up shop on East Passyunk Avenue is the opportunity to organize events, which they hope to host in conjunction with neighboring businesses like Le Virtu and Boutique W. The storefront, previously occupied by Mesh Vintage, is thought to draw less foot traffic than the northern end of the avenue, front-loaded with Acme, several cafes and staple watering holes like Pub on Passyunk East.
The mission is to help lure customers south.
"This is a struggling block. It’s right at the end of Passyunk, so you have some unique items here that just are not recognized," said Ortiz, himself a photographer and designer. "We already have a few people on board, but in regards to photography and marketing you’ll see some weird stuff. I want creative artists, like Vanessa [Werring], to jump in and create some high-end events. Live music, everything to that effect."
"We’re going to bring this block up.”
