I thought it would be fun to show you the process of how I work.

As you all know I love to collage to make inspiration books and I don’t think I ever posted these pictures, but here I am hard at work (in my living room). I have an accordian file of all my inspiring images and I have them grouped by size and mood and I pull them all out and try to create inspiring collages to get my brain moving when it stalls out.

 I was probably drinking coffee and watching some version of Real Houswives while working on these. To see the final images go here.

I thought I would do some collages for myself with some of the scrap sample prints we had laying around just for fun and they turned out pretty cool so I brought them in and scanned them and next thing you know they are framed and on their way to High Point!! It is exciting when that happens!

Here are the pieces framed and cataloged, I hope you all get to see them in person in High Point at our new showroom in the C&D Building.

There is a lot going on here at Soicher Marin, we’ve got some tricks up our sleeves for SM2 (yes we are still developing, it never ends) and big changes happening in general. We will be sharing it all soon and you guys are going to love it! So for now, while I am off working on the next big project (we have a new licenced collection coming out with a HOT HOT HOT designer) please enjoy these pictures of SM2 as it keeps pumping out from the factory. My favorite thing about working here is actually seeing the things I have stared at on my computer for hours and hours on end actually get printed and framed, that is when it becomes real, and there is a lot of that happening around here right now. I’m giddy with excitement to look through the stacks of art all around the office!

-tracy

Ok, so as you all probably know, we are busy working on SM2 for the upcoming fall High Point Market. We are now in the process of printing and framing the samples that will go to the showroom. I wanted to share some of those pieces with you as we get them framed. This is just the beginning of a huge line that I think you all will LOVE when you see it in person. I wish I had a bigger house to hang it all in! I am so excited and am trying to figure out which pieces I want for myself ,  it is such a hard decision!!! This is the first round that have come out of the factory many, many  more to come!

Enjoy!

-tracy

We have been super busy around here getting the SM2 line ready for the OctoberHigh Point Market. I know it might seem a little early, but we still have a lot to do! We have to finalize all the sizing, make sure all categories are covered, create test prints, start framing, enter everything in the database, price, catalog, build a website, re-work weak ideas, and finally decide what makes the cut for High Point and what doesn’t. Now all of that wouldn’t be a problem if it was the only thing going on, but thankfully we are really busy with projects and orders on top of that so we are all running around trying to get everything done and consuming lots of coffee (well at least I am). Luckily we have a great team around here and I get a lot of help from my fav digital ladies Allison and Amanda !!(they did most of the stuff you see below)Woo Hoo!! So lets get to the good stuff…here are some more SM2 previews. I hope you all enjoy!!!

-Tracy

After more than 40 years at the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC) in High Point,  we are moving to our new home at the Commerce and Design Building and open for business starting this October Market.

Speaking with a close friend the other day about a move he had made 17 years ago from Miami to Sarasota. He told me that in pondering all the options, he and his wife understood that the decision to move was: life changing, necessary and a little scary because it was the “unknown”. The key to their final decision was that they realized in all the cogitating that they were not running away from anything. Rather, they were running toward something infinitely better. That something was a new community far from a home they’d known all their lives; a community that wanted them, their soon-to-be born children and their small business. And they were told as much: The community made their desire for my friend and his family unambiguous, warm, affectionately human and attractive in every way.

So it is with the same sense of humility and adventure that we bid farewell to the IHFC and our good friends and neighbors in our hallway for the last 30 years. We say hello to our great new neighbors Sarreid, Visual Comfort, Guildmaster and many others. We will be on the second floor, just off the escalators and a few short steps from Visual Comfort Lamps. Our space is nearly the same 5,000 sq. ft. we currently occupy. You’ll hear more about our plans, and how it will be great not only for us, but for you our loyal and most important clients. -EM

So we are working a huge project right now that is AMAZING!! It is our new line: SM2 by Soicher Marin targeted to a younger, less affluent audience than our regular line, but with that Soicher Marin distinctive style. My job (according to Ed) is to make it hipper, cooler, more trendy! Everything all in one! If you want edgy, we got it. If you want colorful, we got it. If you want traditional, we got it. We’ve been working on the concept for SM2 for nearly a year. We’re on plan but had to wait to get final product design going until after the Spring Soicher Marin line was done. I have been working on these ideas for a couple of weeks and already have about 600 images and I am only about 1/3 of the way done! The ideas have been building and building since the first mention of doing this line. We work great as a team going from concept to product pretty seamlessly. So, this is your first look at some of the ideas floating around so far. We will keep you posted on how it’ developing and you will be the first to know when the new line launches (look for it in July/August)!

-Tracy

We wanted to give you another sneak peak at some of our more colorful wallpaper designs. These were all hand drawn based on some of our antique prints, but revamped to be more modern and fun. We’ve been talking for some time about launching a textile line, but right now we are just testing it out, getting feedback and deciding if this is an avenue we should go down. I love doing it and I am excited that now we have a way to share it with the world! Hopefully it will develop into more and you all can follow it from the beginning. Ok, enough with the talking…here are the pics!

I hope you guys liked it. You will be seeing more and more as we continue to experiment with creating wallpaper!

-Tracy

There is a growing market for leisure hospitality and  spa and so to join in on the fun we have created a series that is dedicated to this movement. When Ed told me his concept, I had no idea where to start, but when he explained his vision for the line we just started experimenting and came up with some great ideas. From organic to edgy we have some beautiful pieces that can work in a spa setting or anywhere you can imagine. I know I am putting a couple of pieces in my living room.

Here is a sampling of our new spa ideas.

A beautiful series of  stone photographs….

Blue toned seaweed….

What spa would be complete without some shells and amoebas?….

Here is a set for spa where we took some conventional images and turned them on their head… these are my favorite!

All in all it was a fun collection to make and I can’t wait to see where it goes next! Oh, and if you haven’t already seen the L’Auberge Spa check it out, I love how fun and colorful it is!

Tracy

We  make scores of decisions every day: what shows to watch on T.V., whether to watch T.V. at all, or read a book, what to eat, what to wear, whom to  have as friends. The choices are limitless, yet we sort them quite efficiently based on a value system we adopted long ago. Is there such a mechanism at our place of work?

Core Values within an organization, large or small, are the commandments of all behavior. Whom to hire, what to sell, what to represent as an entity, how to treat employees, social responsibility, and on and on. Too often these values are posted on websites as a menu of ethics, when indeed, they should be private and for a company’s internal consumption. After all, we don’t walk around with our [personal] code of ethics pinned to our backs. We teach it to our kids, share it with our closest friends and in general, live by them.

On April 3rd, we launch a new feature on this Blog: Stores we Love. In our editorial meeting we discussed what our criteria should be. Many opinions were rendered, discussions ensued, tears were shed, fists were thrown (just kidding). Armando looked up from his silence and simply said: “candidates should embody our Core Values.” We were stunned by the simplicity and elegance of his utterance. Of course. The criteria is self evident as we reviewed our own values that are posted boldly in our main conference room. This meant of course, that a Store we Love and want to feature, may not necessarily be our customer if we are true to our values! We love Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford and Alexander McQueen. They are not our customers.

In the coming weeks we will share with you (mostly, but not exclusively) retail Furniture & Design Studios that bring something genuine, meaningful and fresh to the table. Stores who live by the laws of integrity and innovation, who care about pleasing their customers, have impeccable taste and are passionate about what they do. We hope you love them too.

-EM