Philip Nimmo
Philip Nimmo Ironworks

Philip Nimmo is a tour de force in the world of iron, with highly sought after collections of fire screens, lighting, furniture, hardware and ornamental ironwork. He also has a star-studded roster of clients for his interior design services that includes Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jim Carrey, Jaclyn Smith, and Oscar award-winning musician Randy Newman, as well as financial and media magnates from both coasts.

From his atelier on Orlando next to Alexander McQueen, Philip designs an artistic line of hand-wrought iron pieces sold through select showrooms. Philip Nimmo Ironworks are sought after throughout the United States and all the way to Dubai and Australia.

Philip has been compared to Calder, Giacometti and Mondrian. Interior Design magazine called Philip a “Furniture Talent” and presented a full-page feature on him in 2008, noting, “While his work evokes a blend of Piet Mondrian and Alberto Giacometti with its chunky forms and regimented geometrics, it was vintage bangles and pendants that inspired the Ramona fire screen … and the Bauhaus-esque Quadro takes a different turn.” David Keeps of The Los Angeles Times called his Forma table “a sculptural piece that echoes Alexander Calder.”

Ironworks was founded when a client asked Philip to custom-make a fire screen for his odd-sized fireplace, and Philip created an extraordinary piece. In its infancy Ironworks specialized in fireplace accessories, but when Philip realized that his designs could be translated into other forms, he expanded the line to include furniture, lighting and hardware.  His travels, his endless browsing of books and publications, and his own collecting of paintings, sculpture and other works of art have served as an endless well of inspiration.

As an interior designer, Philip has orchestrated the interiors of numerous residences ranging from beachfront Malibu and Laguna Beach properties and Beverly Hills mansions to a penthouse condo in the historic Century Towers. With clients collecting blue chip contemporary artworks by Picasso, de Kooning, Kandinsky and many other painters of the 20th century, Philip has had the chance to work with prized canvases and create stunning interiors.

An art collector himself, Philip frequently acquires paintings and sculpture for his 1940s West Hollywood bungalow and his atelier. He continuously rotates his collection, which can include primitive pan-African art, pre-Columbian sculpture, huge contemporary color block canvases and even found objects that Philip has made into art. Visitors to the Loft, where Philip holds private gatherings, dinners and art shows, are enchanted by his eclectic collection, which is presented against a most entrancing charcoal brown backdrop.

Matteo De Paolis
Navona Antiques

Raised amongst the beauty, richness and architectural wealth that Rome has to offer, Matteo De Paolis curates the essence of his upbringing in Rome and introduces authentic Italianate imports into the Southern California landscape. The eldest son of a prominent Italian family, the charm and Elegance of Matteo not only speaks for who he is as a person, it also carries out into his posh Italian Antiques that he has collected and so magnificently displayed in his store, Navona Antiques in the famed La Cienega Design Quarter.

At a young age, Matteo enlisted in the Italian military, where he became the lieutenant of the polo team. His passion for the masterful sport stemmed from an early age once he was exposed to his grandfather’s beautiful breed of horses, utilized in the popular epic film Ben Hur, and many other films Internationally. After his stint in the Military, Matteo helped run his family business, a successful franchise of Volkswagen dealerships that they ran for over 40 years. Matteo oversaw VW’s affiliate Audi, however he took the opportunity to venture out on his own and was responsible for bringing the prestigious Luxury car line, Bentley to Rome.

Despite the fact that he was reaching notable levels of success, Matteo wanted to explore the opportunities that awaited him overseas. Even though his traditional Italian family was not thrilled to see their son stray away, Matteo wanted to explore his individuality and determine who he was as a sole entity. This surge of self-discovery led him to pack his bags, life savings, and his container filled with rare antiquities, and embarked upon what Los Angeles has to offer.

Arriving in sunny California in 2001, and not knowing exactly where he would fit in, Matteo decided to utilize what growing up in Rome educated him with. With that knowledge and charm, he gained momentum as a dealer of fine antiquities, getting his start by going from one shop to the next, and showcasing what he had in his container, along with photographs of fine pieces he could obtain back in Rome. It was through that persistence in which Matteo’s not only met his mentor John Nelson, but grew quite a prestigious client base, which led him to establish his very own Store, Navona Antiques.

Dressed in what he calls his “ripped up jeans,” Matteo frequents the Navona District, which is considered to be the antiques quarter in Rome, and goes on a scavenger hunt to bring back rare and classic treasures to his store on La Cienega. The innocent young rebel has certainly transformed into a distinguished man with his success and through his own self –discovery that was his goal, and continues the pursuit of uncovering the relics that are still waiting to be discovered.

Soli Besharat
SOLI Architectural Surfaces

From the company’s humble beginnings, to its recent expansion into the La Cienega Design Quarter, Soli Besharat, owner and founder of SOLI Architectural Surfaces and SOLISTONE, offers a novel and exciting approach to shopping for surface materials.

Never afraid to take risks, Besharat has built his company on anticipating and adapting to the ebb and flow of the economy, and ensures that the company grows intelligently. He enjoys the freedom of working outside the corporate structure, yet is able to successfully distribute his products nationally to some of the country’s largest home improvement companies, including The Home Depot, Lowe’s and Sears, Daltile, ProSource, Flooring America and Carpet One, among many others.

Founded in 1996, SOLISTONE and SOLI Architectural Surfaces offer surfaces for commercial and residential spaces all over the world. Both companies make use of unique materials such as seashells, coconut and metal, and offer stones from Afghani Marble to Zanzibar Wood-Grain Marble. Using his keen eye for style, texture and material, Besharat continuously scours the globe for rare and exotic stones to offer designers and the public.

Prominent architects and firms that have worked with SOLI’s products include: Rockwell Group, RTKL, Janson Goldstein, Jeffrey Beers, Gensler, and most recently, the W Hollywood Residences.

Many of SOLI’s products can be custom designed for color, size, finish and thickness and may be delivered ready for a contractor to install. Whether SOLI is servicing its clients for luxury residences, condos, casinos, hotels, national retail stores or restaurants, every member of the team draws inspiration from natural surroundings, industry trends and input from today’s leading architects and designers.

Soli Besharat is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Society of Iranian American Engineers & Architects (SIAEA) and the Institute of Classical Architecture (ICA).

Katie LaBarge
Marge Carson

In September 2008, Marge Carson Showroom opened its doors in the prestigious La Cienega Design Quarter under the keen eye of Katie LaBarge. Katie serves as both Manager and Designer of this flagship showroom, which exclusively carries Marge Carson, one of the world’s largest and oldest privately-owned fine furniture companies, known for its phenomenal designs, beautiful custom fabrics, and finishes and trims.

Simply put, Katie understands the industry, the design field, and most importantly, people. Having grown up in a furniture family, (her father is CEO of Marge Carson and her grandfather started LaBarge Mirrors) she knows first-hand the details and care that goes into each piece of furniture. As a young child accompanying her father to the factory of both LaBarge Mirrors and Marge Carson, she was able to get a great sense of whom the people were that build, finish, design, upholster, sell, and run the furniture business. This extensive knowledge helps her truly understand the industry and how to effectively please her clients.

In addition to her practical, hands-on knowledge of the furniture industry, Katie has studied design. For her B.S., Katie attended West Virginia University and the Intercontinental School in London, and graduated with a degree in Interior Design. While in college she also completed a design internship, which took her to places such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Hong Kong giving her an understanding of design from a worldwide perspective. Katie has lived and worked in Los Angeles for the last ten years and is currently on the Board of the La Cienega Design Quarter. Since graduating college, she has designed on her own, worked with other designers, and familiarized and sold various lines of furniture including Henredon, Barbara Barry, and Ralph Lauren.

Last, and most importantly, Katie understands her clients. Serving both the design community and the home owner, she has designed homes for clients in the greater Los Angeles area and Orange County, as well as Oregon, Michigan, Ohio and as far away as Jordan, China and New Zealand. Having designed a wide range of homes, all with unique styles, she understands that homes are personal and takes the time to get to know her clients and thus, is able to reflect their personality into their space. From French Chateaus to Spanish Villas to Modern Penthouses, Katie truly loves all aspects of design.

François Langin
Langin Designs

True to his family tradition and inspired by the “Compagnons” of the ancient European guild system, Francois Langin inherited the love of fine woods, and he has dedicated his professional life to this passion.

Graduating with a degree in furniture design from the University Compagnonique in Lyon, France, Langin, only 20 years old, was commissioned to work for two years for Hassan II, the King of Morocco, at his summer palace in Agadir. Time later spent in the Philippines acquainted him with a variety of exotic woods—makore, narra, bubinga, imbuya, and macassar ebony.

Francois’s unique position in his industry is deeply influenced by the craftsmen of an old guild system that dates back to the 12th century. The authenticity, skills, and integrity of the craftsmen have been an inspiration to Francois since a youth spent in Annecy, known as “the Venice of the Alps” for its exquisite architecture and artistry.

Francois relocated to New York in 1988, where he designed and built furniture for the foremost decorators and architects of the city, then came west and opened his atelier in Newport Beach in 1993. The unique combination of origins, education, and experience have made him Orange County’s premier creator of museum quality furniture, custom cabinetry and fine architectural woodwork. His high profile clients include NFL professional Todd Lyght and Johnny Depp’s Viper Room, and his work has been showcased at the Pacific Craft Show of Orange County Museum of Art.

“It requires vision, knowledge and skills, finesse and psychology to translate a person’s desires & tastes into emotion, harmony and pleasure, yet to obtain a functional and practical product that fits today’s modern trends, requirements and constraints. It is very gratifying to be able to provide customers with a solution to their architectural challenges, a piece of art they can relate to, cherish and age with.”

Peter Grisdela
Certified Kitchen Designer
Hollywood Sierra Kitchens

Hollywood Sierra Kitchens stands as the only showroom in the La Cienega Design Quarter devoted specifically to kitchen and bath design. Peter Grisdela founded Hollywood Sierra Kitchens in 2004 after 20 years of experience in interior design specializing in kitchens. Peter, a native of the Detroit, Michigan area and 11-year resident of Los Angeles, brings his personal warmth and charm to his showroom that, in accordance with its name, designs for clients from the Hollywood Hills and Westside to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Mammoth Lakes and beyond.

When Peter relocated to Los Angeles from Boston, his first project began a connection with Mammoth Lakes, California that has extended from his professional life to his personal life. A project for the founders of Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort offered Peter the opportunity to fall in love with the area and build a strong and growing clientele there. It seemed only natural to purchase a second home in Mammoth, so he could simultaneously provide clients with his typical close attention to detail, while taking personal advantage of the beauty and phenomenal skiing at California’s prized ski destination.

Beautiful kitchens are engaging, open, and inviting, all the things you find upon entering the Hollywood Sierra Kitchens showroom. While his love of the mountains comes through in slightly rustic touches, the kitchens in Peter’s showroom display an expansive range of styles and materials from traditional to modern. Featuring custom made cabinetry from across North America, Peter has searched to find the highest quality craftspeople in the industry to provide his discerning clientele with the finest finished product available. Hollywood Sierra Kitchens focuses on creating custom spaces that reflect the client’s good taste, their interest in fine wood species, and their love of entertaining. Peter and his team use their custom work and design expertise as the foundation for great kitchen design, completing projects with custom countertop materials, finish hardware, and other finishing elements that create the sometimes grand, yet always cozy kitchens for which Hollywood Sierra Kitchens is known.

Peter recognizes that the kitchen is one of the most important and personal rooms in the home, regardless of the size and grandeur of the space. The kitchen communicates a great deal about the people who live in it and use it, therefore Peter spends the time necessary to know each of his clients on a personal level to best gauge how they will use their kitchen. Peter knows however that regardless of the size of the space or the extent to which the space will be used for living or entertaining or “just for show”, it is essential to offer the greatest service and materials at every price level. No matter what, at every step pf the process, Peter Grisdela has created a business and a way of working with his clients that reflect his passion for how great design creates human connection.

Judith Hoffman
Szalon

Szalon (pronounced “salon”) represents Judith Hoffman’s personal journey to reclaim her Hungarian origins. Having fled Budapest during the Soviet crackdown in the 1950s, she made a life in Los Angeles — education, family, and ultimately, an ongoing interior design business, Concept Design International. But as the political situation in Eastern Europe eased in the 1980s, she found she longed to reconnect with her roots and began regular visits to Hungary.

Surprised by the wealth of design riches she found across Hungary — untapped due to years of Communist domination — Hoffman determined to bring these little-known works to an American audience. She happily uncovered a beautiful space in the La Cienega Design Quarter, and remodeled it into an elegant, inviting Deco-inflected showroom. Thus was Szalon born, opening to the public in 2004.

Announced by the dramatic grillwork of its façade, Szalon immerses visitors in a milieu that evokes the grand interiors of early 20th century Hungary and Central Europe, yet still exudes a fresh, contemporary feeling. Specializing in furniture and decorative arts from the Vienna Secession, Art Deco and Bauhaus eras, the Szalon collection features works by Josef Hoffmann, Otto Wagner, Gustav Siegel and Dagobert Peche, as well as pieces by Hungary’s preeminent designer, Lajos Kozma.

Also on display are works by Hungary’s renowned ceramics manufacturer, Zsolnay, early Modernist film posters, French Art Deco glass, and much more. Many anonymous pieces will nevertheless impress visitors with their high-quality Hungarian design. Featuring clean, sensual lines, gorgeous native woods and fine detailing, Hungarian antiques combine indigenous motifs with medieval and eastern influences.

As Judith Hoffman confesses, “Starting the gallery wasn’t really a business decision. To acquaint people with this incredible culture is my mission!” To that end, Szalon is also the site of evening salons, intellectual soirées reminiscent of times past.

Barry Amiri
Antique Rug Company

You wouldn’t think talking about pile fiber content, knot density, hand-spun silk, and Tibetan wool would put a sparkle in a guy’s eye, but for Barry Amiri, the proud owner of Antique Rug Company and The Rug Affair, it’s the only thing that does.

Barry has dedicated his life to learning everything there is to know about the artistry, craftsmanship and business of bringing the best in rugs to discernible customers. For nearly 30 years Barry Amiri has built a thriving business doing what he loves most — importing and selling the highest quality hand-made rugs and cultivating long-lasting relationships with the customers he serves.

His customers might say a keen eye and artist’s hands are the reasons for his ability to spot treasures from trash with one touch, but this expert earned his reputation as a trusted consultant through education and hard work. Barry is one of only seven senior rug appraisers in the US certified and accredited by the American Society of Appraisers.

With an unstoppable passion for life and his life’s work, Barry Amiri continues to further his expertise beyond the technical by keeping current on all the leading contemporary rug designers and manufacturers. In 2005, The Rug Affair & Antique Rug Company expanded their Los Angeles rug showroom to include several new collections showcasing the latest trends in rug design. The new lines included a major collection of Tibetan rugs in designer rug patterns, modern and contemporary rugs and fresh transitional designs.

Barry and his charming wife, Dina who helps run their L.A. showroom on La Cienega Blvd., have long been respected by consumers and top designers for their ability to source the very best in antique and decorative rugs with the highest level of personal service. The company’s rare antique Persian and Oriental rugs, specialty rug offerings and premium rug services set them apart from other showrooms in the community. Both showrooms are highly regarded sources for superbly crafted traditional and contemporary rug designs at affordable prices.

“Our core policy has always been to select rugs for their look, style and artistry-insisting on quality materials and craftsmanship throughout”, says Barry Amiri. “Rugs are fine art for flooring and should bring something special to each environment,” adds Barry. “I want to give my customers the same level of quality and beauty that I’d want for my own home.

Sam & Abraham Moradzadeh
Woven Accents

Woven Accents is the culmination of Abraham Moradzadeh’s lifetime of work and passion. The Iranian-born Moradzadeh learned early about the artistry and craftsmanship that created the finest rugs in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He began selling antique and decorative rugs near the British Embassy in Tehran, teaching his clients the important elements to look for when purchasing rugs. His successes in Iran led to a move to California, bringing with him an invaluable amount of experience from his years of teaching about and selling the highest quality pieces.

Abraham is a long familiar staple of the La Cienega Design District as owner of Woven Accent’s predecessor, Abraham Rug Gallery, since 1980. The top designers in the industry have recognized his immense expertise for decades, consistently returning for his advice and knowledge. His desire to educate his clientele has developed long-lasting relationships with customers who have caught his contagious enthusiasm and appreciation for rugs that “give life to a room.”

In 2005, Abraham’s son, Sam Moradzadeh, saw an opportunity to breathe new life into his father’s life’s work. Implementing a full service approach, they renamed the company Woven Accents and began exclusive representation agreements with leading contemporary rug designers and manufacturers (Carini Lang, Zoë Luyendijk Studio, Emma Gardner Design, to name a few). A modern redesign of the space enlivened the gallery and offers more artistic displays of Woven Accent’s pieces. Amidst these changes, Abraham maintains his original vision of offering one-of-a-kind rugs his clients are unable to locate elsewhere. Jeannene Sands was added to the team, as showroom manager, and has become as familiar to customers as Abraham. With her warm and generous nature, and over 20 years of design experience, she has become an invaluable asset to Woven Accents’ success. With the finest antique rugs in the world and unique contemporary selections, Woven Accents is a must-see stop for designers and their clients.

As Woven Accents moves into the future, Abraham is living his dream traveling the world in search of new pieces to bring his clients. His passion for buying outweighs his desire to sell as he finds it difficult to part with the works of art he discovers on his constant trips abroad. From a collection of thousands, Abraham is able to identify each rug with an emotional connection and story to go with it. The business model may have modernized, but the intent of his company has not. Woven Accents still holds Abraham’s old-world charm and appreciation for true quality … all with a very genuine, personal touch.

Lee Stanton
Lee Stanton Antiques

Lee Stanton, noted antiquarian, is a thirty-year collector of 17th, 18th and 19th century British and European antiques. He has become known as an arbiter of style and the premier purveyor of fine period antiques to prominent interior decorators and discriminating clients nationwide.

His shop/warehouse in San Juan Capistrano was a secret resource for many of the nations leading designers for decades. Recently, he opened a stylish, more eclectic shop located in the heart of the antique district on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles. Designers frequent the showroom in Los Angeles so they do not miss out on the constantly changing inventory.

Lee has a home in Laguna Beach and a pied-a-terre in Los Angeles, California. Both are decorated with antiques. His showrooms are an extension of his homes and a reflection of his European lifestyle.

Lee attributes his success to his passion for antiques… his passion to find that special piece with the right combination of form, function, style and integrity.

“My showrooms are a reflection of my lifestyle. They are an extension of my home and my life. I hope to provide my clients with the same quality I want and expect. I want to make sure that every piece I buy and sell is something that I would live with and cherish in my own home.”