Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Nice & Neighborly in The Design District

As an interior designer time is usually my biggest enemy, there is never enough of it. The biggest factor in my "loss" of time is spent in a car traveling from jobsite to jobsite or in and out of showrooms sourcing products. I have been trying to get my company to utilize our large 3 story roof to install a helipad which would cut down on my commute but they said something about the recession. Darn. I really wanted to do a whole Mission Impossible scene trying to get to work everyday, I told them they didn't even have to land it, I could just rappel out. What a way to wake you up and get your blood flowing, doesn't that increase your creativity and productivity right?

(maybe without the burning car...)

So since I got shot down on that expense request for the time being luckily some really smart people invented the a thing called the "world wide web" so that much of that time spent in and out of showrooms is now regulated by what I can't source online or products that you have to see in person, like fabrics and antiques that you need to hand inspect.

I am blessed, however, that we are located in the Design District, just on the south side of the newly renamed Riverfront and basically really never have to leave a mile radius to go source the best products and fabricators in the industry. With the revamping of the Trinity Corridor and the marketing push by Ablon Properties "LOL" - Lower on Oaklawn, others are taking suit and overflowing back by my once lonely place of business. Just read my rambling from last month's post Movin' On Up ... some of the "new" neighbors include- and I say that with quotes because some of the companies have been there over two years...are the Dallas Contemporary gallery, Tufenkian Carpets, Lofty Concepts, and my new friends over at The Lee Collection (now TLC Contract Group). All the companies are renovating their new digs, increasing the overall appearance of our once shabby street while still paying homage to the "warehouse" look. My goal is to introduce you to each of these great companies, first starting with The TLC Contract Group

The TLC Contract Group was founded by Debbie Lee Grayson who had the vision of a customer service oriented company that would provide clients the benefit of direct ordering and fulfillment from the world’s best known furniture, fabric, and fixture manufacturers,
specializing in commercial, medical, and hospitality interior and exterior finish-out, furnishings and fixtures. With the ability to purchase items directly from leading global manufacturers, The TLC Contract Group passes outstanding savings on to its customers and clients.


Their projects include those done here locally in the Dallas area and throughout the country. I met a newfound friend, Kara Legako a designer for TLC, who is as personable as she is cute, whom I later found out had been working with Dwell with Dignity, one of my favorite non-profits. She also organizes the DwD workdays to utilize TLC's warehouse to help with the building, painting or whatever else hands on projects need to take place for a DwD install. TLC Group will also accommodate the individual designers and other firms who are looking for pieces from the big manufacturers that have huge minimum opening orders and stocking dealer agreements that must be fulfilled before ordering from them - with The Lee Collection you can bypass that and purchase a whole project through them or singular pieces. They have access to the manufacturer's own fabric lines to help from all of those COM charges too. Kara was nice enough to give me a tour and introduce me to the crew and also let me post some of their pieces from past jobs that they have on consignment which will be up on the dallasDECORUM Facebook page shortly.

You can find TLC Contract Group at

Showroom:
150 Glass Street
Dallas, TX 75207
PH: 214.378.8778
F: 214.378.8558
Email:
info@theleecollections.com

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