Posts by Dawn Griffin
Dawn Griffin
Product Manager-
Furniture, Accessories, Portable Lighting
With a passion for art and design, my combination fine arts
background and business experience led me to product merchandising. As has my belief that form and function can coexist
beautifully, and that it is wise to keep one eye on the past as new design
emerges. Good, enduring design is, well, good. At Rejuvenation we
believe that our homes as well as historic buildings tell a story. I enjoy
helping people continue to create those stories. Your environment is key to your
well being. Live with what you love, but collect AND edit. I’ll watch the
marketplace to help you discern lasting trends and timeless, classic design
over fads or nostalgia. I’m a shopping pro who loves to look and travel, dig
and touch… let me do the legwork for you!
Two truths and a lie:
Will work for art.
For me, ten minutes early is on time.
Favorite way to cook: without a recipe.
Wow, I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of May! I’ve been so busy finishing my assortment plan for our new Los Angeles store, which opens this fall. What is my assortment plan, you might ask? Oh, you know, the numerous fun and fabulous things available in our stores that aren’t attached to the ceiling or wall.
The good news is that it’s all coming together. Product is arriving and the guys in shipping & receiving are stockpiling it for us in a special location just for L A. The proof is in the pictures!
One of our exclusive Vintage Revivals line sofas, wrapped and ready to go!
You can't tell from the picture but these crates contain super-cool early 20th century urns I found in North Carolina, that will flank our front doors.
Here's a detail of the cool little urn creature just waiting to be a star in its new home.
We’ve definitely been thinking spring here, and not just because in Portland the perennials are popping and trees are budding. January through February is spring market time for furniture and accessories. The buyer’s market in NYC, as well as the city itself, always gives me renewed inspiration.
Home shows present a range of innovative design to the “followers” of great design. I continue to see neutrals and grays as the backdrop, but more color in textiles and accessories are emerging. The industrial trend is also still strong, but in many cases it has become too contrived. One example I saw was what I can only describe as industrial meets country kitchen!
All of this reconfirms what we do at Rejuvenation. The classic, authentic designs we present will be ones that hold up through home fashion trends. As an example, we’ve been selling our Burnside, single cord pendant, for more than 15 years. It continues to be a favorite for its timeless, enduring design and we continue to see customers show it in cool new ways.
What else? I’m seeing polished finishes- nickel, chrome and silver returning.
My favorite new product from market is a company that combines handcrafted woven pine needle baskets and containers with polished nickel. I love the juxtaposition of the natural fibers and the shine!
In our retail stores- Seattle, (Los Angeles coming soon!), and in our expansive flagship store in Portland, Oregon, we offer an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories.
As with our lighting, we focus on classic, timeless American designs – only I have a bit more creative license to sprinkle in contemporary trends and playful patterns and color. (And occasionally birds; this is Portlandia after all.)
Industrial has been a hot trend in the market for several years and currently it seems everyone is doing it. Often those products are cookie-cutter commercial industrial looks. We’re very enthusiastic about our brand of authentic, refined industrial. We rejuvenate the truly unique lighting designs from the past and offer vintage fixtures and special industrial furniture finds.
A Salvage Sideboard mixed with New Accessories
Recently we’ve been exploring the softer side of industrial, which means we want to show how to live with the very cool – but sometimes too “cool” – factory feel of authentic industrial. We love our lighting and salvage industrial pieces for both commercial and residential applications. They become most livable in homes when softened with furnishings that have warm woods (reclaimed is always nice), rich textures and neutral fabrics with pops of color and pattern.
Of course, for the greenest form of green living, we mix new furnishings with reclaimed or repurposed salvage pieces. We also love playing off the industrial finishes and shades by accessorizing with silver, metallics, clear and opal glass- a little sparkle is a great finishing touch! The ‘living with industrial’ story comes together with the balance of raw, industrial materials from the past and refined softness of today.
We hope you find some inspiration in these snapshots from our Portland store of what our fantastic display team has put together.
