Business of Home, June 7th 2018: "Chinese Lessons"
"New York designer Richard Mishaan is banking on a change of attitudes with his new, hyper-customizable collection launching with Theodore Alexander next year. 'Ten years ago, I did a line for the Chinese company QM, and the market was not nearly as sophisticated then as it is now,' he says. His tack with this latest collection: "ultra-luxurious finishes, like lacquer and hand-painting, that can be personalized.' He believes that the buy-everything-they-see shopping methodology may soon be obsolete. 'People in China may buy things exactly as they are in shops, but this collection is all very customizable', he says. 'You can interchange finishes and materials in one piece, or even tweak the size to a certain extent. It's more consumer-directed.'
Pieces are tailored to customer demands. 'We're doing fabulous dining tables with lazy Susans, which are very much a part of the culture there-- they put it all on the table family-style,' he explains. 'Ours can match the table, or be in granite or stone-- all materials that will survive a hot plate.' Even the Theodore Alexander showrooms themselves have been reimagined-- furniture is no longer displayed in compartmentalized niches and vignettes. 'When you walk through the majority of showrooms all over China, they'll mix a private-label chair with a Richard Mishaan coffee table and other pieces. It creates excitement, as opposed to something right out of a commercial for Bob's Discount Furniture.'"
