The quixotic, evocative world of Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch has finally become something everyone can experience with the opening of Roman and Williams Guild NY – a two-floor design emporium located on the fringe of Soho. Like the design duo’s reach, the space is a multi-dimensional union: medling restaurant, library, design gallery, art studio and boutique, effortlessly bringing together the many facets of their creativity.
With over 7,000 sq ft at its disposal, the Guild is an eloquent showcase of Roman and Williams’ many talents and most notably carries The Founding Collection, the first holistic compendium of furniture, lighting and accessories that Roman and Williams has designed over the years. Spanning office, dining, seating, storage, lounging and entertaining, many of the 40-piece furniture collection and 15-piece lighting offering originated during the development of the firm’s numerous hospitality projects.
Located on a previously forgotten corner of Canal Street – the space formerly housed a Citibank branch – the store boasts a light-filled, yet raw and moody interior that harks back to a Soho that’s long gone. Wooden floorboards, painted brick walls and an eclectic display of furniture, objects, glassware and textiles gives the space a lived in, loft-like feel, except for the fact that everything is for sale.
French café La Mercerie at NY
Interspersed amongst the shop’s signature collection are curated additions by Standefer and Alesch from workshops and craftspeople all around the world. From La Soufflerie glassware and painted stoneware by Andrew Mcgarva to Finnish reindeer fur hides and sculptures by the Montana-based artist Casey Zablocki, this trove of treasures is every design buff’s (and magpie’s) fantasy.
All around, the faucets and fixtures featured are from RW Atlas Collection for Waterworks, architectural doors and cabinet hardware are from a separate collaboration with H. Theophile and books are from Phaidon.
Glamorously bringing up the rear is La Mercerie, an elegant, French café concept from chef Marie-Aude Rose and restaurateur Stephen Starr that doles out pastries and eggs in the morning, café classics during the day and tea, coffee and cocktails in the evening. Flanked by a flower shop by Emily Thompson, whose wild, architectural compositions also pop up around the store, there really isn’t much more that one could ask for.
The space formerly housed a Citibank branch –the store boasts a light-filled, yet raw and moody interior
Glamorously bringing up the rear is La Mercerie, an elegant, French café concept from chef Marie-Aude Rose and restaurateur Stephen Starr
Many of the 40-piece furniture collection and 15-piece lighting offering originated during the development of the firm’s numerous hospitality projects
’Reader’ chair and footstool
The space features The Founding Collection, the first holistic compendium of furniture, lighting and accessories
’Dining Kant’ from the Founding Collection
’Catalpa’ sofa
Sculptures by the Montana-based
Left, jar Right, ’Solna’ light
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Roman and Williams Guild website
ADDRESS
Roman and Williams Guild
53 Howard Street
New York
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressingPart of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationshipAnnouncing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craftThe heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
-
Sotheby’s is auctioning a rare Frank Lloyd Wright lamp – and it could fetch $5 millionThe architect's ‘Double-Pedestal’ lamp, which was designed for the Dana House in 1903, is hitting the auction block 13 May at Sotheby's.
-
Step inside this Upper East Side jewel box apartmentThis radiant Lexington Avenue home is a harbinger of good things for the Upper East Side, and the latest focus of The Inside Story, our series spotlighting intriguing and innovative interior design
-
This Colorado ski chalet combines Rocky Mountains warmth with European design nousWood and stone meet artisanal and antique pieces in this high-spec, high-design mountain retreat
-
Swiss utilitarianism meets West Africa in this Armando Cabral and USM furniture collaborationA centuries-old West African motif signifying movement, adaptability, and progress served as the starting point for this collaboration between New York-based designer Armando Cabral and Swiss furniture brand USM
-
Hilltop hideaway: Colony creates tranquil interiors for a Catskills retreatPerched between two mountain ranges, this Catskills retreat marries bold, angular architecture with interiors that offer warmth and texture
-
Rio Kobayashi’s new furniture bridges eras, shown alongside Fritz Rauh’s midcentury paintings at Blunk SpaceFurniture designer Rio Kobayashi unveils a new series, informed by the paintings of midcentury artist Fritz Rauh, at California’s Blunk Space
-
Sculptor James Cherry’s always playful and sometimes strange lamps set New York's Tiwa Gallery aglow‘It was simultaneously extremely isolating and so refreshing’: Los Angeles-based sculptor James Cherry on brainstorming ‘From Pollen’ at New York’s Tiwa Gallery
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lightingLauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
