Porcelanosa and connections at BDNY

On this episode of The Chaise Lounge, Nick chats with Andy Pennington from Porcelanosa, a new sponsor for the podcast, and touches base with Stacy Garcia and Stefanie Zeldin to find out about some new products while at BDNY.

 Checking in with Stacy Garcia at BDNY

Stacy Garcia has attended BDNY since the beginning because it is a great show for boutique hotels. Vendors up their game for this upscale show, which include Stacy’s new launches too. This year, Stacy has taken more of an artistic approach with her 100% wool carpet. It is the first time she has used her personal paintings to influence a design.

Stacy is also working on a new, sleek furniture line for Bernhardt Hospitality. These pieces have up to five layers of finishing and rose gold or polished chrome hardware, marrying a rustic look and refined accents. Through lots of hustle and persistence, Stacy is also partnering with In2Green on a line of throws made from recycled content.

Stacy and her team design for fifteen different lines including furniture, wall coverings, lighting, textiles, and more. She is also interested in working in high end bedding with her love for patterns. Stacy surrounds herself with great people who are all successful together. She is humbled by every single person who has chosen to use her product in hospitality or residential settings.

Stefanie Zeldin from In2Green

Stefanie Zeldin, a co-founder of In2Green, has partnered with Stacy Garcia to develop a throw line for both residential and hospitality indoor and outdoor use. At this year’s BDNY, In2Green won two awards for booth design and innovation.

Through ten years of innovating, these knit throws and bed scarves transitioned from a sandpaper-like texture to actually feeling soft. They are made from either 75% recycled cotton and 25% polyester or 100% recycled polyester. Each 50” x 60” throw is made of 78 plastic bottles. In2Green’s goal is to recycle one million bottles.

Stefanie also mentioned the importance of moving away from acrylic materials. Acrylic woven materials are toxic substances for those working. In order to get eco-materials in homes and hotels, In2Green developed a new material and a new line of 30+ colors.

Please check out In2Green’s website for more information on the product offering and innovation.

Getting to know Porcelanosa via Andy Pennington

Andy Pennington loves living in New York and has been in the US for ten years. He enjoys surrounding himself with creative people and appreciates the vibrant energy of the city. Andy started as a window merchandiser, and is now the Sales and Marketing Director for Porcelanosa.

Porcelanosa’s newest showroom is a 7 story building in the Flat Iron District. The building had previously been a Christmas tree decoration manufacturing facility, but at the time was out of use. The building originally featured carolers outside, which Porcelanosa was able to send to Spain to restore and now uses them as seasonal decor.

Porcelanosa makes more than just tile, though tile is the cornerstone of the business. With eight factories and four tile and four non-tile product lines, there is nothing in the kitchen or bath that Porcelanosa doesn’t manufacture.

Andy also mentioned the emphasis that Porcelanosa puts on building relationships and that a lot of marketing dollars are spent on taking people to visit factories. It’s an educational experience that Porcelanosa can provide, where these locations act as the best sales person. The International Interior Architecture Exhibition is coming up in February and visitors from all around the world will visit all eight factories. These attendees come in as strangers, but come out as friends and even do business together.

Wrap Up

Do you want to go to Spain on our trip with Porcelanosa?  Add #LetsToGoToSpain and @thechaiseloung ang @porcelanosa_grupo on social media…on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc and tell us about projects you have done or will do as well as talking about the podcast.  Be creative.  We will look at everything in the month of December and will pick a winner the 1st week in January, and announce a winner the 2nd week of January.

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes or on our website at TheChaiseLoungePodcast.com.  Lastly, find The Chaise Lounge on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or post a review on iTunes, you may even hear your review read live on our next podcast. With that said keep dreaming big, and keep designing a great design business. See ya!