Layla Grayce

Pleased as punch – we have Christiane from DwellStudio here today! What a treat. Our blog readers are dying to know more about you and your amazing company. Inspire away.

It is a real privilege to be a guest blogger on Layla Grayce. Everyone at DwellStudio loves the level of design and selection offered. There are very few places that showcase all of our items together with such style. Furthermore – the selection of all the merchandise on the site is edited beautifully. Kudos to everyone at Layla Grayce.
Christiane Lemieux founder/creative director DwellStudio

Tell us a bit about your company’s history. What was the inspiration for starting your business?

I had just graduated from the Parsons school of design in fashion and I went to work for Isaac Mizrahi and the Gap. Then out of the blue I was handed an opportunity to go and work for Portico – a home furnishings company here in New York. I was very excited to try something new. I really took my fashion training and turned it to interiors. Along the way I started developing a style that was modern and did not fit the Portico profile anymore. I looked around and nobody was doing what I was except for some very good things at Crate and Barrel so in 1999 I took the leap and started the company. In 2003 we started the baby division. It’s funny looking back because I knew nothing about business at all. It has been a learning process since then – one that I have really enjoyed.

What influences your design and color selection?

I look everywhere for original inspiration -travel, fashion, flea markets, books – and especially New York where you are bombarded with ideas all day long. We draw a lot from fashion as well. It’s tricky because most fashion trends have to be modified for interiors and the colors do not always translate but there is usually a grain of something amazing in the fashion shows. We really work hard here in our design studio to make sure we are always pushing our design forward.

Is there a favorite design or design concept this season?

We have a great new home collection coming out in January. It’s fresh and original and we are all very proud and excited. I am not giving away the design concept yet…but we have been relentless in the design, obsessed with the details (luxe embroidery and lovely fabrication) and we really want to over-deliver to our customers. I think that is what it takes!

Hint – gorgeous saturated colors and hand drawn details in a modern way.

Do you have a favorite design related blog that you enjoy or are inspired by?

I love to read blogs – and I love writing our blog (www.dwellstudio.com/blog)… it’s a fun, spontaneous, creative thing to work on. I read all of the big blogs like www.designspongeonline.com/ and www.apartmenttherapy.com/ but right now I am loving www.kidslovedesign.blogspot.com for amazing children’s design, www.design-milk.com/ for home, and ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/ for lifestyle. It changes daily though!

What’s new ahead in the way of trends or product features?

I think there is going to be a lot more thought given to a longer lifespan for product. I really think design should be lasting and not something that gives out in styling or quality. I do think people will consider purchases more now that they have in the past. I want to make sure that everything we do is fashion-forward but has longevity – a tricky balance.

Is your company “Green” or do you have some sort of community outreach program?

The most recent “green” initiative we have taken on is to completely redevelop our packaging so that all our products arrive in a re-usable fabric bag or PVC-free box. We actively push our consumers to find creative ways to reuse or recycle our packaging. It’s funny because I learned that no matter how we manufacture our product the packaging would always be worse for the environment – PVC is toxic and takes hundreds of years to decompose. We are attacking all our environmental holes – one at a time starting from the biggest. We have just reduced our impact on the environment in a huge way by getting rid of disposal packaging. Additionally, we have always used low impact heavy metal free dyes in our prints and we have a 100% organic collection in our baby line, which I’m very proud of, and are working toward offering an expanded organic collection.

In our community we support many charities but we really love working with Baby Buggy – we can get product right to mothers at risk. It is a great cause and fulfilling to all of use at DwellStudio.

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