Suzani furniture & more at the ABC Store in NYC

Imagine a marriage of modern and ancient- that is what you get when you visit the ABC store. They have been famous for their suzani upholstered chairs and tuffets for years now:

a perfect marriage of old fabric uphostering a more modern or fashionable furniture shape. This idea never seems to get tired for me because each Suzani is so unique. What is a Suzani? you might ask, Ok here goes:
The generic term suzani derives from the Persian sozan (a needle) or sozani (quilting work- a kind of ornamentel carpet) this term was probably applied to all Central Asia embroideries in modern times and ignores the more specific local terms for similar techniques. To help you recognize a suzani, consider that the embroidery usually includes medallions and tribal bright colors of red, black, white- but is so varied in the details it is difficult to be more specific.
So, that’s the lesson for the day- here are the photos of ABC’s furniture, mostly Suzanis, but I have included some of the modern & mid-century modern inspired pieces as well to show a full spectrum of their assortment. As always, ABC is a big ol’ merchandising mess- but you gotta love it, it’s so inspiring. 

Here is the perfect room for me: Albaster fountains, Suzani’s, chandeliers, and pillows galore- perfection!

An odd combo, but lovely all the same.

 

look at these tufted chairs ( below) 
with suzani inserts! wonderful!

and for the modern furniture lover, even these have a slightly ethnic flair.
 
And this beauty (below)- which has nothing to do with suzani- but would live comfortably
with any pattern- look at the lines on this piece- it’s amazing!

I wanted to share these photos with you all since they really
speak to what is going on in fashion for the home. But also,
I am a firm believer that any small store should try to include
found items, antiques, alongside their current product assortment,
to help individualize and separate them from all of the harsh price
competition in the chain stores. It is the main advantage a small store
has over the giants. Please consider this, especially now as some might consider
buying less expensive products- which then only puts you in the same race as the giants.
that’s a tough race to win- so be individual!