45°
If you love beautiful home decor but can't afford to hire an interior designer, set Sat. Oct. 29 aside for some special shopping. The Connecticut chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is holding a tag sale to beat all tag sales in Greenwich, Conn. Members of the Society are emptying their storerooms of fabrics, lamps, furniture and accessories - and the sale is open to the everyone.
Running the show is MaryAnn Howell, a past president of ASIDCT and an interior designer based in Norwalk. She says designers have been unloading all sorts of items that clutter up their studios. "We have antique lighting, an authentic Victorian settee, curtains, pillows, beautiful oriental rugs," she says. There are bolts of brocade, silk, cotton prints and chenilles. Furniture runs the gamut from armchairs to custom entertainment units. There's even a full Pilate's system. ASID's industry partners are contributing frames, tiles, art, paint, furniture and more.
MaryAnn says that people who come to the sale will find more than just things to buy at bargain prices. "The designers on the tag sale committee will be there to answer anyone's design questions," she says. Industry partners, such as Rockwell Art & Framing and A.G. Williams Painting, will also be there.
MaryAnn has been a practicing interior designer for more years than she cares to remember, she says. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, she started her career designing offices in New York. After her marriage to an Air Force officer, she worked wherever he was stationed - in Florida, Virginia, Texas, California and Chicago. In 1975 she moved to Weston and has remained there - except when she's in Beijing and Hong Kong or in Jackson Hole working on projects for her clients.
MaryAnn has seen many changes over the years. "It's a whole different world now, with the internet," she says. People shop online for the things they could once only get through a designer. "But," she says, cheerfully, "Clients still need designers to help pull it all together."
The ASID Tag Sale is Saturday, Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Christ Church on Putnam Avenue in Greenwich. For information on donating or consigning items to the sale, contact MaryAnn Howell.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
