Rocky LaFleur
I hope you had a chance to read my latest blog on Rocky LaFleur, Los Angeles’ leading expert in the world of high-end to-the-trade home furnishings. For more than 30 years, Rocky – an associate at Kneedler|Fauchère in the Pacific Design Center – has been this industry’s source for what to scout out and who to talk with to make magic happen. In fact, he is widely known as “Yenta of the Center.”
But what I did not include in the blog is that Rocky has entrée into the world of high design in Paris, a city he admires for its inspiration for bringing “light to everything and elevating the conversation.” Lucky American designers have accompanied him and his Kneedler|Fauchère colleagues to the City of Lights for Paris Design Week since 2009.
In large part, Kneedler|Fauchère has been able to secure access to private events and parties for American designers because of its notable representation of La Maison Pierre Frey, Noblilis, Jim Thompson, Dedar, Hermès Fabric and Wallpaper, and Glant Textiles. Kneedler Vice President Gina DeWitt and Rocky assembled the first group, and the results were magical.
Kneedler|Fauchère showroom in Pacific Design Center
“It was right smack dab in the middle of the great recession,” Rocky recalls. “We all wanted and needed inspiration and community, and we got it in Paris in spades.”
This year the Kneelder trip was a non-stop week of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including Pierre Frey’s textile presentation on a floating barge on the Seine and its 80th anniversary set at the Louvre with aplomb as famed interior designer, Jacques Garcia, renovated galleries to the reign of Louis XIV and the 18th century.
Jim Thompson was featured in Passage Dauphine at a hidden showroom called “Forbidden Colours.” Dedar’s fashion-forward and cutting-edge sister-and-brother team, Caterina and Raffaele Fabrizio, dazzled at their presentation, and Nobilis’ new creative director, Eric Valerno, made a lasting impression, including reimaging embroideries through the prism of Joseph Frank. Seattle-based Glant Textiles set up a Paris showroom recently, and they were right in the Parisian mix of the intersection of fashion and interiors in gorgeous black and white color motifs.
Rocky LaFleur
Rocky and his Kneedler colleagues are truly a gift to the design profession!
Kneedler|Fauchère is the iconic design destination for new and legendary collections of luxury fabric, furniture, lighting, wallpaper and accessories. Founded in 1948, its mission is to create an unsurpassed resource for design professionals. Today it operates showrooms in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver, serving designers in more than eight states.