Inside the Poliform Washington, D.C., store.
Courtesy of Poliform
MILAN — Luxury furniture-maker Poliform first set foot on American soil in 1998, at a time when very few knew about the brand — or its Italian peers for that matter — and the market was dominated by multibrand stores.
Wednesday marks a major milestone in the U.S. as Poliform opens its fifth store, a directly operated flagship located at 3304 M Street NW in Cady’s Alley, in the heart of Georgetown’s burgeoning Design District.
Fellow Italian furniture-makers like Molteni&C, Boffi De Padova and B&B Italia are among its only Italian neighbors, but that is likely to change as Italian design brands continue to collectively corner prime U.S. retail real estate like they did in New York City’s Madison Avenue or NoMad area, said Poliform’s U.S. chief executive officer and president Laura Anzani, daughter of Giovanni Anzani, one of the three cofounders.
“The east side of Washington is becoming a beautiful area. There are a lot of retail stores there and the fashion industry has started opening there as well,” said Anzani, who first moved to New York 16 years ago.
Spanning 9,400 square feet across two floors, the flagship marks a significant milestone in Poliform’s ongoing expansion plan in the U.S. and globally. Currently, Poliform has 110 monobrand stores in 95 countries, including five in the U.S.
Today, the company founded in 1970 by Alberto Spinelli, Aldo Spinelli and Giovanni Anzani in the heart of Brianza, the northern Italian furniture district, counts the U.S. as its second-biggest market by sales after Europe, driven largely by what Anzani describes as a strong network and word of mouth marketing. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, the company saw sales in America double and despite a wider market slowdown, the company has grown consecutively every year since. Asia is also growing “exponentially,” she said.
Inside the Poliform Washington, D.C., store.
Courtesy of Poliform
The showroom will feature Poliform’s broad spectrum of products and design offerings to elevate different areas of the home, from living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms and bedrooms, to walk-in closets, storage solutions and accessories and will feature the outdoor line in the next few months. Poliform’s first outdoor collection was launched earlier this year.
Poliform originally started as a cabinet-maker, and saw its business grow rapidly following its expansion into kitchens and eventually the sleek, luxury furniture that echoes natural forms and shapes. “The D.C. market is important because every four years or so, people come and go [due to the election cycle] and for international brand awareness,” Anzani contended.
Forging new design enclaves is something Poliform has been accustomed to, after opening a monobrand store in New York City’s NoMad district in 2016, Miami’s Design District 22 years ago and in Los Angeles in West Hollywood 20 years ago.
The turning point that propelled Poliform’s growth in the U.S. was an editorial project-turned-ad campaign by famed fashion photographer Paolo Roversi. In 2020, he turned pieces of furniture into muses accented by his signature romantic lighting and curated styling.
“We use some of those images in our campaign here in the U.S. and I think that because it was so different, people started asking about us because they found something extremely sophisticated…different from what other companies are doing,” she said.
Anzani added that the brand’s new outdoor collection designed by French architect and inventor Jean-Marie Massaud, designer Emmanuel Gallina, Singapore and New York-based architect Soo K. Chan and Dutch designer and art director Marcel Wanders garnered instant success in the U.S., before it was even presented in stores. Clients were happy with color samples without ever seeing the product in person, she said.
One third of Poliform’s revenues are generated from cabinets, another third by fine furniture and another by kitchens. “We follow the real estate market because we enter homes with cabinetry when there is a new purchase and second home renovation. We’re a little concerned because the real estate market is not at its best at the moment, but we are growing compared to last year,” Anzani said.
According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales in the U.S. fell to their lowest level in nearly 30 years in December 2023. In April, the median existing-home price for all housing types was up 5.7 percent to $407,600 from the previous year.
The state of Washington is getting a seventh temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Marysville Washington Temple was announced Sunday night during a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy in the church’s United States West Area Presidency.
“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency said in a statement. “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”
The other temples in Washington are the Columbia River, Moses Lake, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver temples.
The church has 214 temples in operation. Plans for another 170 temples have been announced; many of those temples are in various stages of planning and construction.
Sunday’s temple announcement follows the new practice of the church’s First Presidency, which determines where temples will be built — and when and how they will be announced.
The First Presidency directed a General Authority Seventy to announce the first temple in Maine at a fireside there in December.
In January, church President Dallin H. Oaks said the Maine announcement set the pattern for future temple announcements.
“The best place to announce a temple is in that temple district,” he told the Deseret News.
The First Presidency will continue to decide where future temples will be built. It then will “assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built,” he said.
This pattern came to him as a strong impression after he assumed leadership of the church in October, following the death of his friend, President Russell M. Nelson.
This came as a strong impression to him shortly after he assumed the leadership of the church, President Oaks said.
The church remains in the midst of an aggressive temple-building era. President Nelson announced 200 new temples from 2018 to 2025. All but one were announced at general conference.
Five dozen temples are now under construction.
President Oaks now has overseen the announcement of two temples, neither at a general conference.
At the October conference he said that “with the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”
Ten new temples are scheduled to be dedicated in the next six months.
Two-thirds of the 170 temples still to be built are outside the United States.
Temples are distinct from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ each Sunday. Temples are closed on Sundays, but they open during the week as sanctuaries where church members go to find peace, make covenants with God and perform proxy ordinances for deceased relatives.
On a perfect day in Seattle for football, Washington took the field inside Husky Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice, and ahead of his third season at the helm, Jedd Fisch seemed pleased with the results.
“Guys played and competed their ass off,” he said after the Huskies ran 120 plays. “That’s the type of day we want to have…We have a lot to work on, but we’re excited that today gave us this opportunity.”
The 120 plays had a little bit of everything, but the biggest thing the Huskies showed during the day was that, despite the inexperience that Fisch’s coaching staff is looking to lean on at several positions, there’s plenty of talent littering the roster. The best example of that is sophomore safety Paul Mencke Jr., who had his best practice in a Husky uniform after Fisch announced on Saturday that senior CJ Christian is out for the year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Tuesday’s practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
“Paul’s done a great job of competing and being physical and playing fast, and you could see over these three years, he’s really grown into understanding now the system, and what’s asked of him as a safety,” Fisch said. “I think there’s a lot of in him that he wants to be like (safeties coach Taylor) Mays. He sees himself as a tall, linear, big hitter. So when you have your coach that is known for that type of play, I think Paul has done a great job.”
Mencke was all over the field. Not only did he lay some big hits, just like his safeties coach did during his time at USC, but the former four-star recruit also tallied a pair of pass breakups, an interception in a 7-on-7 period, and multiple strong tackles to hold ball carriers to limited yards.
While the defense did a good job getting pressure throughout the day and making the quarterbacks hold the ball with different looks on the back end, with safety Alex McLaughlin, linebacker Donovan Robinson, and edge rusher Logan George all among the players credited for a sack, quarterback Demond Williams Jr. got an opportunity to show off how he’s improved ahead of his junior year.
Early on, he showed off his well-known speed and athleticism, making the correct decision on a read option, pulling the ball and scampering for a 25-yard gain before displaying his touch. Throughout the day, his favorite target was junior receiver Rashid Williams, whom he found on several layered throws of 15-plus yards in the various scrimmage periods of practice.
On a day when every able-bodied member of the team was able to get several reps of live action, here are some of the other noteworthy plays from the day.
“Elinneus is a phenomenal guy. Great work ethic. He’s kind of taken on that older brother mentor for me. He’s been a great help just to learn plays and learn the scheme. Can’t say enough good things about the guy.”
Twenty Sioux Falls School District art teachers have their own original pieces on display at the Washington Pavilion’s University Gallery now through May 31.
The “Teachers as Artists” exhibit showcases their work not just as educators, but as artists inside and outside of the classroom, and highlights how art education builds critical thinking, creative problem-solving and self-expression skills.
Edison Middle School art teacher Meagan Turbak-Fogarty said she dreamt of such a showcase since her first year teaching.
She and Kathy Dang, an art teacher at Marcella LeBeau Elementary School who also serves on the city’s Visual Arts Committee, partnered with the city and Washington Pavilion to bring the showcase to life.
Turbak-Fogarty has taught at Edison for five years and said her passion for art is “instantly felt” on her classroom walls, but that students have asked where they could see her art in the classroom, or what kind of art she creates in her own time.
“I always felt the feeling that I stand in front of all these kids every single day and preach about how much I love art, and how art has changed my life,” Turbak-Fogarty said. “That got me thinking, ‘I want to show them.’”
Some of her works on display at the Pavilion include art she created in her first year teaching, including a large Cheetos bag she created as an example for her eighth grade classroom when they were working on a large chip bag project. Turbak-Fogarty said she loves painting, working with acrylics and unconventional materials.
“I wanted to show my students that art can be anything,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be hanging up in a museum to be considered art.”
Continuing to do her own art while teaching the subject helps keep her inspired, Turbak-Fogarty explained, adding that it helps her push her own creativity when it comes to projects she works on with students.
Samantha Levisay, an art teacher at John Harris Elementary School, showed three pieces in the show — “Moments in Time,” “Midnight Butterfly Garden” and “Whimsy” — with the same mixed media, watercolor and printmaking skills that she teaches in different units at every elementary grade.
Levisay educates her students that “art is everywhere.” She said her favorite memories as an art teacher are “moments when I show students a lesson, and they take it even further.”
“Kids are so creative; I marvel at them all the time,” she said. “They inspire me every day with their endless creativity and imagination.”
Roosevelt High School art teacher Ruth Hillman showed two pieces in the show: “The Potato on the Wall,” a mixed media work, and a collection of her handmade clay charms in a shadow box.
She also wore some of her art — miniature potato earrings made of clay.
Hillman is in her third year at RHS. When she’s not teaching art, she’s also making art, and sells her charms at shows like the Art Collective.
Washington High School art teacher Mollie Potter displayed a three-part painting series at the show that she said were inspired by her English language learner students’ stories, and how teachers help students “take flight,” as represented by balloons, parachutes and kites in her work.
Porter said she is often inspired by her students’ art in the classroom; for example, one former student was obsessed with swans, and Porter said she later created a painting inspired by one of the student’s stories about swans.
At an April 17 reception, Mayor Paul TenHaken emphasized the arts as an “important economic driver in the community,” and said the show honored educators “who are artists in and of themselves,” but who might not have had a chance to display their art outside the classroom before.
“This is a way for us to honor them and show their incredible work,” TenHaken said.
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