The sisters are doing it for themselves. After years watching friends purchase well-designed, high-quality modern furniture abroad because it wasn't available here, former PR executive Cindy Cafolla, her astute sisters Sharon and Rebecca Gernon and family friend Mary Kavanagh decided to bring it all back home.
Furnish, the newest furniture and lighting design shop in Dublin specialises in brands otherwise not available in Ireland. The light airy two-level showroom on High Street in Christchurch offers a broad range of contemporary furnishings with a distinctly Italian flavour. Interesting gifts on the ground floor start with £5 egg cups and £12 photo frames. More substantial damage may be done upstairs with a hot red English Intermura `Shuya' couch resembling lips for £2,400. From Italy comes a racy, royal-blue Genesi `Poltrodondolo' rocking chair with black centre stripe and back cushion for £967. The matching footstool is £356. More conservative shoppers may prefer the spare, elegant Italian- designed walnut Poliform bed for £5,300.
The Christchurch retail shop is the first stage in Furnish's overall plan. Robert Trench, formerly of Minima, has recently joined Furnish to develop the commercial side of the business. Mr Trench was previously responsible for fitting out the Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar. Furnish is currently working on several hotels throughout the country, including two in Maynooth, Co Kildare, and one in Wexford. Another project on the cards is a 90-seat restaurant in Dublin. In addition to contract work for bars, restaurants, offices and hotels, the company hopes to provide a wholesale service throughout Ireland.
Marketing is an integral part of developing the customer base. Riding the current ripple in retailing, a mail order catalogue and a website will be published in the coming months, says Mr Trench.
Cindy Cafolla believes Furnish differs from many of its competitors because it offers products in more than just one price range. Retail customers looking for well designed but low-priced furniture will appreciate the Belgian-made Mevi line that includes a chest of drawers for £159.90, or several diningroom tables and chairs in the lower price ranges. Furnish are the sole agents for Mevi in Ireland.
Children are not forgotten and may choose from a range of furniture designed just for them. Kid- sized chairs, featuring Mickey Mouse or Goofy, are £98, while Mevi bunk beds start at £393 without a mattress.
Sensual shoppers will be attracted to the tactile pleasures of a sexy, plum high-back velvet couch by Intermura for £2,800. The matching footstool for £595 features swirled metal legs. All items in the store may be covered in a client's own fabric or with a selection offered by Furnish, says Sharon Gernon.
A functional and beautiful Genesi `Ulisse' multi-purpose cherrywood cabinet with flip-top and central door decorated with a copper sheet insert is £1,047. Also by Genesi, the `Icaro' arrowhead- shaped table in birchwood or chrome-plated base with transparent crystal moulded top is £590.
One whimsical line by the same company is the `Push Push' range designed for bathrooms. Busy professionals will adore the mirror, set in a square wood mounting, that becomes a clock when pushed around, retailing for £300.
Glass takes on a new dimension when designed by Italian company Fiam, which specialises in `corrugated' wavy but sturdy glass units. A tall TV/video/stereo stand sells for £1,500 in Furnish. Several items in Furnish are by another Italian design company, Zertilia, which specialises in tempered glass shelving and tables. An `in and out' cabinet starting at £1,130 comes in two sizes. Stylish tables large and small are also on offer from this company.
Poliform has many of the most eyecatching designs on display in the upper level. Several different walk-in wardrobe systems with different internal structures line one wall. The most intriguing is a large opaque wardrobe with two sliding doors. From a distance, the doors resemble rice paper, but on closer inspection, glass, lit from behind, is apparent. As seen in the shop, the wardrobe is £5,750. However, all the wardrobes are made to measure for the intended room, with a client's choice of internal shelving and fittings.
Many of Italian company Genesi's products are available in the High Street showroom. Its practical design is obvious in the `stretch' cabinet range that extends to create room dividers or a more spacious look. The wood and patterned glass credenza stretches by a third of its size and is an ideal unit for loft or open-plan living spaces. It is priced at £2,600 as shown, but comes in a library or TV cabinet style. Clients may choose a frontage of glass, silkscreen or other materials and designs. The numerous products in Furnish should satisfy even the most jaded, well-travelled clients.
