Art, Commerce, Community
Come, sit a while at Bo Concept
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 22, 2010 at 07:00AM
4 Comments
Slideshow: Pop-up sale shop + gallery now adjacent to the West Edge Welcoming Committee/modern furniture dealer Bo Concept (Diptych by Robinick Fernandez; furniture by Bo Concept)
View Slideshow » Illustration:Painting by Robinick Fernandez
View Slideshow » Illustration:Paper works by Jesse Brown
View Slideshow » Illustration:“My Grandfather Was A Warrior, So My Father Could Be A Farmer, So I Could Be a Poet,” mixed medium installation by FaNKULT
View Slideshow » Illustration:Not art; discounted lighting from Bo Concept
View Slideshow » Illustration:50 States by Katie Bailey/Laser Nature; new age lounge chair and ikat-esque pillow by Bo Concept
View Slideshow » Illustration:Photographs by Kyle Johnson; furniture by Bo Concept
Currently, there is a pop-up sale shop/art show next door to BoConcept on Western Ave. It’s there, in a space vacated by a lighting design company, through the end of the month and you should go check it out. If you should happen to miss it, however, hang tough. Chances are good that any minute now, BoConcept will be hosting another fashion show, non-profit meeting, social media mixer, live art installation, or professional design society of one variety or another. And you could be invited.
Brady Woo and Melenie Yap of the West Edge furniture store (I’m going with it; you can call the nabe Downtown if you’d like, but I’ve decided to embrace West Edge because I’m a believer) tell me that it’s a company-wide thing. They do it in New York, Berlin, San Fran; BoConcept made a corporate decision to host community events, and if you’ve ever attended one of them, you know that light-bulb moment … " A party, in a furniture store. Brilliant."
You can sit, lounge, lay, stroll, it’s really the perfect venue for mixers, movers, and shakers.
Don’t they worry about damaging the showroom pieces? “It shows normal wear and tear,” Woo answers without a moment’s hesitation. Clients may never know that architects, design students, or Twitter addicts sipped champagne on the sectional they’re considering, but they get a good idea of what the piece looks like after its been lived on a little just the same.
And the city gets a gathering spot. The store only hosts free events (it’s turned several promoters down; they don’t do club nights, they do community), and though they charge a fee for clean-up and staffing, it’s much less than what these groups would have to pay for renting a venue.
Sure, it’s great exposure for the store, but Woo insists it’s as much about being social interaction and being a part of the larger scene. They’re in love with their neighborhood at BoConcept, and they want to see it thrive. Woo thinks West Edge has meat-packing district potential, and tells me that one enterprising member of his team is petitioning to get a Dean and Deluca installed in the neighboring shop once the pop-up gallery is down.
As more downtown and neighborhood shops succumb to the sad state of financial affairs, it’s heartening to see others getting outside the box to bring people in.
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For the word on upcoming events at BoConcept, follow them on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
While you’re at it, follow us, too, and jump in on our FB page as well.
Tags: west edge
I work in West Edge and would love a Dean & Deluca in the hood. I used to work across the street from the Rockefeller center location in NYC and miss it terribly, the catalog doesn’t do it justice. BoConcept is a really awesome venue and I’ve always wondered why/how there are so many parties there. Great post, go West Edge!
hey Graham, yeah, our office is just down the street too, so I’m totally all for folks bringing the Edge! I gotta say, tho, Dean and Deluca is great, but there are so many talented food biz people in Seattle! … I wonder if our nabe is just not quite on their radar? Anyway, cool that you were curious about the goings on over there, I was too — and had to investigate!
BoConcept is great – I have a few pieces, and not only are they stylish and look good, but comfortable and enduring. They get the most compliments from friends. I can’t take the credit, since the nice folks at BoConcept chose the design and color scheme for my living room – I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I trusted them to think outside the box, and it worked! Sort of like their parties and community events . . .trust them to be creative and make it fabulous!
You know Seattle has arrived when there’s a BoConcept and an H&M. After seeing BoConcept in other cities around the country and world, I’m so glad after moving back to Seattle, we have one, too! Who knew parties in a furniture store would work, but they are the perfect place – plenty of cool and comfy seating with a bar – who needs anything more? It’s like being at home . . .
And with all the local foodies and talent here, we don’t really need a Dean & Deluca, but we do need a Zara . . .