When Amanda Pratt thinks of “salon” she thinks of salon like Gertrude Stein — the Saturday evening gatherings of artists, writers and composers the American writer held at her apartment in Paris for decades in the early 20th Century. It’s that spirit that she was reaching for when she started her company — Salon Design, now installed at 27 Vestry — more of a collective of creatives than a gallery or shop.

The company curates the work of artists and makers from across the globe and then matches clients with their work, often for site-specific or custom installations. They commission the work and oversee the development of the project from start to finish: design, logistics and installation.

“I wanted to support people who are making the next generation of collectable design,” Amanda said.

It’s a longtime passion but a recent vocation. Amanda lived in Hong Kong for 12 years, working for Merrill Lynch to pay down her debt after receiving her master’s in interior architecture at the Inchbald School of Design in London. When she returned to the States in 2018, she returned to her love of design and started Salon in Boston, on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. But since many of her clients were in New York, she was lured here. She opened in May on Vestry between Hudson and Greenwich — the space that was once Schoolhouse Electric.

Her experience in HK informed the direction of the company right from the start. “In Asia, everybody reused everything and everything is built with the idea of keeping things for a long time,” she said. “When I came back and did design projects here, I couldn’t get comfortable with the idea of throwing things away in a couple years.”

The work she represents is a (often clever) hybrid between art and furniture. When I was last in the gallery, there were laser-cut wood veneer room dividers; hand-blown glass pendants; powder-coated aluminum butler tables with silicone fringe; wall reliefs digitally printed on maple veneer with metallic paint. She focuses on women makers, intentionally trying to reverse the gallery ratio of men to women. She represents about 40 artists and 80 percent are women. The women doing the mural in the bathroom were out of Milan.

Tribeca was an easy fit. “Tribeca is the place to be, don’t you think?” (Yes! Tribeca Design District!) “There are a lot of similar businesses in the neighborhood, you can get here really easily, and I like that it’s quiet,” Amanda said. “We are more of a destination, and that works here.”

Salon Design
sales@salondesign.us
646-410-0729‬
27 Vestry | Hudson & Greenwich
Showroom hours: Monday to Friday, 10a to 6p