Lush Factor! DesignLush, Stephen Mitchell, Founder

Trailblazer’ is the word that comes to mind when we think of Stephen Mitchell, founder of luxury furniture line and showroom, DesignLush. It’s not just his affinity for the finest materials or his sharp eye for talent when it comes to his all-star team of artisans who make DL the go-to crew for bespoke luxury interiors. It’s that he’s bringing back American-made when the rest of the manufacturing industry is pushing catalogues of cheap, offshore-made ready-to-carry. “At the end of the day it is business. It has to be profitable and it has to be palatable for the public. It can’t be all avant-garde to the point that only the artist likes it. But, I’m not a design dictator, the inspiration needs to be there otherwise where is the fun?” says Mitchell. That’s precisely his genius—he’s a whirlwind of fun, creative collaboration, cutting-edge innovation and stealthy business-savvy all at once. cont’d…

“Impeccable design is clean, simple and quality.” Featured: Handmade acrylic Monroe Chair with faux mink upholstery by Aaron R. Thomas for DesignLush

“The latest brilliantly designed item I’ve seen is this pair of gem-studded stilettos by Raul de Nieves—they are amazing. And they help me through my current phase: Don’t be afraid of color!”

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“DesignLush was born from collaboration. A friend approached me with the Modernist bench and from there the signature collection was produced. If it were up to me I would stay behind-the-scenes and DesignLush would be known as an art collective.” Featured: Modernist 2-leg bench with faux Chinchilla upholstery and polished brass legs by DesignLush.

“My style has been described as cold and uninviting: Concrete slabs and mink throws. I have to constantly edit myself” Featured: The DesignLush Media Group by Rick Lee

“I have incredibly bad ADD—I can’t just listen to music alone. This is one of my fave music videos right now [“Super Massive Black Hole” by Muse].” Featured: Custom auto-painted fiberglass Pantera Bench by Zak Ostrowski for DesignLush

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“My ideal Sunday begins with pancakes. It also involves the gym, a long bath, Champagne and a small section of Central Park for some meditation.”

“I think every project should be budgetless. If I had my way I’d have real fur, bronze and diamond-encrusted walls, a spectacular water feature, lots of amazing furniture, in a remote location with Serge the butler robot.”

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“I never go without Dayner Decker’s White Tuberose to set ambiance. The smell takes over your entire body.”

“The Modernist Cowhide Platform Bed is one of our key pieces that we’ve become quite notable for. It’s a great example of how we’ve managed to balance the line between opulence and making it work for the public. Cow hide is much more palatable to work with than our original idea of mink.”

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“I’m inspired by Bjork—she has always captivated me. She is like this magical pixie from outer-space that was sent here to bestow a higher sense of thinking and appreciation for life. This music video [“All Is Full Of Love”] is just pure emotion. I’m also inspired by photographer, Miles Aldridge. He just doesn’t care…it’s reckless genius.”

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The fashion design and international business grad refined his eye for curating at the Smithsonian Museum then segued to luxury goods. “I started working with specialty glass blowers, master craftsmen, artists and I noticed two things: Artists could use some direction with business and there was a void in the marketplace for custom-made artisan-driven furniture. There is no reason why you shouldn’t get exactly what you want,” Mitchell states. And then there’s timing:  Hybrid showroom/contemporary museums (think: chairs too magnificent to sit on) were becoming en vogue and then 9/11 cast a morbidly stagnant wrench in the design industry. “I cultivated a group of artists (most of which are still with me today) working on exclusives and bringing things to market…people were really eager to be part of that experience.” And so, Mitchell found his niche as the link between the artists and a growing group of fine art furniture collectors—“The kind of personalities that don’t want people knowing what they have,” he says of his high-profile clientele.

While Mitchell injects DL’s signature contemporary style to haute hotels and New York’s finest penthouses he’s also diligently working on something bigger: The revival of the American craftsman. His ModernMasters is a hand-picked dream team of artists, fabricators and designers (including our very own Mr. and master of acrylic, Aaron R. Thomas) who are paving the way for a new generation of artisans. It comes at a pivotal time considering our economy’s current volatile nature—suddenly that chair too fancy to sit on is making a social statement. It’s not just a conversation starter for your next dinner party—it’s an affirmation of our community; it’s inspired, it’s an heirloom; it’s a hand-crafted labor of love. And when it comes to decorating our homes, isn’t that the essence? Community. Inspiration. Love.

DesignLush, New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Ave., Suite 415, New York, NY, 10016, 212.532.5450, designlush.com, info@designlush.com.