In two prototype stores for 7 For All Mankind , zebrawood veneer
is used as a border around white wall shelving and on tops of the display tables with the grain “ waterfalling ” over the sides .
High Country Millwork Creates Unique and Chic Environments with Exotic Wood Grains
Like the people who shop in them , upscale retail stores want to make a strong fashion statement that says , “ We ’ re one step ahead of the masses .” Sometimes that statement is a subtle one . Sometimes it ’ s anything but . In either case , the wood selection choice can be a large part of the designer ’ s tool kit .
Being selected as a preferred vendor of fixtures and interiors for high-end stores like Tiffany & Co ., is a prestigious achievement and one that is awarded to only three millwork companies in North America . Contrast that with the literally dozens of approved vendors vying to work with more mass-market stores who are generally trapped into a “ lowest bidder ” race to the bottom , and you can get a feel for the effort and skill that it takes to retain upscale clients .
“ Not everybody can do this kind of work . It is very design intensive ,” says Marc Sagrillo , vice president of High Country Millwork ( HCM ) in Longmont , Colorado . “ The quality of our product has to be at the level of their product . Tiffany & Co . wants our showcases to be as beautiful as their jewelry . You may get one shot at working with a client on this level , and if you don ’ t perform , you ’ ll never get another . You might even lose opportunities from other clients of that caliber because the store fixture industry is a very tight-knit group . They share information , and bad news travels faster than anything .”
Retail design is truly a fashion industry . Just as with clothes , it ’ s easy to track changes in taste . Suddenly you see the same looks popping up simultaneously across the country . Sagrillo says that in the last two years he has seen a resurgence in design featuring exotic wood grains .
“ When something ’ s hot , it ’ s really hot . People jump on and love it . If you walk into a newer high-end mall , or the shops in the new Palazzo resort in Las Vegas , you ’ re going to see a lot of imported woods and veneers such as zebrawood ( Microberlinia brazzavillensis ), also called zebrano , rosewoods ( Dalbergia spp .) and Makassar ebony ( Diospyros spp .). Designers are absolutely in love with these species right now . Years ago , designers jumped on the figured anegre ( Aningeria spp .) bandwagon . Now , it ’ s a lot of what we ’ re tearing out .”
“ The beauty of zebrano and Makassar ebony is enhanced by light staining , which brings down the contrast between the light and dark stripes ,” Sagrillo says . “ They look quite exotic , and make a powerful statement as accents against solid colors or other more subtle wood grains .
“ Most people think of ebony as piano keys – black – but Makassar ebony has a lot of zebrawood characteristics in it . The sapwood is more yellow , and the browns are very dark browns , so it has good contrast , and the grain patterns are very similar to zebrawood . Both of these woods are starting to show up a lot in design and retail design magazines .
“ We ’ re using zebrawood in the new Tiffany & Co . store interiors as an accent wood on some of the fixtures throughout the store . It ’ s combined with a domestic flat-cut walnut on showcases , point-of-sale islands , and wall panels . It doesn ’ t sound like they would go together , but it ’ s very attractive . Up until last year , they had been using a highly figured mottled makoré ( Tieghemella heckelii and T . Africana ) with African mahogany ( Khaya grandifoliola and K . senegalensis ). It was very beautiful , but they ’ ve changed their design theme .
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