Sep 30 2009
Finnish home furnishings manufacturer, iittala, officially spotlighted Didriks as a featured retailer of the Design Research Exhibit in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Exhibit recreates entire store in its original flagship location.
Finnish home furnishings manufacturer iittala officially spotlighted Didriks as a featured retailer of the Design Research Exhibit in Harvard Square. This novel exhibit entirely recreates the iconic Design Research home furnishings store in the renowned building at 48 Brattle Street that the company occupied from 1953 to 1979. The Brattle Street structure was designed by Ben Thompson, architect and founder of Design Research, and was recently vacated by Crate and Barrel. The building is known for its oversized windows, which allow the entire interior to be visible from the exterior.
The Design Research exhibit showcases the most prominent brands introduced by Design Research to the U.S., including iittala and Marimekko. The Design Research U.S. brand introductions and store concept are often cited as having a major influence on retail design in the 20th century.
Sue Pregartner, President of iittala, Inc. said, "iittala is excited to participate in the Design Research exhibit. One of iittala's best brand ambassadors, Didriks, is located right around the corner from Brattle Street. As both a local retailer and national on-line source for the entire iittala line, iittala enthusiastically refers exhibit viewers to Didriks and their website, https://www.didriks.com/."
The Design Research exhibit is being spearheaded by Jane Thompson, wife of the late Ben Thompson. Former Design Research staff have assisted Thompson in the Design Research recreation. The exhibit will run through winter 2010 and is intended to be viewable from the street. A limited number of functions will occur inside the building.
Didriks has created a special section within their website, specifically to showcase the iittala collection on display at the exhibit: http://www.didriks.com/design-research. Didriks is an online retailer of iittala and offers the entire iittala collection in their store at 190 Concord Ave, Cambridge, MA.
Source: https://www.didriks.com/