About Coffindaffer Studio
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| From a collection of accent pillows I made exclusively for Neiman Marcus. |
Repurposing at an early age!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved making things to customize my personal space. A childhood creation that stands out in my mind is a decorative box that was nothing more than an old cigar box covered in fabric and rickrack trim. Looking back, I remember it because I then realized I could take something and completely transform it into a useful, and to my eyes, beautiful object.
Art classes in college led me to a BFA in Graphic Design, which was a bit off the mark from what I enjoyed most. 3-Dimensional stuff was much more fun! Within 2 weeks of graduation I moved to New York City, having been accepted to Parsons School of Design to pursue my dream career in fashion. After another BFA degree and a terrific few years in the fashion industry it was time to move into home décor… the nesting instinct had kicked in.
But what to do?
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| Holiday candle styles as presented by Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor. |
Applying my fashion sense, I looked around for opportunities and realized plain pillar candles were a perfect blank canvas just waiting for decoration. So, I started my first company in the early 1990’s called Michael Coffindaffer Home, to design, manufacture and wholesale decorative candles entirely new to the market. Whether studded with pearls, stars, jewels, embellished with cherubs, encrusted with bamboo or cinnamon sticks, or intricately carved and hand-painted, every decoration possible went through the collections. To my delight they were sold in the finest retailers: Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue, to name a few.
After a decade or so I moved on and worked extensively with many home décor and gift product categories for fashion and celebrity brands like Bill Blass and Paula Deen. I still love the creative energy of New York and 20+ years of home décor industry experience has added tremendously to my knowledge and expertise.
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| The tabletop product launch for Paula as seen in "Cooking With Paula Deen" magazine. |
Now the catch...
Things change! Many stylish types, myself included, are just not interested in mass-produced décor. It doesn’t feel right and doesn’t speak to our need for the unique and special, wow-that’s-me! piece that really makes a statement. We look for beauty. We desire and seek out a one-of-a-kind piece. We need to see the artist’s hand at work and truly appreciate the unique quality of their individual statements that always come through in the finished piece.
What we gather around us in our home must be things with personal meaning and objects that bring us happiness, joy, contentment. Our collections, unique to each of us, reflect our nesting sensibilities and sense of place, beauty and style back to those we choose to invite in. We make our mark in the world by virtue of our individual statements.
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| A sleek look from Michael Coffindaffer Home and a terrific mention in their "On The Town" feature. |
Fast-forward to the memory of that fabric covered cigar box...
Not surprisingly, I still love to make things. About 5 years ago I crafted a big 5’x8’ mirror frame from driftwood picked up on Fire Island as a functional and decorative statement for our newly renovated beach house. I think this impulse must have been a reaction (and maybe response) to too many manufactured goods devoid of personality… I much preferred creating assemblages of found objects transformed into works of art and beauty. I loved the process so much I made more frames simply for the fun of it, enjoying letting the individual pieces of driftwood tell me how they wanted to fit together. I would start with a general idea but the personality of the driftwood would ultimately determine the character of the finished piece.
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| My driftwood mirror that was the catalyst for launching Michael Coffindaffer Studio. |
The joy of this creative process continues…
In a desire to share these driftwood sculptures with a larger world, expand my artistic sensibilities and eye for the unique, and provide a place where one could shop for really great and special home décor, I decided that it was time to follow my next dream. To that end, Michael Coffindaffer Studio is the place to find fabulous one-of-a-kind decorative gifts and accessories, original art, limited edition works in bronze, and any number of special objects to beautify your home and enliven your spirit.
All are created, repurposed or personally hand selected with an appreciative eye to the work of nature or the nuances of the artisans hand. I am thrilled to be able to share with you the wonderfully unique home decorations that inspire me on a daily basis because of their quality to surprise and delight. Hopefully you share in my enthusiasm and are inspired as well by what you find at Michael Coffindaffer Studio.
Here’s to the Wow-That’s-Me feeling!
All The Best,
