It had all the makings of a Hollywood premiere. But this event, attended by many of Atlanta’s A-listers, was held in the heart of Buckhead. Owen Halpern and Lawrence Pritchard, of the Westside’s OwenLawrence gallery, chose their own home in which to debut one of the latest additions to their tabletop offerings—Sieger by Fürstenberg.
The guest of honor was none other than Christian Sieger himself, who, with his brother Michael, designed the collection of exquisite contemporary china. And to say he was impressed with the party and the venue would be an understatement. “It’s really a big premiere in many respects,” Sieger says. “We’ve never had an opportunity to do anything like this in the States.”
Not that there have been many opportunities. Sieger by Fürstenberg can only be found in seven cities throughout the country. But early on, Atlanta—and OwenLawrence—proved to be a good fit.
“We found the right people that, from my point of view, have a high sensitivity for what we are doing,” says Sieger. “Because we are a premium line, we need people who don’t just fall in love with [the product] but really understand what we are doing.” Halpern and Pritchard, he adds, appreciate the uniqueness of the product, the high-quality craftsmanship, and the modern approach to design.
“They’ve been very careful about with whom they partner, because the Sieger line is more than just china—it’s a lifestyle. You’ve got clothing, men’s accessories, and we didn’t even bring over the furniture that they do,” says Halpern. “We felt a home environment would be a much more appropriate way of introducing it. We also felt that showcasing this beautiful china, which tends to be more contemporary than traditional, in a very traditional environment would show Atlantans how beautiful and dramatic the product can be within that type of framework. Let’s face it: As sophisticated and as forward-thinking as Atlanta is, design-wise it still tends to be pretty traditional. We’ve always been about trying to stir things up a little bit.”
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