An Empire State of Mind

New York is the home or former home of several of us on the Tour du Monde team, and as DEDON prepares to open a showroom here this Fall, New York is sure to become an important new home for the company very soon. To celebrate our arrival in — and return to — this city that means so much to us, we decided to throw a party, inviting old friends and new to mix, mingle and help create the family-and-friends atmosphere in which DEDON thrives.

The location? The Ramscale lofts and studio on the West Side Highway and Bethune, at the westernmost end of Greenwich Village, just south of the Meatpacking District. The space, a popular site for fashion shoots and commercial film productions, comprises a 13th floor penthouse, two massive surrounding terraces and a rooftop terrace affording 360° views of Manhattan, the East river and New Jersey. The Empire State Building looms large over the scene. 

Fitted out with an array of DEDON furnishings, including the new PLAY with DEDON chairs and dining table, the terraces provided the perfect atmosphere for an evening of reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. As the sun went down and the terraces filled with laughter and conversation, the Empire State Building cast an increasingly pink glow over furniture and guests alike. In New York, a rooftop to play on really is the ultimate luxury. 

Catering for the party was provided by the inimitable Kurt Gutenbrunner of New York’s three popular Austrian restaurants, Wallsé and Blaue Gans downtown and Cafe Sabarsky in the Neue Galerie museum uptown. A good friend of our marketing director, Tom Wallmann, and our photographer, Rainer Hosch, both Austrian themselves, the charismatic Kurt was not only our caterer but also an esteemed guest, keeping the food coming and the conversation humming all night long. 

Other guests included Halsted Welles, one of Manhattan’s leading rooftop garden designers; high-profile art director Richard Pandiscio; fashion photo rep Walter Schupfer; Ronnie DeMichael, CEO of Jay-Z’s clothing line, Rocawear; architect and editor Felix Burrichter, founder of Pin-Up magazine; fashion stylist Sabine Schroeder; travel writer and Tour du Monde correspondent Julia Chaplin, author of the book Gypset; her boyfriend, the industrial designer and artist Jason Miller; and Michael Kazam of creative network Le Book, among many others.

DEDON founder and chairman Bobby Dekeyer, CEO Hervé Lampert and his lovely wife, Tess, made sure the assembled guests felt right at home until the moment the last ones left. As DEDON sets up shop in New York, you can count on many, many more such evenings. A big thanks from everyone on the DEDON Tour du Monde team to Murray and Gail Bruce, who run the Ramscale space and opened it so warmly to us.