Hotly Anticipated Showcase Store Finally Opening in the Dallas Design District: From L.A. With Style

Some things are worth the wait. Almost two years and multiple construction delays since it was announced, the first Texas flagship of Los Angeles-based Jean de Merry showroom opens mid-September in the heart of the Dallas Design District. This has been one of the most hotly anticipated new showrooms to rattle our creative senses in ages.

Known for superb craftsmanship and a hefty dose of masculine glamour, Jean de Merry, a celebrated furniture and lighting designer, showcases his own collections as well as exclusive collaborations by some of the world’s most sought-after designers including Jean-Louis Deniot, Hamel + Farrell and Heijden & Hume, while also representing such design luminaries as Studiolo by Richard Shapiro, Magni Home Collection, Kalin Asenov, Hubert Le Gall and Helen Aumont.

De Merry grew up in a small town in the south of France, surrounded by the crafts of a bygone era — for four centuries, generations of the de Merry family had operated a tanning company. De Merry and Corsica-born Christian Darnaud-Maroselli co-founded the Jean de Merry company in 2001. They transferred their knowledge of age-old French techniques of working with woods, leather, shagreen and bronze to a new generation of craftsmen in America, launching their first furniture collection 14 years ago. Since then, their French Deco-inspired creations and sophisticated collaborations have graced the Bergdorf Goodman restaurant in New York, The Peninsula in Chicago and New York, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in L.A., and Dior and Tiffany & Co. boutiques.

Dallas is Jean de Merry’s fourth store — outposts are in Chicago and New York, as well as the L.A. home base — and at 12,000 square feet, this is the largest and loftiest location yet.

“The emphasis is on negative space,” says Darnaud-Maroselli. Extra elbow room allows for more collaborations. “With Dallas, we’re continuing a chapter that we started in Chicago in 2011, where we introduced Modern Artisans,” he says. “It’s a collaboration with American and international designers that celebrates art and craft by bringing the best craftsmanship to designers’ projects.”

The partners have launched nine collaborations this year, including ones with Alexander Lamont, Azadeh Shadovsky, Callidus Guild, Philip Nimmo, Natasha Baradaran and Patricia Roach. Three new exclusive-to-Dallas collaborations are Australian lighting designer Christopher Boots and L.A.-based furniture designers Kimberly Denman and Reagan Hayes. 1505 Hi Line Dr., Dallas, 214.741.2888, jeandemerry.com.