Ribbon cutting set for January 18 at 2:30 p.m.
Bourdeau Griffin Interiors and Architectural Supplies, Inc. will host an exclusive ribbon cutting for their new Design Center at 8237 S. Princeton Ave. on Saturday, January 18 at 2:30 p.m. The 45,000 square foot center, the only African American owned design center in Chicago, was conceived and converted by husband and wife team Frantzie Bourdeau-Griffin, an accredited interior designer, architectural designer and licensed general contractor, and her husband Gerald Griffin, a renowned, nationally recognized painter, sculptor and poet.
They will be conducting tours of the Center from 2:30 – 6:00 pm. A special press tour was held on Friday, January 17 at 10 a.m. Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore was on hand for the event along with representatives from Alderman Howard B. Brookins Jr.’s office.
The luxurious space is a showroom for Bourdeau Griffin’s line of luxury interiors inclusive of kitchen, bath, lighting, floor coverings, and furniture. The art gallery space showcases Griffin’s paintings, sculptures and limited edition prints. Additionally, there are specially designed meeting spaces in the Center that will be available to businesses. The Design Center is a first of its kind on the city’s Southside.
The couple was drawn to the building because it offered warehouse and loading dock space, along with parking and convenient highway access.
Bourdeau-Griffin began researching how to produce and market her signature line of luxury designer products in 1995, launching the Bourdeau Griffin line in 2008. Driven by the need to make high end design available to more people, the company would quickly establish a reputation for quality and innovation, while offering their clients affordable luxury products. Her design work can be found in Paris, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and St. Croix, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Griffin’s art explores ideas of race and ethnicity within the understanding of past societal attitudes. His works attempt to push the envelope by challenging the notions of our present and future response to those past attitudes. His works move beyond the two-dimensional surface to literally step into our living space to engage with the viewer on a more intimate, tactile level. Griffin creates outsized original paintings and sculptures, as well as high end limited editions and commissioned artwork. His work has been prominently featured in museums, galleries, churches, educational institutions and private homes. He currently has an exhibition at The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette in Indiana that runs until March of 2020. “My work is my attempt to spark a creative conversation and questions about a deeper meaning of life,” says Griffin.
“We have painstakingly paid attention to every detail in creating this one of a kind design center, said Bourdeau-Griffin. “We hope our clients and visitors will be impressed with what Bourdeau Griffin Interiors and Architectural Supplies, Inc. has to offer, and we are delighted to welcome them to this new jewel on Chicago’s Southside.
On November 9th Bourdeau-Griffin hosted an exclusive invitation only black tie preview of the space attended by business leaders, politicians, art aficionados and the couple’s family and friends, including from Bourdeau-Griffin’s native Haiti. In addition to opening this one of a kind space on the city’s Southside, the firm is providing jobs and career opportunities.