Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Urban Prairie "Collectors Profile" Series



Second in a Series - Debbie Dusenberry

For nearly 20 years Debbie Dusenberry was a successful photo stylist in the midwest working on everything from fashion catalogs to motion pictures. Her passion for antiquing and finding the goods for other clients lead her to leaving the production world behind and opening her own retail store in September of 2000. For the first time, Kansas City had a retail store with a less than serious mix of new and antique merchandise; skillfully displayed by Debbie herself. Her popularity grew as national press began to hear of her inspirational displays and uncommon mix of casual furnishings and offbeat gifts.

Name: Debbie Dusenberry
Company: Curious Sofa
Location: Kansas City (Prairie Village, Kansas)

Crew: My tireless staff: Heather Fraser, Abby Campbell, Michelle Fox, Natalie Burns and Angie Cummings- and the countless vendors that supply me the goods.

Influences: I can be influenced by nearly anything done well. Seeing the decor of a restaurant, a display at a flea market, the assortment of tools a farmer might have in his barn. The design, the color palette, the placement may spur an idea for a retail display or one of a kind design. I am passionate about design books and magazines as it is the poor mans way to travel and see how others live. I love
Edwardian ephermera and clothing. Mostly for texture and (lack of) color. European Farmhouse style can also a big influence on the direction I take my store each season.

Philosophy: Run your business with integrity, care about the details and do something different.

Favorite Collection: I started a collection of blue transferware and ended up adding anything blue to make it unexpected: blue label chemist bottles, cigar tins and dusty blue ornaments. I also have a silly collection of chicken wish-bones inspired by Harvey Keitel's character in The Piano.

Favorite Piece from Collection: A giant water basin I accidentlally broke in two. I couldn't bare to throw it out so I stacked it inside each other which looks like two bowls now. Everyone thinks I did it on purpose.

Website: www.curioussofa.com

Note: Debbie and her crew at Curious Sofa can be found in the current (March 2007) issue of Country Living magazine, in the SHOP TALK section.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chris!! Your blog rocks!! I like the fetured artist series you're doing...keep 'em coming!!


Til next time, Kelly

kansasrose said...

Gonna fire up the old suv and head east down 1-70 to KC and check this out...and take some girlfriends and cash along. Bought the March CL issue and gobbled it up. Her shop is amazing! Thanks for the profile.

Elizabeth Maxson said...

Chris,

As you may know, I am a big fan of Debbie - her creative spirit, gorgeous smile, and eye for detail are only the beginnings of a long list of wonderful things I could say about her and her store. Thank you for sharing!
Elizabeth

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