Ami Austin, principal designer and president of Ami Austin Interior Design, today announced the opening of her new design studio and the launch of P & B Design Source, a new design, furniture, and accessory studio in downtown Memphis. The new studio will provide a diverse resource of commercial and residential interior products for the interior design trade and the general consumer public. Austin also will be providing interior design consultations and planning at the studio for her clientele.
P & B Design Source is an independent business and subsidiary under the auspices of Ami Austin Interior Design, and is located in the Kerns-Wilcheck building. The P & B Design Source and Kerns-Wilcheck adjacent showrooms have created a new design district in and of themselves.
P & B Design Source will offer access to a range of furnishings, lighting, tile, area rugs, fabric, fine linen, artwork, architectural elements, flooring, and accessories from the nation’s top branded product lines and collections. The studio also will showcase a new bespoke line of merchandise personally designed by Austin under the brand name Parker Lauren by Ami Austin.
The studio will cater to the needs of the design trade, offering admittance and resources to interior design and architecture firms as well as independent freelance designers and decorators located in Memphis and the surrounding region.
Austin planned P & B Design Source to be an unparalleled inventory resource center for designers and architects with expansive residential projects in addition to those seeking finishing touches to complete interior design projects for their clientele.
“Our new P & B Design Source studio will provision designers with the resources and support they need to execute fully finished interiors with thousands of specialty product options,” says Austin. “I want designers to be inspired when they enter the studio in search of an elegant, world-class, and one-of-a-kind finished look for their projects.”
Walking into the studio, designers and other patrons will be greeted by vignettes of sparkling chandeliers, elegant artwork and stylish furniture. A posh sitting room vignette was designed by Austin to serve multiple purposes. It will be used as a gathering place for detailed design planning and relaxed conversation. The seating area also will include displayed decorating ideas visitors can translate, customize and order for their clients’ interiors, or their own homes.
Impressive, 15-feet French panel doors lead to the library, which Austin created as both a working space and product reference room. A computer station was installed for visiting designers to conduct online research. The library is flanked by shelves with branded product catalogs and look books, yielding easy and quick access to thousands of collections otherwise only available in merchandise marts, yet in P & B Design Source’s intimate setting. Designers will be welcome to bring their clients to the studio for perusing the vignettes and library together.
Support services will be offered to designers for a fee, upon request. “The P & B Design Source staff will provide assistance with design planning software such as AutoCAD, Revit and SketchUp,” says Austin. “This will be helpful for designers who do not have the capability in-house, and for architects who require assistance to import their plans and project documents.”
Designer patrons will be awarded a commission for each product they source through the studio. Or, upon request, P & B Design Source can provide direct billing to designers’ clients for ordered items.
Phillip Jeffries, Fuse Lighting, Global Views, Century Furniture, and the Parker Lauren by Ami Austin custom-designed products are just a few among the variety of product lines that will be accessible at P & B Design Source. “The studio will offer many product sourcing choices and related support to designers with smaller ordering bandwidths on their own,” says Austin.
The studio’s staff will be available to assist designers with selecting finishes from granite to marble; procuring all or select products for interiors; and providing design consultations to augment designers’ talents upon request.
Austin also will be available for scheduled appointments to provide interior design planning and services for consumers who wish to purchase large quantities of items for their residential or commercial spaces. For those consumers desiring full design consultations and who have not yet retained the services of an interior designer, Austin plans to book appointments upon request.
She believes the opening of P & B Design Source will add business and growth value to the City of Memphis. “By opening and hosting the studio, we will help build new business for the area in terms of design and remodeling,” Austin says. “The studio’s services can help generate sales and work in the fields of contracting, electrical, structural enhancements, and the design and renovation of homes and businesses.”
