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HARRIS KRATZ- by Susanna Salk for 1stdibs
“We have very diverse tastes,” says Jay Harris of the aesthetic he and his partner Paul Kratz share, "but we love the overlap of Modernist and Neoclassical. And we especially love it when eighteenth-century items look like the fifties.” Harris Kratz, their West Palm Beach gallery, is a blend of pieces which boldly represents their distinct and united tastes from both present and past. "My design instincts are rooted in the Manhattan of my childhood,” says Harris. “…from the fifties charm of Greenwich Village to the ‘Birdcage’ restaurant at Lord & Taylor, to the monolithic minimalism of the postwar high rises.” Born as well as reared in Manhattan, Harris became interested in collecting due to his grandmother. “She was an obsessive collector of anything and everything that appealed to her eye,” he says. “This stayed with me, and in my previous career as a graphic designer I tended to exploit found objects as part of my designs.”
Paul Kratz’ design journey was stylishly launched when David Hicks came to decorate his godmother’s apartment. “It was a transforming moment which I've never gotten over,” he says. “…the sophistication and the successful mixing of pure modern design with artifacts." Having studied architecture at Princeton and reared in a Washington home which featured both Arne Jacobsen and family antiques, Kratz went on to a career in advertising where he met Harris – a resident graphic designer at a Manhattan ad agency. Eventually Harris moved into Kratz’ rather eccentric 1860 Philadelphia carriage house where the merging of both men’s possessions called for some creative redecoration and reconstruction – an exercise whereby both men clearly found their calling. “We have since renovated a Modernist house in West Palm Beach, turned a traditional fifties ranch into a California Modern in Beverly Hills, restored a Miami Beach Modernist house, and turned our current Palm Beach condo in a New York style loft with concrete floors and a jade green industrial kitchen,” says Kratz. The men were suddenly spending so much time searching for furniture and decorations that they began selling at flea markets and soon became fixtures at both the New York Pier and Coliseum shows. After a run at managing dual careers, the pair eventually made their shared passion a full time business and opened a shop on Antique Row in West Palm Beach. “We realized we could retain our New York customer base (who seem to all shop there) while adding new designers from all of the US and Europe,” says Harris. “Thanks to the Internet, our current clientele includes designers, architects, and collectors from Russia, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Many of our customers find that because of our unique perspective on Modernism, a great deal of our inventory works with more traditional tastes as well as twentieth-century pieces.”
Indeed Hollywood Regency, period Neoclassical and Palm Beach traditional all elegantly coexist in the bright loft-like space. “We arrange our merchandise in unexpected juxtapositions,” says Kratz. Case in point: a large one of a kind Jere wall sculpture hangs over a coral stone and bronze Chinese altar table, while a pair of jade green nineteenth-century crystal candelabra resides on a 1970’s chrome Pierre Cardin breakfast table. “We’re constantly expanding the vocabulary of our style,” says Harris,”like Modern objects that display an irreverent twist on classical design." In their frequent travels to New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, New Mexico, and London, the pair soak in the best not only in interior design, but also in fashion, food, architecture, and lifestyle. “This greatly influences how we see our business and our inventory,” says Kratz. “Our philosophy is that design is fashion – it’s ever-evolving and all-encompassing.” Whether it’s a 1980’s television in a Lucite case or 1960 Italian brass floral sconces, it’s what entices and excites that holds most sway. “We are constantly on the search for new inventory, new ideas,” says Harris. “And all along the way we are shopping, shopping, shopping!”
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