Miami's Design District...A Cool Destination

This is the final installment of my Miami Trilogy

The hoopla of Art Basel, Art Miami, Design Miami and myriad other events that happened that festive week is finally over, but anyone who didn’t visit the Design District missed a treat.

Until a few years ago, this District was a run-down, neglected slice of Miami, accustomed to purse snatching and mugging. Heaven help anyone who was there alone at night. Thanks to the visionary foresight of Miami real estate developer Craig Robbins, this derelict part of town was brought back to vibrant life as the re-invented Miami Design District.

It wasn’t always downtrodden. Forty years ago the District served the design community with great furniture showrooms long before Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale and Naples had theirs. It was the only game in the state! The hippest showroom in the area was Bob Sapan’s 39 East. Bob was my first representative and a great showman. To greet me for the opening of my designs, he had an airplane drag a banner saying, “Welcome Vladimir Kagan.”

Today that same showroom is the home of my Italian representative, Luxury Living. (This was the raison d’être for my coming to Miami during Art Basel). My illusive client, Alberto Vignatelli, travels the world and is hard to pin down, so Art Basel Miami was the right venue for us to catch up.... The Italians do things in great style and the opening of his Fendi – Kenzo exhibit during Art Basel was the perfect vehicle for a bang-up party. The marketing gimmick for my presence: Kenzo Dresses Kagan. It didn’t quite work out that way. A container of my furniture was due to arrive in time for the exhibit but got stuck on the high seas. However, displayed in the entrance of the showroom was the sole piece by Kagan - a sofa to greet the exhausted guests.

My delightful Italian client, Alberto Vignatelli and I being greeted by a cute bird at the opening of the Luxury Living showroom party in Miami

The opening party was a hoot.... I am always looking at shoes!

My wife, Erica, and I did our bit for God and country by immersing ourselves in the party scene at Kenzo that night but the next day we set out on our serious tooling through the District. There was more than enough for everyone. Abundant furniture, fashions, food and lots of entertainment.

Erica and I are off on our "smart cars" to do the District....with Alberto wishing us a Bon Voyage

Checking out the competition, I am a chair tester... this is in the Capellini showroom

My friend, Dror's latest introduction at Capellini

We found this room for Florida outdoor living

Next, we came across these wonderful woven outdoor chairs....could have been my designs (weren't)

We've seen enough furniture and were very interested in balloons...only the girl got in the way!

In fairness to Erica, we next looked into fashion (there was a lot of it in the District)... Sauvage was one of the hippest. (The elegant lady is the owner....whose name we neglected to write down)

My continuing interest in shoes!

....and now to the art scene: a sculpture made of pantyhose!

This one could be straight out of the Basel Miami show

We both loved this lonely man

Erica tried to convince him to come home with us

Accommodations during Art Basel week in Miami are usually impossible to find. The true bonus for us was a serendipitous invitation to stay with our here-to-fore unknown benefactors, Robert and Rita Swedroe. This was arranged through the fortuitous efforts of my friend and client, the gregarious Joyce Scharfer. Joyce had recently moved from New York to Miami into an historic 1950’s house located on a quiet, cul-de-sac street on a scenic waterway. This was the same street of the architect Robert Swedroe’s home. I met and spent time with the Swedroe family; mother, father and their three children who are all architects.... what a unique family!

Joyce Scharfer's home made us feel right at home with a pair of Kagan sofas

....and this is the beautiful Joyce with her designer!

Robert Swedroe had been the senior design architect for the enigmatic Morris Lapidus, the doyen of Miami Beach Mid-century modern. On his own, Robert has designed some of Miami’s most impressive new landmarks, including Acqualina, the tallest, private entry elevator building on Sunny Isles Beach. In addition to a full career in architecture, Robert is a passionate and highly productive artist whose work was exhibited at Art Miami. His collages are assemblages of found objects covered by a heavy coating of resin. Being an architect, a great deal of his work is precise and cerebral.

This is Robert and Rita Swedroe's beautifully restored 50's home on Biscaya Island

The Swedroe's house seen from the lagoon

The beautiful Deco inspired entrance gate designed by Robert Swedroe

The restored interior of Robert and Rita's house

Robert's studio showed an architect's eye for hanging his paintings - there were racks upon racks of neatly stored and catalogued paintings for visitors to view

Our new friends Lulu and Robert Swedroe...daughter and father: Architects

The Swedroes are a true Miami Beach family with their children born and bred on the Island. They are passionate about Miami Beach. When Rita and Bob were young, there were few high rises in Miami Beach as most residences were private homes. In the early 1990’s, Robert and his daughter, Lulu, along with a small team of supporters, successfully spearheaded a campaign to preserve and landmark the few remaining single family oceanfront homes on Miami Beach, which were located in a small community called Altos del Mar. Through their efforts, an historic neighborhood designation emerged for what is now the flourishing Altos del Mar Historic Neighborhood.

Lulu Swedroe's interior next to her family's and Joyce's homes

The Swedroe homes today, Robert’s, Rita’s and daughter Lulu’s, border Joyce’s home on the lively wide bay in the little known Isle of Biscaya. Each is a masterpiece of 50’s architecture meticulously restored. We were honored to stay in Robert’s and Rita’s guesthouse and treated like royalty.... It was their guidance and sage advice that kept us on the straight and narrow to see the majority of the highlights of the four days during Art Basel. Staying with and getting to know the family was the highlight of our Miami Art Week!

(We tried to be on our best behavior and hope to be invited again!)

To learn more about our host... Robert's website for his collage art is www.robertswedroe.com

and his architectural firm is www.swedroe.com.

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