By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MEATPACKING DISTRICT — Furniture and design retailers on the far West side will show off wares, including jumbo-sized light fixtures and 1940s Danish armchairs, during a week-long celebration.
Meatpacking Design 2011 will run from Thursday through to next Tuesday and features a mix of exhibitions, installations, launches and parties, including a neighborhood-wide open house on Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m.
Highlights this year will include the grand opening of a two-story Arhaus Furniture store at 408 W. 14th Street, and an exhibition of Nordic designers at Design Within Reach (410 W. 13th), where studio proprietor Clay Wright said he was completely emptying out the store in preparation.
"The neighborhood was always a fashion destination," said Wright. "But now it's also a design and restaurant destination."
When Design Within Reach opened a decade ago at 408 W. 14th Street, they were one of just two furnishing retailers in the area, according to Wright. Now, he sees newcomers like Arhaus, smaller boutiques and architecture firms popping up across the district.
Clothing boutique Poleci will host an exhibition of unconventional light fixtures by Italian designer Leucos. And at 410 W. 14th Street, the Cork Design exhibit will show off eco-friendly, Portuguese home accessories and furniture made exclusively from … cork.
Part of the goal is to get the thousands of international architects, designers and critics out of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Jacob Javits Center, and into neighborhood businesses, according to Meatpacking District Initiative Program Manager Julian Kline.
When Poleci moved to the area 2005, the scene was dominated by European tourists looking to score high fashion duds while the exchange rate favored the euro over the dollar. But ever since the home furnishing stores and offices began to move in, that dynamic has shifted.
"It's brought a lot of life into the neighborhood," said Poleci Sales Director Chris Easter. "This is really a 24-hour neighborhood."
