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Bienenstock Furniture Library Announces Pat Plaxico Gardens

Furniture World News Desk on 7/6/2013




Final plans are underway to break ground on Plaxico Gardens, named in honor of Pat Plaxico.




The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library announced that final plans are underway to break ground on Plaxico Gardens, named in honor of Pat Plaxico, a long-time Library board member who has a distinguished history of service to the furnishings community. Work will begin on the gardens this fall and be ready for dedication in the spring of 2014. Charles Sutton, President of the Library’s Board of Directors commented: “It is our way of saying thank you to Pat for her efforts and to celebrate her contributions in a way that is relevant and meaningful.”



Front view of the Library from Main Street, High Point, NC

Plaxico is a nationally recognized interior designer renowned for the reuse of historic buildings — adapting old structures for new purposes. Her portfolio includes Historic Market Square, the EJ Victor building, the Phillips Building (now High Point Convention and Visitors Bureau) and the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library. “I've been a member of the Furniture Library board for 38 years.

Working on the recent restoration and renovation of the library was a real treat. This gardens and grounds project will further enhance the property — and invoke the interests and passions of the Library’s founders. The main street location will be an oasis of beauty and respite, a gathering place, and a destination for learning in the uptown area of High Point” said Plaxico.

Greensboro-based landscape architect and garden designer, Sally Pagliai, created the design and has been retained to install the project. She has fashioned gardens throughout the United States and Italy, including many in North Carolina. When asked about her inspiration, she replied “Gardens are lasting monuments to the human spirit and are an integral part to the promise of a beautiful home. They are personal sanctuaries of calm in a stressful world.”

Philip Gibbs, Senior Art Director at Alderman Company worked with Plaxico and Pagliai to create renderings to help visualize what the gardens will look like at maturity. Russ Bienenstock, Vice President of the Board of Directors commented, “The Gardens will be a wonderful place for students, designers, and all visitors with an interest in design, can find inspiration. The landscaping plan will make the Library more visible from Main Street, which will increase traffic and usage of the library’s resources. The gardens, as is the Library, will be open to the public and will help to encourage research, collaboration and scholarship. They will also make the Library more versatile for events during and between furniture markets.”




Rear view of the Library.


The Library intends to add a scholarship for Landscape Architecture and Garden Design to complement the existing $10,000 design competition scholarships for Interior and Furniture Design. The library estimates that it will cost approximately $150,000 to design, construct and maintain the gardens and to fund scholarships over the next three years, and is seeking contributions to support this effort. For more information contact the Library. You can view a brochure on the Library’s website athttp://www.furniturelibrary.com/what-we-are-doing

About Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library:  The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library is a worldwide center for research, design and collaboration, which holds the world’s largest collection of rare and significant books on the history, and design of furniture. Founded in 1970 and endowed by the Bienenstock family, the Library is devoted the advancement of knowledge about design, furniture, interiors, architecture, textiles, finishes, and construction.

The rare book collection contains volumes published since 1640. With the exception of Yale, it is the only library in the United States that houses the original works of 18th century furniture masters Chippendale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite, as well as a complete set of Diderot's Encyclopedia (26 volumes published in the 18th Century). Unlike Yale, the Bienenstock Furniture Library is open to the public. A special climate and humidity-controlled room houses these rare volumes. An appointment with the curator is required to examine these books, and you must wear white gloves, but they are available to the public. The library also contains rare drawings and furniture details. It is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone interested in design.

The Library operates a specialty bookstore selling significant contemporary works, out-of- print, and hard-to-find volumes. Most Library services are free. The Bienenstock Furniture Library, located in High Point NC, is open to the public and welcomes professionals and scholars for research, collaboration, meetings, seminars, lectures, and events. Visit www.furniturelibrary.com. The easiest way to stay up to date on the developments of the library is to “like” its Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/BienenstockFurnitureLibrary.