Design Legend Vladimir Kagan at Las Vegas Market on January 31

Furniture World Magazine

Vladimir Kagan, the grandfather of modern furniture design, will visit Las Vegas on Thursday, January 31, 2008 for two exciting events in conjunction with the 2008 Winter Las Vegas Market. First, Kagan will kick off the new “Design Icon” lecture series at Las Vegas Design Center, where design legends share their stories and experiences in order to inspire tomorrow’s designers. He will speak from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the World Forum on the 16th floor of Building B on the World Market Center campus. Kagan’s lecture at World Market Center is open exclusively to Las Vegas Market attendees. Kagan, designer of the “Serpentine Sofa,” the swiveling “barrel chair,” sculpted wood and glass tables, recently volunteered his services as the lead interior designer for the Junior League of Las Vegas’ Mid Century historical preservation project, the Morelli House. To cap off his visit in Las Vegas, Kagan will visit the Morelli House, 861 Bridger Street Las Vegas, on January 31, 2008 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for a book signing and open house. Las Vegas Market attendees and the general public are invited to attend. Complimentary transportation service will shuttle attendees from World Market Center to the Morelli House for this event and parking will be available for local guests. “Vladimir Kagan is a treasure in the home furnishings industry and a dear friend to Las Vegas Market,” said Dana Andrew, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for World Market Center. “It was our pleasure to connect Mr. Kagan with the Junior League, and we are so incredibly pleased to have his designs showcased in a historic home right here in Southern Nevada that happens to be the headquarters for an outstanding group like the Junior League. The Junior League of Las Vegas’ tagline is ‘Women Building Better Communities,’ and we at World Market Center also share the goal of bettering the community.” Andrew added that Kagan donated items such as a Cubist Dining Table and Beech Wood walnut stained barrel chairs covered in an Italian wood fabric. “Not only did The Vladimir Kagan Design Group Inc. donate thousands of dollars’ worth of furnishings for the Morelli House, but Mr. Kagan and his team gave of their time and tremendous talents as well. It was truly a gift from their hearts,” she said. World Market Center has underwritten Kagan’s expenses and HD Design Magazine of the Greenspun Media Group is underwriting the reception at the Morelli House. The event is also being supported by the Las Vegas Chapters of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA-LV) and by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). The Junior League of Las Vegas, Inc. (JLLV) is a women’s volunteer organization committed to developing the potential of women and improving the community. About World Market Center: World Market Center is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and trade complex in Las Vegas. When fully built, at 12 million square feet in 8 buildings, World Market Center will be the largest trade show complex in the world. The $3 billion, state-of-the-art campus will showcase furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, home textile and related segments, as well as the Las Vegas Design Center (LVDC) open year-round to the trade. World Market Center produces the semi-annual Las Vegas Market, held every January and July, and is the fastest growing home furnishings trade show in the world. World Market Center is now leasing the third building to a broad cross-section of the home furnishings industry. The Winter 2008 Las Vegas Market is scheduled for January 28 to February 1, 2008 at World Market Center’s Buildings A, B and Pavilions and tradeshow at the MGM Grand Hotel. For more information about World Market Center, and to find out about leasing or exhibiting opportunities, visit the website at www.LasVegasMarket.Com or call 888-WMC-SHOW (962-7469). About Vladimir Kagan: In the world of interior design and architecture, Vladimir Kagan is regarded as “the grandfather of modern furniture design” and is proclaimed as one of today’s most enduring designers of modern furniture. He started designing in l947 and by the early Fifties, his innovative sculptured furniture created a new look in American furniture. The European Magazine reported, “Vladimir Kagan is one of the most important furniture designers of the 20th Century. Furniture designed by him in the forties, fifties and sixties have become icons of Modernity and an obligatory reference to every designer. He is the creative grandfather of a whole new generation of designers.” Connoisseurs and museums collect his designs. His furniture is part of the permanent collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Chicago’s Athenaeum and the Pasadena Arts Institute among many others. More information about Kagan’s kickoff of the Design Icon lecture series is available by contacting events@lasvegasmarket.com. For more information on the book signing event at the Morelli House, contact jrleagueoflv@aol.com. About The Morelli House & Restoration: The Morelli House made its public debut in 2007. The Morelli House restoration was made possible with financial assistance from the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs and generous donations from its membership and the community. With the help of the Design Center at the World Market Center, Junior League of Las Vegas secured participation by Vladimir Kagan, world famous Mid Century furniture designer, to serve as the Morelli House’s lead interior designer. Kagan’s historical furniture will be permanently showcased at the Morelli House with donations which he personally solicited from his manufacturer partners, including American Leather and Weiman/Preview. The Morelli House, built in l959 by Antonio Morelli longtime orchestra leader at the Sands Hotel, was originally located on the Desert Inn Golf course, which is now Wynn Las Vegas. In 2001, the Junior League saved the house from demolition and relocated it to the corner of 9th and Bridger Streets on the outskirts of the historical district in downtown Las Vegas. The Junior League is completing restoration and rehabilitation efforts to meet the US Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation for Historical Structures. The house is open to the public in a pristine, accurate and beautiful condition as an excellent example of Mid Century architecture in Las Vegas for future generations’ appreciation and education. The Junior League of Las Vegas (JLLV) is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. JLLV is focused on positively affecting the metropolitan Las Vegas area through JLLV programs and teaming with agencies throughout Las Vegas to empower children, through mentoring, advocacy and education. For more information about the JLLV, visit www.jllv.org.