Christmas Eve was always a special night in the LEO Design shop in Greenwich Village. We always stayed open until 10:00 pm. Most of the day's Holiday Hustle already had died down by 7:00 pm.. And the customers who did come in—usually after dinner—were in a good mood and, often, feeling little pain. They were relaxed because they were staying in the city for Christmas. Nowhere to go but home! These customers might find a gift for someone they were seeing at New Years or, better yet, something nice for themselves. We used the quiet hours to fill-in merchandise, re-organize as needed, and change the window before Christmas Day. This always meant installing our pair of Italian polychromed terracotta angel candleholders—a store tradition since 1995. My staff and I made a little ceremony of it. I always looked forward to it.
I purchased the angels from an Italian importer in the Gift Building, 225 Fifth Avenue (before it "went condo"). They were very expensive (especially for me, in my first year of business). But the showroom was closing and the manager offered me a nice discount. Though I only put them into the window two weeks a year (beginning with Christmas Eve), it had been my intention to sell them. Year One passed—no takers. Year Two came and went—a few nibbles, nothing serious. By Year Three, an annual tradition had been established and I decided to pull the price ticket off the angels (and keep them for the shop). This year, Thirty-One Christmases later, we still have them. They come out a little earlier now—just before Thanksgiving—and they have pride-of-place atop my living room fireplace mantel.
The male angel, shown in the background of the photo above, was originally carved in marble by a twenty-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1495. It was commissioned as a decorative component—standing vigil before the tomb of Saint Domenic in Bologna, Italy. Our terracotta copy is polychromed—painted in multiple colors—although the original is plain white marble. The size and mass of the copy is close to that of the original.
Come ten o'clock, upon closing the shop for the holiday, I would meet my partner at La Focaccia—one of our regularly-frequented restaurants in The Village. We would have a lovely dinner, relaxed in the knowledge that the following day would make very few demands upon us.
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
To arrange a visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only), please call 917-446-4248.