Inside Design
Adriana Hoyos on her Design Your Own Concept, Latin American Roots and Creative PassionStory by Josie GulliksenPhotos courtesy of Adriana Hoyos
In an ongoing series, Design District Magazine sits down with top creative designers to get a glimpse into the creative mindset. In this issue we spoke with interior designer Adriana Hoyos, whose furnishings and accessories adorn residences and hotels throughout the United States and around the world. Hoyos is moving to a larger space in the Design District and recently unveiled a new sleek furniture line and a DYO (Design Your Own) concept.What makes working with your firm unique?Our competitive edge is our vertical structure philosophy – meaning we personally distribute to our retailers from a piece’s conception until it reaches the client. It’s all under our control and brand name from start to finish. When I opened my first showroom in Ecuador in 1994, I saw my clients’ need for furniture and began designing certain pieces. Once my husband and sister joined me we began manufacturing our own collections.When did you open your Design District showroom and what inspired you to choose the area?I opened in 2006. At that time there was nothing around us and the “Craig Robbins vision” began with merely a project on paper. Eventually, other national and international brands moved in and everything started to happen. It was, and still is, a fantastic business address for trade and end-users who do not shop in design centers. We’ll soon be moving across the street to a two-story, 6,500-square-foot space on a corner lot. With 2,500 square feet of additional space and the entire corner, we look forward to further innovating the Adriana Hoyos experience.How has your design evolved over the years?The first furniture collection called Coco was rather an exotic approach to my contemporary design, as I utilized coconut inlay in very unique applications. Each collection that followed Tagua, Café, Chocolate, Caramelo, Africa, and Grafito has a unique personality and certainly features an evolution of distinctive shapes, patterns and finishes that always prevails the quality and fine line that our clients appreciate.Tell us about your newest collections and the classics you have maintained from the beginning?Our newest is the Signature Collection, currently on display at our Miami and DCOTA showrooms. I wanted to create a collection of accent pieces to complement the existing AH collections. I chose different materials and proportions that give each room an elegant and subtle touch. Amongst the new materials we used are shagreen, bronze and other fine metals. Another recent introduction is DYO (Design Your Own), a custo-mization program that allows both designers and end-users to choose most pieces in our collections in several different finishes and tops. It makes for endless design possibilities and allows us to design for a loft in New York or a house in the Caribbean with the same piece. In every collection however, we maintain our classics, like the Tall chocolate upholstery chair; the six-legged Caramelo upholstered chair; and the classic Café sofa.How do commercial, residential, and hospitality design differ?Hospitality pieces differ from residential in proportion and natural art pieces are ideal for lobbies, suites, restaurants and spas. We can customize most of our pieces and redesign them to adapt to hospitality standards, maintaining great quality and durability.How have the customer's needs changed in your 25 years in the business?People are spending much more time at home. They have home offices and the older demographic is moving into smaller homes and foregoing the heavier pieces for lighter furniture with clean lines. They are not only renewing their homes, but also their lifestyles. People are more educated now and demand more quality, and they know where to find it. I believe our involvement from start to finish in the creation of our collections and impeccable customer service sets us apart.
