Based in Winnipeg, Canada, Pinnacle are specialists in high-end seating and upholstery. The company aims to create furniture that makes a fashion statement, combining contemporary and modern styles with timeless, hand-manufactured quality.

Pinnacle offers both stationary and motion seating. Pinnacle’s Motion pieces feature built-in functions that let you adjust the footrest, seat angle and headrest, for totally customizable comfort. The Stationary Collection includes several distinctive sofas and sectionals designed by Normand Couture, plus matching ottomans and back cushions. The new Box Art series encompasses the ultra-comfortable Bubbles and Masterpiece sectionals, designed to adapt to the body and provide carefully calibrated support.

Pinnacle seating is available in leather, fabric or Ultrasuede upholstery. Alternative, clients have the option of choosing a preselected combination of leather and fabric devised to complement and showcase your chosen piece at its best. Visit us in store or call to speak to a design consultant about versatile and stylish Pinnacle seating.

Potocco was founded in 1919 in the city of Friuli, within Italy’s “Chair Triangle” in the province of Udine. Domenico Potocco started out building chairs in a warehouse, and the business he created has steadily expanded over almost 100 years. It has now exhibited over 50 times in the annual International Furniture Fair in Milan.

Potocco produces 40 distinctive, contemporary product lines, including Ad Box (cabinetry), Nest (lighting), and Pillow (padded seating). Its offerings range from beds to sun loungers, coffee tables to barstools. Its luxury, retail and naval collections are characterized by creativity, high end materials and minute attention to detail.

The company collaborates with leading designers from across Western Europe and Scandinavia, including Ellen Bernhardt, Davide Gallo and This Weber, plus design collectives like Lemongras and Busetti Garuti Redaelli. In 2015. Potocco merged with Accademia, adding Accademia’s sharper, more minimalist products to the Potocco roster.

Still family owned, Potocco is currently in the hands of Domenico’s great-grandson, CEO Antonino Potocco.

Eero Saarinen, neofuturist architect and furniture designer, was born in Kirkkonummi, Finland in 1910. His future career path would be heavily influenced by those of his prominent parents, architect Eliel and textile artist Loja. After the family immigrated to the US, he was educated at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he met Charles and Ray Eames and a girl called Florence Schust. The Saarinens were so taken with Florence that they began bringing her with them when travelling, and Eliel personally tutored her. These early relationships would prove lucky for all of them.

As an adult Eero studied sculpture and architecture before going into business with his father. In 1940 he and Charles Eames collaborated on the now-iconic Tulip Chair. Their old friend Florence, now Florence Knoll, held an important position at a leading US design house, and soon had the Tulip Chair in mass production. In the same decade Eero began winning important commissions as an architect, including the Gateway Arch at St Louis’ Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. He would go on to design several college buildings and campuses and two airports; he also helped finalize the design for the Sydney Opera House. But it’s as an industrial designer that many fans remember him best.

After the success of the Tulip Chair, Saarinen went on to create hit designs like the Womb Chair and Ottoman (1947-48) and the Pedestal collection of tables, chairs and stools (1954-57). He revised his designs obsessively and created multiple scale models and mockups of every piece until he was satisfied. The resultant furnishings remain fresh and exciting decades later, proving that they were truly ahead of their time.

Upon their marriage in 1941, Charles and Ray (Bernice) Eames formed a creative partnership that was to have a vast influence on architecture, industrial design, filmmaking and, perhaps most famously, furniture design. This extremely prolific duo produced over 100 furniture designs in four decades and left 750,000 photographs and slides to the Library of Congress at the time of Ray’s death in 1988 — ten years to the day after Charles’.

The Eameses believed that design should be similar to a guest-host relationship, with the designer as host anticipating the universal needs of every guest, or user. Their approach was playful and adventurous, and their pioneering use of materials like fiberglass, plastic resin, wire mesh and molded plywood resulted in some truly iconic designs, including the the 670 Lounge Chair and 671 Ottoman (both 1956).

The instantly recognizable 670 Lounge Chair is both of its time and enduringly popular. The shape of the 670 was inspired by a catcher’s mitt, and its impeccable appearance is matched by its famous level of comfort — Playboy magazine once claimed that it “sank the sitter into a voluptuous luxury that few mortals since Nero have known.” Paired as intended with the 671 Ottoman, it creates an iconic mid-century modern look.

The Eameses outsized influence continues to be felt throughout 21st century furniture and industrial design, and dozens of Eames pieces remain in production via Herman Miller, Inc. We are proud to stock authentic Eames furnishings, which are still manufactured in accordance with the exacting production process first outlined by the Eameses.

Photo Source: © Eames Office, LLC (eamesoffice.com)

Murano glass is some of the highest quality, most storied glass in the world. With a history stretching back over 700 years, handmade works of art from Murano are among Italy’s proudest exports. Several high-end Italian furniture and lighting manufacturers, including Reflex incorporate Murano glass into their designs. While plenty of cheaper imitations exist, the genuine article remains a luxury — and an investment — that is well worth seeking out.

The island of Murano, near Venice, became a major glassmaking hub in 1291, after Venice banned foundries from operating within the city. Soon the industry was so important that glassmakers were forbidden to leave the Venetian Republic, and the penalty for practicing their trade abroad, where foreigners might learn it, was death. Murano was the birthplace of a long line of technical and artistic innovations in glassmaking that are still in use today, including millefiori and milk glass. Artisans like Giuseppe Briati started making colored glass chandeliers adorned with flowers, leaves, fruit, curlicues and dangling crystals in the 18th century, in a style still known as Rezzonico. Today, Murano remains home to approximately 1000 artisan glassmakers, working in some of Europe’s oldest factories.

The official Artistic Glass Murano® trademark proves an item’s authenticity, although only about 50 manufacturers use it, so the absence of a trademark label doesn’t necessarily mean a piece isn’t real. Genuine handmade glass is lightweight, will probably have a pontil mark that shows where the glassblower removed the rod, and may contain tiny irregularities like air bubbles.

On February 14th, many of us will be exchanging gifts large and small with our partners. However, choosing something that’s just right can be a little anxiety inducing. From romantic love offerings to sexy barware, we’ll help you find the perfect gift for the person who stole your heart.

The Sklar showroom currently features impressively creative takes on anatomical hearts from the Italian ceramicists FOS (see the first image above). Each design in the In Alto i Cuori line is inspired by a quote from the Bible, a phrase from a well-known poem, or an Italian proverb. These biscuit porcelain ex votos are crafted and painted by hand.

Fos Ceramiche are also the creators of this unusual series of ceramic flowers in matching vases – sure to last much longer than a bouquet of roses! See the second image above for a visual of this beautiful accessory.

Poland’s family owned Borowski Studio creates colorful and humorous glass sculptures. The full collection includes a diverse range of subjects including animals and abstractions, but for a romantic gift their sweet human figures are a sure bet. We are especially taken with the King and Queen sculpture (see the third image above).

This amusing, whimsical Heart with Wings sculpture is by Nima Oberoi for Lunares (see the fourth image above). We like this piece so much that we donated one to the 2016 Real Men Wear Pink raffle, raising money for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Other romantic pieces by the same designer include A Higher Place and A Hole In The Heart.

The abstract First Kiss Maquette by sculptor Alexander Krivosheiw seems to express joy in each of its romantic curves and flourishes. Or, if bright and quirky is more their style, consider the Lips Sculpture in your choice of red, purple, pink, yellow and clear acrylic.

Kartell’s Mademoiselle Dining Chair, with its clear acrylic body, is available in several different upholstery fabric options. For a romantic gift that makes a real impact, consider the monochromatic love heart pattern.

The Grace K Purse in red is the perfect gift for the fashion-conscious woman in your life (see the fifth image above).

If your partner prefers home accessories to fashion accessories, we have an abundance of decor items that will enliven their space. These include the voluptuous Lady In White (sixth image above), Cherries (seventh image above), and a fun, multi-colored mid-century modern piece by Skol (eighth image above).

Finally, for the man or woman who loves to entertain, we have a selection of glamorous high-end bar glass by Zodax, including gleaming decanters and ice buckets in styles to suit any home bar (see the ninth image above).

Matrix International was founded over 30 years ago in the Tuscan city of Poggibonsi, Italy. Although its surroundings are ancient, the company is devoted to developing and hand-constructing modern and contemporary furnishings.

Matrix offers two distinct collections, embracing the past and present of design. Codici is a range of classic designs that spans from the 1920s to the 1950s, while the contemporary Ultimate Collection currently includes pieces from the 1990s to the present day. In the words of a Matrix International spokesperson, the company “has two souls in one body”.

Codici features both instantly recognizable and previously unreleased designs by such design icons as Eero Saarinen, Marcel Breuer, Lilly Reich and Mies. Archival research by Matrix has uncovered a number of characteristic pieces that remained unproduced in the designers’ lifetimes, with results that are sure to fascinate followers of the mid-century modern and Bauhaus movements. See our selection of these design classics in our showroom, featuring iconic pieces like Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Armchair, Harry Bertoia’s Diamond Chair, and the Classic Chaise from Le Corbusier.

The Ultimate Collection emphasizes flexibility, and includes modular seating and extension tables alongside striking and complex non-motion designs. Contemporary designers including Paolo Portoghesi and Massimo Imparato have contributed bookcases, storage, seating and tables. While each collection is clearly unique, they reinforce each other and together tell a remarkably coherent story covering almost 100 years of design.

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, also known as Mies (1886-1969), was an architect and furniture designer, whose ambitious primary concern was to capture and express the spirit of the twentieth century. He was born in Germany in 1886 in relatively humble circumstances, and later adopted his aristocratic-sounding name in an attempt to separate himself from his background. Largely self-educated, he intently studied design theory and philosophy, which helped inform the evolution of his practice.

Following the trauma of World War 1, Mies and his contemporaries came to believe that traditional design was out of step with the modern age. To their way of thinking, the old social order in Europe had collapsed, and its favored styles of architecture, like neoclassicism, deserved to go with it. They sought to create a new design movement that more honestly reflected the age. Inspired by new technologies and means of production, Mies began designing modernist buildings that were free of extraneous ornamentation, focusing instead on clean lines, pure colors and simple geometric forms.

When Mies first added furniture design to his repertoire, he did so in collaboration with Lilly Reich, with whom he created the Barcelona and Brno chairs. From 1930 to 1933 he was the director of the Bauhaus; a few years after its dissolution he moved to the USA in search of creative opportunities than weren’t available under the Nazi regime. He designed some of the most exciting buildings of his time, from college campuses to New York skyscrapers, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. In addition to his architecture and iconic furniture designs, Mies is remembered for popularising the phrases “God is in the details” and “less is more.”

Fjords was founded in 1941 by the Hjellegjerde brothers in a cellar in the village of Sykkylven, Norway. For over 70 years, the once-humble family business has steadily increased in size.

In 2006, Hjellegjerde was renamed for the fjords that surround Sykkylven. Fjords is now Norway’s leading furnishing group and one of the largest furniture companies in the world, with a presence in four continents.

The Fjords philosophy is to combine the old-world traditions of Norwegian furniture building with the latest technical innovations, producing contemporary recliners, sofas and ottomans with all the attributes of design classics. Its designers draw inspiration from the ever-changing natural world surrounding Sykkylven, always aiming to combine fluidity and movement with solidity and permanence. Fjords seating is also ergonomically designed, ensuring that users are perfectly supported and very comfortable.

A new year means new beginnings, and, for us, new styles. We are all excited about welcoming these new designs to our store over the first few months of 2017!

Ozzio Italia is well known for clever and stylish motion furnishings. We have several Ozzio “transformable” tables already on the floor, and they’ve proved very popular. The top level of the Bellagio Transformable Coffee Table can be raised via an easy gas lift mechanism for comfortable use at two different heights. For larger gatherings, their T240 Extendable Dining Table (which our staff have taken to calling “The Transformer”) opens out flawlessly thanks to hidden leaves built into the canaletto walnut top. The equally stylish X011 UNO Plasma LCD TV Unit can be adjusted in height and also swivelled on its base, for total viewing comfort.

American Leather are impressing once more with their new Style in Motion range of luxury recliners, featuring an innovative new mechanism. Sklar has chosen to stock their Hudson and Chelsea models, both of which are engineered to require a mere six inches of wall clearance. Like all American Leather recliners, the Hudson and Chelsea are built to order to your exact specifications.

The iconic Cart by Joe Colombo has been re-released, and we look forward to introducing a new generation to this 1960s design classic. Midj have recently unveiled two new iterations of their popular Guapa chair, one being an office chair and the other a rocker. Also on the horizon are exciting new products by Italian brands Ditre Italia and Potocco.