every little thing she does is magic

Do you have a co-worker, colleague, business constituent or perhaps career mentor who has the ability to make even the most challenging obstacles look effortless?  That everything this person handles leaves you inspired, gob-smacked and a smidge envious.  That this person’s obvious talent makes you want to pull a Malkovich just to see the world through her eyes for 3 minutes?  Well, that’s how I feel about visual stylist extraordinaire, Cindy Abrehu.

I first met Cindy years ago when she was in charge of visual presentation and merchandising for Bergdorf Goodman’s 7^th Floor.  Home Dec (that’s what people in the know call it) is the most captivating and demanding of departments in the organization – window display notwithstanding.  Having returned to work on the floor after a detour as visual manager at ABC Carpet & Home, I was astounded that this unassuming petite person could produce what a team of 5 men had done in years past.  It’s as though a trail of pixie dust follows her happy hands and everything she touches shines and shimmers.

I am comfortably competent in the art of display, but the manner in which Cindy can seamlessly meld modern furniture, French country patterns, flea market finds and religious artifacts in a cohesive moment leaves me in awe.  Her sense of balance, spatial perception and keen attention to detail ensure that every vignette tells a story and one that you want to buy into.  Cindy understands a subtle adjustment whether it be removing one object or shifting another at the slightest angle will take an arrangement from fine to fabulous.

Recently, while I was visiting Cindy in the apartment she shares with a less aesthetically inclined roommate, I snapped a few shots of her bedroom to serve as inspiration and potential instruction when creating displays for apartmentjeanie clients who may posses disparaging collectibles and objets d’art.  Whether Cindy is merchandising a table at Anthropologie, organizing her own personal treasures or assisting me on a partyjeanie tablescape, her work demonstrates a distinct point of view, yet allows the components to speak for themselves.

 I am incredibly fortunate to know this mini master of merriment and bequeath her the title of visual genius.

She’s got a spell on me.

xxoo.