The Manitoga Design Collection + Shop features rotating displays of more than 3,500 objects from the Russel and Mary Wright Design Collection. The Wrights’ work shaped modern American lifestyle – from early experiments in spun aluminum in the 1930s and the colorful, rounded forms of American Modern and Iroquois Casual mix-and-match dinnerware to Japanese-inspired patterns and textures decades later. The shop operates in partnership with the Wrights’ home, “Manitoga” at Dragon Rock.
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Manitoga Design Collection + Shop
Retail Interior (Built)
Firm
Studio Joseph
Architect/Designer
Wendy Joseph
Design Team
Wendy Evans Joseph, Project Lead Jose Luis Vidalon, Project Manager Chris Spadazzi, Technical Designer Ignacio Gonzalez, Designer
Location
159 Main Street, Cold Spring, NY 10516
Country
United States
Photographer/Copyright
©Photography Credits: Michael Biondo Other Credits: All drawings by Studio Joseph
The shop is a celebration of Russel and Mary Wright’s work, seamlessly blending a gallery, a place for community programming, and sales of their ceramics, glassware, and related products. This unique approach to retail melds an organic, formal language with playful furniture, inspiring all who visit to learn more about the Wrights’ legacy. The shop brings together a diverse set of requirements in an environment that harmonizes merchandise with minimalist displays, natural materials, and a dramatic yet reductive palette. The design embraces the core values of craft, individualism, and experimentation, serving as a bridge between art and commerce.
The Gallery displays objects from the Manitoga permanent collection. The first exhibition focuses on spun aluminum, a material that brought the Wrights early success. Metal and wood combine to create organic shapes that are both pleasing to the eye and utilitarian. The presentation armature is made of American rift-cut white oak. Horizontal shelves flow organically at different heights, bringing Wright’s love of nature to the forefront. This bent-wood strategy echoes the collection yet is not derivative. It incorporates vitrines to protect more fragile pieces.
The approach for selling Russel Wright’s production items involves dense displays on a series of dark grey shelves, a color that accentuates Wright’s elegant colors and forms. Plates, vessels, and specialty objects are shown as sculptures more than utilitarian pieces. The corner window features an installation of Wright’s iconic ewers, inventively hung by a bespoke cable system. They form a colorful array that catches the public’s eye, whether from the outside or the inside, day or night.
The emphasis on an affordable lifestyle with strong design continues through public lectures, artist presentations, and book readings. Therefore, the shop layout is flexible, accommodating both informal conversations and organized presentations for larger crowds. At the center of the room, wood lounge chairs pair with interlocking low tables displaying books and educational materials. A woven, oval rug anchors this public oasis.
The response was immediate and beyond expectation. The entire inventory sold out in the first week, and sales continue to climb. Mary and Russel Wright’s belief that the dining table is the center of home life clearly resonates strongly across time. Visitors delight in the colors and forms as they compose a personal design aesthetic. The design for this small space is a new way of conceiving a highly individual yet shared experience that goes beyond mainstream retail parameters. Manitoga Design Collection + Shop embraces the artists’ vision while supporting the broader community.