Oriental Casa Welcomes Trade and Industry to Open House
This week, we had the honour of presenting the new and very beautiful Oriental Casa retail location to Trade and Industry friends at our first Open House Event. The Team prepared our space with an amazing array of desserts and platters from our much-respected neighbour Meinhardt’s Fine Foods, a table of sweet bubbles and hot beverages, and handmade welcome gifts.
It is highly unlikely that in 2012, when the founder of ‘Oriental Casa’ was designing the first collection of high-quality, versatile, and attractive pieces, that the company would grow into 100 stores in China, and be preparing to open a retail location almost 10,000-kilometres away on the Canadian west coast.
The demand for high quality luxury furniture at an affordable price was an attractive proposition for the newly assembled Vancouver Team. “When I saw the factory in China, I was immediately impressed. Not only was the line embellished with incredible thought into all the design details, but it was evident that the skilled craftsmanship and finishing that each piece has was top-notch. I felt this was an opportunity to bring a line of fine furniture to North America that was unlike any others I had seen here,” says Stephanie Smith, Oriental Casa Manager.
We look forward to connecting with our new neighbourhood friends and guests.
Fast forward through all the preparation of launching a business and here we are—settling into our new neighbourhood! Our location is ideally situated just two blocks south of the corner of West Broadway and Granville Streets. We are easy to find, and our neighbours are part of the vibrant South Granville retail community that has been established here. We love that there is something for everyone here – the best in food, fashion, beauty, design, and home décor.
As we welcomed the city’s top designers, trusted tradespersons, reconnected with industry friends, and those we didn’t even know—but had heard about our event—the atmosphere became more jovial, and soon everyone was enjoying food and drink, lively conversation, and sharing stories of their current and completed design projects.
Our ‘East Meets West’ collections contain so many unique pieces that appealed to the designers, and we found ourselves speaking with many about key features, materials, sustainability, and availability, while others entertained themselves with our amazing automated mah-jong table.
Meet the Oriental Casa Team
Left to Right: Elaine Zhao, Julie Lyman, Stephanie Smith, Tanya Wu, Nicole Froese
Our President and powerhouse manager, Stephanie Smith, has been working in sales since she was 15-years old. She is driven by an incredible passion for building relationships and working closely with our patrons to ensure that their experience at Oriental Casa is first-rate. Her early training at Ethan Allen and 8-years as a top performer solidified her ability to focus on client-based relations. A degree in Business and Marketing Management, combined with her work experience, makes her the best person to undertake this top position with Oriental Casa.
Before moving to Vancouver in 2012, Tanya Wu was practicing and teaching Interior Design in China for more than ten years. This position included both residential and commercial projects where she specialized in residential space planning and received several awards of recognition, including Teacher of the Year. Upon moving to Vancouver, she worked for five years as a Showroom Consultant to the trade at Crown Wallpaper & Fabrics while she completed the Interior Design Program at BCIT. The experience garnered at Crown and her studies at BCIT has prepared her for a position at Oriental Casa as our Assistant Sales Manager.
Elaine Zhao has a strong passion for design, and when she arrived in Vancouver from China in 2013, she entered the BCIT Interior Design Program. In pursuit of her passion, Elaine began to focus her energy on assisting local designers and staging persons with their commercial and residential projects. This included many high-end residential and commercial interiors, such as the River Green Presentation Centre and apartment showrooms. She is knowledgeable in creating thoughtful spaces, which include design, soft furnishings, accessories, and artworks. It is this vision of functionality and aesthetics that she brings to clients of Oriental Casa.
We have many more who helped us launch and who work behind the scenes with Oriental Casa. Watch for their stories in upcoming blog posts.
A big heartfelt thank you to all who attended our first event! The Team looks forward to following-up with everyone that made special requests and to keep all informed through our monthly newsletter.
Asst. Sales Manager Tanya wishes all that joined us a very happy and successful 2020.
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