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N atasha Baradaran has always drawn on her extensive travels around the world as inspiration f o r h e r f u r n i t u re collections, but March 2020 changed all that. Our country's shared year of solitude insisted she look inward, so a jaunt to the Mediterranean was replaced with a stroll through her Beverly Hills neighborhood, and trips to the markets in Marrakech became trips to the local farmer's market. A FRESH START CHRISTOPHER & CHRISTIAN C hristopher Hubbard cut his teeth at Holly Hunt showroom in Chicago, an incubator of creativity that has nurtured such talents as Christian Liaigre, the French designer who revolutionized 1990s interiors with his reductive, ultra-refined furnishings. Hubbard spent seven years with Hunt, selling the Liaigre line. "I was so inspired by his creativity, his use of woods and metals, his use of angles," Hubbard says. "Everything he designed worked together seamlessly and is still timeless." When Hubbard, who has a design degree, launched his own furniture line in 2015, he drew on Liaigre as a model. "His look isn't mine by any means, but his vision was important," he says. Hubbard's designs are often inspired by his travels, such as his Grande sofa, which incorporates the exquisite welt detailing he once saw in Paris. His Savile Row collection of upholstery fabrics — inspired by a trip to London for bespoke suits — includes herringbones, checks, and chevrons. The Chamber table, which looks like bronze organ pipes, was initially designed for a client; Hubbard fell in love with it and added it to the collection. His furniture is bench-made to order in Chicago, including seating with solid maple frames; almost everything is customizable. "If you can imagine it, we can create it," he says. To the trade at George Cameron Nash, Dallas Design Center, 1025 N. Stemmons Freeway, georgecameronnash.com. Rebecca Sherman Christopher Hubbard Chamber table by Christopher Hubbard Goccia swivel chair by Natasha Baradaran NB Essential collection Globeau pouf The result is NB Essential, her new pared-down and personal collection of minimal yet shapely forms that includes tables, casegoods, and seating in warm woods, plush upholstery, and blushing finishes. Allan Knight introduces the collection later this summer with a new large dedicated space in the showroom. NB Essential at Allan Knight, the International on Turtle Creek Design Center, 150 Turtle Creek Blvd., allan- knight.com. Rebecca Sherman 44