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I t's official: CB2, much loved by designers, has opened its first Houston store in Rice Village. The 10,084-square- foot emporium stocks selections from the online collections, including collaborations with interior designers Kara Mann and Jennifer Fisher, along with CB2 + GQ. CB2 also recently reissued furniture and lighting by leading mid-20th-century designer Paul McCobb, whose furnishings decorated the offices of Columbia Records and Mick Jagger's London flat in the 1960s. The new CB2 store, the modern-design offshoot of Crate & Barrel Holdings, is part of a brick- and-mortar rollout of 22 locations in the U.S. and Canada. CB2 has had a strong online relationship with retail customers and design professionals in Houston for years, says president Ryan Turf. CB2 joins a raft of new stores in the CB2 BARRELS INTO TOWN CHRISTOPHER & CHRISTIAN M ore than 30,000 laser- cut fabric petals have gone into making t h e H o r t e n s i a armchair for Moooi the lushest sit imaginable. Designer Andrés Reisinger conceived the pink flower design as a 3D rendering that he posted on social media. The chair went viral, and although it existed only in his imagination, people clamored for it, and some even placed orders. Reisinger and textile designer Júlia Esqué teamed to find a way to produce Hortensia — another term for hydrangea. But translating a flower into a functional object proved almost impossible, Reisinger says; for a long time, he referred to it as "the chair that can't be made." Eventually a limited-edition version emerged, but it was Dutch design and manufacturing phenom Moooi that brought the chair to life. Hortensia armchair for Moooi, from $3,248, to order at Light, 4202 Richmond Ave., thelightcompany.net. Rebecca Sherman beloved 83-year-old Rice Village, including West Elm, Lovesac, and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. CB2, Rice Village, 2414 University, cb2.com. Rebecca Sherman WE'RE BLUSHING ART + DECORATION 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 kind of exquisite welt detailing he saw during a trip to 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. "I fell in love with it and added it to the collection," he says. Hubbard's furniture is bench-made to order in Chicago and includes seating with solid maple frames and traditional horsehair webbing; almost everything is customizable. "If you can imagine it, we can create it," he says. Christopher Hubbard, to the trade at George Cameron Nash, Decorative Center Houston, 5120 Woodway, georgecameronnash.com. Rebecca Sherman Perimeter sofa from CB2 Christopher Hubbard Chamber table by Christopher Hubbard Hortensia chair from Moooi 52