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OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. B rian Bolke, founder of The Conservatory (New York in Hudson Yards and Dallas in Highland Park Village), opens his retail concept in Houston in September in River Oaks District. Some call Bolke a retail visionary, but I think of him as the retail whisperer. Bolke opened the groundbreaking Forty Five Ten in Dallas, the legendary temple of fashion; Headington Companies in Dallas bought out Bolke's share of Forty Five Ten a few years back. Bolke's ideas are what inform The Conservatory's mission and belief system of "Considered Luxury" — a term he's trademarked and that leads every decision he makes. Long before others were beginning to comprehend sustainability and slow fashion, he embraced those tenets. Bolke says he's offering mindful pricing and transparent supply chains, and he hopes customers are choosing pieces that are meant to last. The Conservatory was conceived as the intersection of brick and mortar and ecommerce. The stores complement the website, theconservatorynyc. com, which is home to close to 200 brands and thousands of products in categories including women's and men's clothing and accessories, apothecary, decor, and gifts. The new Houston store is a who's who of covetable names, including Gabriela Hearst, Courrèges, Lapointe, and Brandon Maxwell; jewelry by Lisa Eisner, Marina B, and Eva Fehren; home decor and gifts from Saved (cashmere), Lalique, and Georg Jensen; and an apothecary featuring Perfumer H, Fueguia, Maison d'Etto, and Costa Brazil, many exclusive to Houston — and all "curated through a lens of luxurious minimalism," Bolke says. The Conservatory, River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer, opening September 22. Billy Fong THIS JUST IN T exas Design Week Dallas is Monday – Friday, September 19 – 23, with opening day of Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas Thursday, September 22. Designers confirmed to speak at Texas Design Week Dallas include Alex Papachristidis; Jean-Louis Deniot, in from Paris; Stephen Sills with David Netto; Richard Mishaan; Jamie Drake and Caleb Anderson, Drake/Anderson; Christopher Spitzmiller; Martina Mondadori, founder and editor in chief, Cabana Magazine, in from London; Suzanne Tucker; Stewart Manger, Suzanne Kasler; architect Pietro Cicognani; and Summer Thornton, with more to be announced. For TXDW complete schedule and tickets, go to texasdesignweek. com. For Kips Bay Dallas Opening Day Celebration tickets, go to kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/ dallasplanyourvisit. SAVE THE DATES T wo former nonprofit directors — both with a photo focus — came together during the pandemic to forge a new hybrid model for the art world. Ashlyn Davis Burns (formerly with Houston Center for Photography) and Shane Lavalette (formerly with Light Work in Syracuse, New York) launched Assembly in March 2021. Their endeavor combines an ecommerce platform for international photographers, a publishing house, and an agency that pairs its talents with projects around the globe. Now Assembly steps up to a brick-and- mortar, opening next month at the 4411 Montrose Gallery Building. "Our vision is to continue bringing cutting-edge lens-based work into the broader contemporary art space," Davis Burns says. "Our mid-career artists are in major institutional collections globally, yet many have never had the opportunity to show their work in the U.S." Stay tuned: Assembly debuts Friday, July 15, with a VIP reception presenting new photographic weavings by Colombian artist Cristina Velasquez (public opening Saturday, July 16 through August 27). assembly.art. Catherine D. Anspon THE 4411 ON ASSEMBLY Ashlyn Davis Burns and Shane Lavalette, founding directors of Assembly COURTESY ASSEMBLY Vasantha Yogananthan's The Fishermen, 2013-2020, at Assembly The Conservatory in Dallas Brian Bolke COURTESY THE ARTIST AND ASSEMBLY 14