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74 A s we go to press, Texas' first flagship Kartell has opened in River Oaks Shopping Center, joining a prestigious lineup of 130 flagships around the world, in- cluding London, New York City, and Mi- lan. We have Houston's BeDesign CEO Adrian Duenas and his business partner Vassili Tsipianitis to thank for bringing the flagship to Houston. BeDesign has upped the design quotient in Houston in the past 11 months, introducing Paola Lenti, Fendi Casa, and Missoni to the Houston market. In partnership with Italian com- pany Kartell, they have devoted a spar- kling 1,500-square-foot corner showroom to its most iconic designs, along with a slew of new products. Designer Ferruccio Laviani has designed the stunning space. Founded in 1949 by Giulio Castelli and now presided over by Claudio Luti, Kartell has collaborated with international designers Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Piero Lissoni, and Marcel Wanders, among others, to generate the most cutting-edge and clever furniture, lighting, and home accessories. Who can forget Starck's trans- parent Ghost Chairs or Attila gnome ta- bles, Wander's faceted Stone table, Arad's Bookworm, and Laviani's Bourgie lamp, which have elevated plastic to new levels of luxury and influenced generations of design lovers (and knockoffs). If Kartell's genius can be summed up in one iconic piece, it would be Starck's acrylic Louis Ghost chair — 10 years old, this year — which brilliantly merges an Old World classic with contemporary material, wit and practicality. We've yet to find a room that doesn't benefit from a kick of Kartell. Kartell, 2013 W. Gray St., 713.960.3272, be-design.us/kartell. CRAZY KARTELL COOL BY REBECCA SHERMAN Masters chairs Uncle Jim chair Giulio Castelli and Anna Castelli Ferrieri at Kartell, Milan, 1967