Inside A Beauty Brand’s Haute Headquarters

What began as our feature on the amazing home of April Gargiulo, founder of the buzzed-about skincare brand Vintner’s Daughter, has since spawned even more chicness. “Anna is the one who put all the pieces together,” says April, referencing Chairish’s very own Anna Brockway and her recent bit of design matchmaking. “I mentioned to Anna that we were getting new office space and I wanted to find someone great to help with the design,” reveals April. “Anna immediately said, ‘You should talk to Chloe.’” The Chloe in question was Chloe Redmond Warner of Redmond Aldrich Design, whose exuberant yet sophisticated style was a perfect match for the beauty brand’s natural-leaning, refined aesthetic. And thus, a chic collaboration was born. Step inside the workspace Chloe and her team dreamed up for the cult beauty brand, filled with incredible finds from Chairish, naturally.

Shared Vision

“What I told Chloe I wanted was Northern California by way of Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, and French architecture and design from the early 30s, 40s, and 50s,” says April of her initial visioning for the brand’s new office space, located in San Francisco’s historic Presidio national park. “That is obviously a very out there description, but Chloe and I had a shorthand from day one, and she was really able to bring that vision to life.” What this translated to for Chloe was strong right angles, unfinished wood, and the need to eschew a favorite tool in her design toolbox: color. “April has a passion for neutrals. She likes the interest to come from texture and shapes, not color or pattern,” says the designer. “I get scared that we won’t be able to make it as interesting and layered as I know it needs to be, and then it always works out. Texture and neutrals for the win!”

High Functioning

April’s penchant for high-modern French designers didn’t supplant her team’s need for a functional workspace. “I wanted the space to feel comfortable and really foster inter-departmental work,” April declares. “The goal was to create different moments, so you could find the one that would best support whatever you needed during your work day.” In addition to the conference rooms, Chloe dreamed up a café seating area, a long library table bisecting the open-plan space, and a cozy, double sofa setup, where a set of tripod nesting tables, sourced on Chairish, lend character. Flanking the sofas is an entire wall covered in pin-friendly cork. “Love that back wall,” enthuses Chloe. “We were inspired by an old picture of Sophia Coppola’s office. The image felt right, because it was a super creative young woman, and it was just a dope way to do a bulletin board.” Even here, function was top of mind. “It’s not intended to be static or a ‘no touch’ spot,” Chloe says. “The wall includes actual working documents and hopefully more things will continue to be added over time.”

Naturally Intriguing

Much of the space’s eye-catching texture comes from the abundance of wood Chloe and team incorporated into the design. “The woodworker Sebastian Parker made the library table, the café seating area, and the conference tables for us,” says the designer. To give the long, communal table “a modern library feel,” Chloe and her team marched glowing orb lamps from Urban Electric down the center, and the set of Josef Hoffman Mid-Century Modern bentwood chairs were discovered on Chairish. “Maria Wu in our office found those and it was just a no-brainer,” Chloe says. “We had to get them. They were in “well-loved” shape, so we redid the seats in a tan leather, and still, that was a coup because those chairs have real provenance.”

With vintage pieces, if you go in looking for something super specific, I think you can easily get frustrated. It’s better to look at some art, think of words or ideas, and then let it wash over you. Look from what’s there and something will speak to you.

Chloe Redmond Warner

Being restrained to just neutral tones was so smart of April. It just really shows the beauty of natural materials. The space feels clean and simple and there’s restraint, but there’s also a sense of abundance.

Chloe Redmond Warner

Divine Quality

When it comes to the benefits of buying vintage, client and designer were totally aligned. “I really wanted to express our brand through the design, the idea of quality and craftsmanship, and incorporating things that are really beautifully made,” says April. “It’s one of the reasons that we were so excited to work with Chairish to source special pieces for the space. Sustainability is really important to Vintner’s Daughter, so as many things as we could buy that were vintage, we were so excited to use.” For Chloe, the passion for vintage runs equally deep. “You can get something that was made well and will last 50 years if you take care of it, and it’s worth it to find the people that can help you take care of it,” she says. “It’s also worth investing in the people that are doing that work. The idea of maintaining pieces is psychically healthy; it’s better for the earth; it’s just better.”

One of the biggest benefits of being a woman entrepreneur is connecting with other women entrepreneurs and what comes out of that.

April gargiulo

Photography by Adam Amengual, @adamamengual
Styling by Mikhael Romain, @mikhaelromain

Step Inside April’s San Francisco Home >>