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 Magazines:
FL International
(July / August 2000)
Louis
Shuster
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Philadelphia native Louis Shuster, president
of Shuster Design Associates in Fort Lauderdale, has
been a Florida designer for two decades. He notes that
Florida allows for more creativity in design than other
regions do, because many of the homes here are not primary
residences.
"Florida
is a service state," he says. "Many people with discretionary
income - retirees, second homeowners, business people
- come here and they want to be serviced." Showrooms
in DCOTA, like Stark Carpet, help him accommodate even
his most demanding clients. DCOTA is also his top resources
for long-distance projects.
"If
there is a problem with a carpet, even out of state,
Stark will have a representative out there the next
day," he says. "I was doing a job in Old Westbury N.Y.,
which had a free-formed, curved staircase. The carpet
had to be hand-cut, hand-sewn and tied on the job site.
These guys are artisans. Most companies are not doing
that today. You could be the greatest designer in the
world, but if you don't service the client, forget
it, I surround myself with companies that do the same."
Service
is the main reason Stark Carpet, now with 27 locations
in the United States and London, has remained in business
for 65 years, according to regional manager Mark Gobitas. "I
think we have fantastic products with a lot of history," he
says. "There are tapestries describing things that
happened 400 or 500 years ago. The designer can count
on us to be able to explain where the carpet comes
from."
With
smiling eyes and a quick wit, Shuster conveys immediate
trust, and he follows through on that first impression.
Evidence is his long list of highly satisfied, high
profile clients, including the CEO of Home Depot, for
whom Shuster has designed seven homes. Shuster's approach
is "soft and livable, with a lot of custom work." Among
his 17-member staff is a full-time librarian who manages
the firm's extensive collection of catalogues, samples
and resource materials. Nevertheless, Shuster often
brings clients to DCOTA to get better idea of what
they like, "and, more importantly, what they don't
like."
"You
could be the greatest designer in the world, but if
you don't service the client, forget it, I surround
myself with companies that do the same."
LOUIS SHUSTER
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