The walls are lined with antique English chairs joined into benches, the cushions are upholstered in Frank & Eileen shirting fabrics.
The original Frank and Eileen
A designer honors her Irish grandparents’ love story with timeless shirts that have a passionate following. Even her L.A. showroom embraces her heritage — it’s modeled after a 1940s farmhouse in Ireland
Frank McLoghlin and Eileen Óg married in Ireland in 1947, and their granddaughter, Audrey McLoghlin, still holds their love story carefully in hand.
At its 2009 launch, she named her exclusive company after her paternal grandparents, whom she remembers visiting as a girl. “When we were kids, there was nothing better than going to Ireland,” the designer says. “We always stayed with my grandparents, Frank & Eileen, for a month. They had hot water bottles waiting, and we woke up each day to race to the corner store for penny sweets. All my fondest childhood memories are of our time spent in Ireland with family.”
AN L.A. SHOWROOM WITH HEART
Once McLoghlin snagged a penthouse in Los Angeles at the historic, fashion-centric Lady Liberty Building (c.1914), she wanted to create a showroom for buyers and retailers that would truly represent her family brand. She saw photos of a project that New York-based designer Melody Weir created in Holland last year for Davines, a beauty company committed to sustainability. Weir worked with 14 Dutch artists and gathered antique doors and thousands of discarded shutters from Holland, Hungary and Budapest for the head-turning display.
It wasn’t long before McLoghlin had her heart set on Weir for the California assignment.
“Melody created the most magical space in all of Los Angeles. We are so lucky to call it our home,” says the shirt designer. “She transformed a huge open loft into a complete brand experience – a warm environment that resembles an Irish country house. Each detail helps bring Frank & Eileen’s love story and Irish heritage to life.”
Weir combed L.A. flea markets and antique stores for hundreds of vintage windows to style the 6,800-square-foot showroom. She took those weathered windows and gave them a fresh, clean coat of country white. “To enter, you walk into a little house made entirely of windows,” she says. The walls are lined with antique English chairs joined into benches, the cushions upholstered in Frank & Eileen shirting fabrics. A 20-foot Tuscan olive tree reaches for the skylight, reclaimed zinc fire doors from California warehouses rest on sawhorses for tables and desks, and framed family photos tell the company’s story.
Hand-blown glass bottles from Italy are on display, a nod to the country where the shirting fabric is made. The shirts themselves hang on bars suspended from the ceiling with rope Weir found; on the ends of the bars, she put salvaged banister knobs. It took the designer three months to complete the project, counting her scouting for treasured finds and having HVAC and lighting installed. “Even the bathroom looks like it could be in an old Irish house,” says Weir. She put in white wainscoting, subway tile, an antique mirror from Ireland and a push-button light switch like you’d see back in the day.
THE DESIGNER AS A YOUNG ARTIST
Weir’s background is in fine arts, and she owned two successful galleries in Chelsea, NY before going back to Parsons to study interior design. “But I started decorating my family’s houses and apartments when I was eight years old,” she notes. Billy Baldwin – called the “dean of American interior decorators” by The New York Times and decorator to Cole Porter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Diana Vreeland – was friendly with Weir’s mother. “He taught me all about scale,” Weir says. “He was my Uncle Billy.” As a girl, she redid an ugly family bathroom, covering it entirely in cork. “Cork is really sustainable,” the designer notes.
HOSPITALI-TEA
The tea bar with vintage leather stools is welcoming, and an Irish country kitchen in the back of the house serves as a natural gathering place for meetings. “The Irish take their tea very seriously, and strong,” says McLoghlin. “Our tea bar is fully stocked with our favorite traditional Irish breakfast tea by day and Guinness by night. It’s open for complimentary service to buyers and friends alike. Tea is served in branded Frank & Eileen teacups with a classic English rose pattern. The perfect cup of tea always includes a long steep and a spot of milk!” Guests can also nibble on scones, biscuits, cookies and Irish candy.
COMING FULL CIRCLE
Frank & Eileen is known for shirts that stand the test of time. “We marry fine Italian fabrics with California design and production to make the highest quality product while also creating jobs locally,” says McLoghlin. The company employs a “secret wrinkle wash to give the shirts a slight worn-in and lovable look that will never go out of style.”
Sustainability matters not only in the showroom but also in the clothing, says Frank & Eileen’s granddaughter. “We make shirts the customer can enjoy for many years to come. We think it’s important not to get caught up in the fast-fashion/disposable-fashion world so prevalent in the U.S. today. Using high-quality fabrics that will last is one way we are sustainable in the fashion business.”
These fine shirts for “lads and lasses” can be found at Ron Herman, Fred Segal, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and on frankandeileen.com
Interior Design by Melody Weir
Photography by Torkil Stavdal