Featured Guest Christine Kiebert-Boss: Insight into Ralph Lauren Home and Chairish: Season 2 Episode 11
Christine Kiebert-Boss speaks with Dawn and Katie about working in leadership at Ralph Lauren Home and creating her Chairish shop.
Christine Kiebert-Boss (selfie by Christine)
At Ralph Lauren Home, for over 24-years, Christine’s main focus as Vice President of Concept Development was creating storyboards. Actually, in the RL vernacular, they called them “concept rigs.” Concept/Schematic/ Storyboard… For clarity she'll call them storyboards.
She would visit flea markets and antique dealers internationally, as far away as South Africa, and gather objects to compile storyboards. These storyboards led to all aspects of branding of the RL business from product development, to merchandising and retail display, to sales, and advertising.
Christine was fortunate to work closely with Ralph and therefore learned an enormous amount about the details of many styles. She would use the objects to describe an environment, a “lifestyle.” (65 of these storyboards one year.)
Each storyboard included images of the people that live there, and things to describe where it was, what time of year or what time in history. There would be objects to suggest interior and architectural details. Always aspirational, the multiple lifestyles in one season had to be extremely different. They could be ranging from a modern sporty 007 character to a family- friendly beach home. Sometimes these Home storyboards would inspire apparel and sometimes Ralph would bring apparel inspiration to us.
Christine's Chairish shop is based on her own bi-coastal cabinet of curiosities that she builds during her global travels. Some things are fine art and rare antiques and some things are rescued treasures that were going under-appreciated, but she saw had potential and gave these objects new dignity.
Recently, due to family responsibilities and her own retirement, she settled back at her family home, of over 50 years, in Central California where she continues to stay connected to the design world via Chairish. It has been fun sharing her things and giving them a new chapter in someone else's home.
At Ralph Lauren Home, Christine often hired outside studios to help bring her visions to life. Beginning in the early 90's through the early 2000's, there were many projects that Christine and Dawn worked on together.
In 2003 Dawn's studio was contracted to create this large-scale hand-painted paisley inspired by a lovely historic document. The final product was a beautiful printed fabric for woven throw blankets.
photo courtesy of Christine Kiebert-Boss
"Starting a Storyboard": the first inspired bits.
Christine writes:
1. In the background is a partially painted colorful paisley on silk fabric. I liked the henna design feeling with some of the areas left unpainted. 2. A photocopy of an old striped paisley that I faded on the color xerox machine. 3. The border of an antique woven paisley. It’s there to remind me to have a paisley border on solid fabrics or on a smaller secondary printed pattern. 4. A tweed swatch may be for use as upholstery or to inspire a cozy blanket. 5. A cotton madras plaid could be great for bedding, wallpaper, and/or dinnerware. 6. An old pink velvet ribbon for color. 7. A tear sheet from a magazine to describe the style of the people that live here.
I would continue to build the storyboard by adding paint chips or fabric swatches for color that would influence a towel, fabric, or paint palate. I would add wood, glass, or stone samples to inspire furniture, lighting, and tabletop pieces. I would definitely add more photos to clarify the season, architectural details, interior design aesthetic, and overall environment.
Compilation courtesy of Christine Kiebert-Boss
"Heiress”:
“Inspired by the bohemian romance of an old world manor, timeless fabrics in muted shades are touched with unexpected glamour, and eclectic beauty is found in the juxtaposition of the rustic and refined.”
Christine writes:
Brand evolution from a storyboard. This is where all branding begins including product design and development, merchandising and retail display, sales, and advertising.
1. Is the storyboard that was approved for go-ahead by Ralph. 2. & 4. The bed and dressing table in the showroom. 3. & 5. Are advertising photographs. 6. “Looks” from the runway
Heiress Rig
Today, find Christine on Chairish at ckboss.
Christine writes:
After many years of traveling the globe as a design researcher for Ralph Lauren Home Design I have collected so many interesting things and now I've decided to reduce and share my cabinet of curiosities.
Among the many vintage, antique, and art pieces are also prototypes and vintage pieces from RL that I have acquired over the years at the private employee sale events and public sample sales. So sometimes, with the prototypes, there aren't Ralph Lauren labels on them. I'll indicate the history of each item as I know it.
My prices are mostly based on how much I love these things and how comfortable I am at letting them go.
I'm happy to say so many of my things on the Charish site have gone to appreciating homes all over the country. I'll continue to add things now and then so continue to stop by.
Screenshot of Christine’s Chairish shop
Learn more about Christine on her website.
The large image at the top of this post is a 19th Century Antique French Floral Textile Painting in Chartreuse from Christine’s Chairish shop. She writes:
Fantastically beautiful and rare floral painting dominated by gorgeous irises in a central bouquet and surrounded by garlands of sweet peas and other flowers climbing a trellis. This was originally painted for printing on fabric. You can see the vertical repeat but not the horizontal. Maybe it was intended for narrow fabric.
Due to modern technology, they don’t make them like this anymore. It would be so wonderful framed.
