Design Firm

Stephanie Bradshaw Inc., the Baltimore-based design company, is moving into the Clipper Mill area of the city from its current Cockeysville location, which was home to the firm for two years. "I'm excited to bring my business into the city and to be a part of its growing design community," said Stephanie Bradshaw, founder and creative director of the company. The firm includes wedding and event design and planning, interior design and personal styling. "I feel like Baltimore is definitely finding its place," she said.

Baltimore design firm Chambers, which specializes in the planning, architecture and interior design of private clubs, announced Friday that it has acquired a rival based in Texas. CCI Club Design will be changing its name to Chambers but will continue its Dallas operations, according to a statement from Chambers. Chambers will remain headquartered in Baltimore, the statement said, and no one will lose their job because of the acquisition. "Once friendly competitors, we're now combining the tremendous talents of both firms to enhance the services we provide to our clients within the private club industry," said Rick Snellinger, president and CEO of Chambers.

Baltimore design firm Chambers, which specializes in the planning, architecture and interior design of private clubs, announced Friday that it has acquired a rival based in Texas. CCI Club Design will be changing its name to Chambers but will continue its Dallas operations, according to a statement from Chambers. Chambers will remain headquartered in Baltimore, the statement said, and no one will lose their job because of the acquisition. "Once friendly competitors, we're now combining the tremendous talents of both firms to enhance the services we provide to our clients within the private club industry," said Rick Snellinger, president and CEO of Chambers.

City leaders hope that by this time next year they'll have returned from Annapolis with funds to put toward making the Inner Harbor what its original designers intended it to be - "a playground for Baltimoreans. " "The city has changed so much since the original development of the Inner Harbor," said Laurie Schwartz, executive director of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore Inc., a nonprofit that manages and advocates for the city's waterfront. It's time to evaluate the Inner Harbor and decide what needs to be done to sustain it as a vibrant part of the city, she said.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has selected a group led by Mahan Rykiel Associates, a Baltimore-based landscape architecture and urban design firm, to develop a "Downtown Open Space Master Plan" for the city. The partnership sought proposals this year for a plan that incorporates "the preservation and enhancement" of existing parks and open spaces and recommends ways to create new public spaces in downtown Baltimore. The budget for the design work is $60,000 to $70,000. The study area is bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, President Street and Jones Falls Expressway to the east, Centre Street on the north and Pratt and Conway Streets on the south.

Brad Kaplon, former marketing communications manager for national cellular distributor TESSCO, has formed Kaplon Creative Inc.The Bel Air firm, at 907 Hedgerow Court, specializes in high-impact advertising and direct-response copywriting/desktop design services for corporations and ad agencies of all sizes.Mr. Kaplon's copy and designs have received several industry awards.Kaplon Creative Inc. can be reached at (410) 879-0345.

Jesse Benesch & Associates, an interior design firm, has purchased a 175-year-old former schoolhouse in Baltimore County for its new offices.The firm bought the historic stone school at 119 Old Court Road in Pikesville for an undisclosed amount."

Gary Adrian Cole, an interior designer with his own design firm for 20 years, died Saturday at Sinai Hospital of pneumonia brought on by AIDS. The Parkton resident was 52 years old.Mr. Cole had operated Gary Cole Interiors since 1973 and had managed The Warehouse in South Baltimore for two years.Known for his eclectic style, the South Baltimore native had clients in Washington, New York and Florida, and in 1990 he decorated a house owned by Robert Redford in Santa Domingo."He captivated his clients," said Bradley Permenter, 29, Mr. Cole's companion for 2 1/2 years.

Patricia A. Lambrow, community volunteer and president and co-founder of a residential interior design firm, died of cancer Friday at her Annapolis home. She was 45. "She was just loved by a lot of people and she really saw the good in everybody," said her husband, Nicholas Lambrow, a regional president for M&T Bank. "She had a lot of friends. And she loved the arts, all of the arts." Born Patricia Anderson in Baltimore, she graduated from Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn and from Loyola College.

Daniele J. Fleischer, owner of a Harford County interior design firm, died Monday of a stroke at her Bel Air home. She was 66. Daniele Jeanne Lemarie was born in St. Maur, France, and raised in Paris. She studied art and design in France. In 1958, she married Pete Thrasher. The marriage ended in divorce. She came to Baltimore in 1963, returned to France for several years, then returned to the city in 1966. She was a designer for Shaivitz Furniture from 1975 to 1985 and then was design director for DGI, a design firm, for a year.

Stephanie Bradshaw Inc., the Baltimore-based design company, is moving into the Clipper Mill area of the city from its current Cockeysville location, which was home to the firm for two years. "I'm excited to bring my business into the city and to be a part of its growing design community," said Stephanie Bradshaw, founder and creative director of the company. The firm includes wedding and event design and planning, interior design and personal styling. "I feel like Baltimore is definitely finding its place," she said.

Richard D. Pickens, owner of a Crofton interior design firm who lived in Union Square, where he served as president of the Friends of the H.L. Mencken House, died Tuesday of stomach cancer at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 50. "I was dumbfounded when I got the news about Richard's death. It was like a bolt out of the blue," said Harry R. Lord, a retired partner in the Baltimore law firm of Piper & Marbury. "Richard was really the lifeblood of the Mencken House for all these years.

The Baltimore design firm that helped ferry a Caesars-led proposal for a casino on Russell Street through the state approval process has been dropped from the project and replaced with an out-of-state company. Ayers Saint Gross, headquartered in Locust Point, drew up the preliminary designs for the Harrah's casino that were used by Caesars as an enticement for the Maryland Video Lottery Facilities Location Commission to green light the construction of a casino near M&T Bank Stadium.

Albert Rubeling Jr., a Monkton resident and president of Towson-based Rubeling & Associates - an architecture and interior design firm - was named secretary of the College of Fellows for the American Institute of Architects. The members of the College of Fellows elected Rubeling to serve the two-year term effective Jan. 1. The function of the College of Fellows is to promote the purposes of the AIA and to advance the profession of architecture, as well as to provide services to society.

The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has selected a group led by Mahan Rykiel Associates, a Baltimore-based landscape architecture and urban design firm, to develop a "Downtown Open Space Master Plan" for the city. The partnership sought proposals this year for a plan that incorporates "the preservation and enhancement" of existing parks and open spaces and recommends ways to create new public spaces in downtown Baltimore. The budget for the design work is $60,000 to $70,000. The study area is bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, President Street and Jones Falls Expressway to the east, Centre Street on the north and Pratt and Conway Streets on the south.

Jerome L. Feeley Jr., a decorated World War II Navy pilot who later owned and operated a kitchen design firm, died Wednesday in his sleep at a daughter's Parkville home. He was 89. Mr. Feeley was born in Baltimore and lived in West Baltimore until 1934, when his family moved to a Guilford Avenue rowhouse. He was a graduate of the Cathedral School on Mulberry Street, and Calvert Hall College High School in 1940, where he was an outstanding basketball and football player.

Michael D. Asner, founder of Michael Asner Associates Inc., a nationally known interior design firm, died of heart failure Friday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Roland Park resident was 64. Mr. Asner, who founded the North Calvert Street design firm in 1969, was chief executive officer of the company at the time of his death. "He always had a happy, enthusiastic attitude and loved what he did," said Karen S. Aumen, the firm's president. "He was a mentor to the staff and let us blossom as designers.

The Baltimore design firm that helped ferry a Caesars-led proposal for a casino on Russell Street through the state approval process has been dropped from the project and replaced with an out-of-state company. Ayers Saint Gross, headquartered in Locust Point, drew up the preliminary designs for the Harrah's casino that were used by Caesars as an enticement for the Maryland Video Lottery Facilities Location Commission to green light the construction of a casino near M&T Bank Stadium.

With his frizzy brown hair, pale skin, thin sweater and worn jeans, Yuri Zietz looks every bit the indie rocker. Some nights he'll share the stage with band mates and fill venues like the loud, smoky Lo-Fi Social Club with choppy, angular guitar riffs. But weekdays, Zietz retreats to the calmer, cleaner studio of Development Design Group Inc. to help build miniature architectural models. Depending on the project, he could be gluing down tiny people, putting together minuscule stores or constructing fake shrubbery with green fuzz.

Daniele J. Fleischer, owner of a Harford County interior design firm, died Monday of a stroke at her Bel Air home. She was 66. Daniele Jeanne Lemarie was born in St. Maur, France, and raised in Paris. She studied art and design in France. In 1958, she married Pete Thrasher. The marriage ended in divorce. She came to Baltimore in 1963, returned to France for several years, then returned to the city in 1966. She was a designer for Shaivitz Furniture from 1975 to 1985 and then was design director for DGI, a design firm, for a year.