It was the 1990s when O&G built its first Showroom, creating a customer experience unlike anything else in the region. Visionary Bob Oneglia knew that if visitors could see how striking tile, brick, stone and other materials look when artfully installed in realistic vignettes they would be inspired.
While each O&G showcase has been continually evolving as lines change and new products are brought on board, Kara Oneglia, President of the Masonry Division, recognized that it was time for monumental change. “They were ready for a total facelift and modernization,” she says. So the interior products sections of two showcases – in Bridgeport, the first showcase built, and Stamford – were picked for top-to-bottom remakes that would pivot them to chic, comfortable, open “urban warehouse” presentations.
The showroom makeovers were planned on different levels to meet the needs of every residential and commercial client O&G serves: homeowners, professional designers, architects, builders and masons. Impressively, the remakes were entirely homegrown.
In Bridgeport, the floor plans and vignettes, the choice of tile and stone materials, the paint, furniture and accessories, were conceived by sales representatives Sheryl Lentine and Sonia Maldonado, working with Oneglia. “It was a collaborative effort all the way, a labor of love – just fabulous,” says Lentine.
O&G tile craftsmen, carpenters and welders built out the designs. Installing an entirely new LED lighting design played an enormous role in the open, airy statement the showcases make. Stamford Showroom sales representatives Paulette Brassinga and David Klipstein relate their customers’ reactions. “Lots of people have come in looking just for one thing and were pleasantly surprised to find other offerings they were inspired to purchase, like natural stones for their entryways and porcelain tiles for their master bath projects,” says Brassinga. “People are really liking the uncluttered feel and the flair of the displays,” Klipstein relates, “and the new lighting – it’s really fantastic, shows all our product options off well.”
Professionals agree. The Bridgeport makeover earned a HOBI Award from the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Connecticut as 2018’s “Best Small Product Showroom.”
