MULLIGAN'S Where Farm-Style Country Meets Hollywood Glamour

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WHERE FARM-STYLE COUNTRY MEETS

HOLLYWOODGLAMOUR

Many swear the 1930s were the "Golden Age of Film" when "talking" picture shows took over the silver screen. But when names like Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, and Paul Newman become part of the conversation… well, it's hard to deny the impact of the 60s and 70s. Today the movie stars of that era would be what we now call "influencers" – they popped up in magazines and on TV and became more and more accessible than ever before.

This is the glitzy setting where Mulligan's took root, growing right alongside cinema's icons. Known originally as Richard Mulligan’s, the business started as an antique and design store owned by Mollie and Richard Mulligan. And it was full-on Hollywood. The showroom's first location was an antique store on Melrose Avenue, when Richard Mulligan’s was fully launched as a premier reproduction house they moved into the homey Spanish-style cottage on Sunset Boulevard with the Chateau Marmont as a backdrop, literally a stone's throw from the site of the legendary Garden of Allah Hotel. But the Richard Mulligan Sunset Cottage brought its own personality to Sunset with its large plastic cow that grazed in front of the store or on the roof – perhaps a nod to the Molly Mulligans' Iowa roots – so you knew that you were in the right place. The clientele was often Hollywood, too. Mollie said that movie stars always found their showroom comfortable. One New York Times piece told of Elizabeth Taylor in "the other room" during a newspaper interview in 1991 and how a customer had just missed Goldie Hawn.

Another name dropped into the article was Bruce Willis, who brought in a bear-shaped doorstop which Richard then made into a lamp.

Molly & Richard Mulligan initiated the "farm-style country" design trend in the heart

of Hollywood glamour and is still going strong today. Initially, it sprung from their love of early Americana, which Richard made his own with his artistic genius as a carver and a painter. The cow, Iowa, lamps made out of door stops – all hint at the Richard Mulligan design aesthetic.

Clients began asking for custom pieces based on the Midwest antiques they sold. Soon designing pieces inspired by folk art eclipsed selling the antiques themselves.

Most importantly, from a design perspective, they included furniture and other pieces meant to live in a home, not necessarily a showcase house. Mollie points out a table already covered in glass-ring stains as proof

for the New York Times reporter that their art was not at all intimidating. That's part of what made their homespun design house popular with discerning highfashion clients. Even then, Richard Mulligan shipped handcrafted pieces across the country to places such as Aspen and the Hamptons, and famous designers came in to shop for their famous clients.

Those are just a couple of the traditions that live on today.

The Richard Mulligan Sunset

Cottage BROUGHT ITS OWN PERSONALITY to Sunset with it's large plastic cow that grazed

in frint of the store or on the roof -

PERHAPS A NOD TO THE MOLLY MULLIGANS' Iowa roots.

Hollywood's Golden Age Lives On at Mulligan's

Robert A. Sharp bought Richard Mulligan’s in 2012, renamed it, and moved the West Hollywood showroom to Melrose Ave. But those are about the only changes you would notice. The clientele is still a who's who of the entertainment world. And that now classic farmstyle country is as popular as ever, though perhaps some designers now identify it as "the Mulligan's style." This homey, distinctive style drew Sharp to the company in the first place. "It's hard to put your finger on what the style is, exactly," Sharp said. "Yes, we call it farm-style country – a folksy, comfortable style. But there is a nuanced chicness to it, not to mention a timelessness. The pieces we create today harken back to a simpler time, but the pieces themselves never seem to age."

Take, for example, Mulligan's famous Mama Bear chair. Comfortable and inviting, it's been a mainstay of Mulligan's catalog for decades. Yet it still looks fresh and stylish, featured relatively recently in Architectural Digest showcasing the homes of both Chynna Phillips and Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. "Taste is personal and sometimes singular. But when the tastes of a group of people align, it becomes a trend. I'm ecstatic that so many stylish people continue to see the value in what we create. Not least of all, esteemed showrooms like M-Geough," Sharp said.

New Styles Coming Every Quarter

Sharp said that Mulligan's is not one to rest on its laurels. The company employs about 75 craftspeople at any given moment, making each piece to spec. Most have been there 20 years or more, but Mulligan's also created an apprentice program to ensure new artisans have a place to build upon traditional skills.

Sharp said that the design house continually creates new styles and finishes, and Mulligan's adds new

designs to its catalog every quarter. The company is currently launching a new line, San Ysidro. "The creation of the San Ysidro line came from multiple designers requesting rustic rushed lower shelves," Sharp said. The first in that line was the San Ysidro console table. "We created a new stain especially for this design – a welcoming neutral gray that complements just about any interior design motif."

Inspiration comes from many sources, Sharp said, whether it is requests from designers, a new antique, or just playing around with ideas and styles in the workshop. "Paul McCartney told me once that sometimes you start with an idea and follow it for a while, even when you're not quite sure where you'll end up. It's an approach that still works for us." But it’s Mulligan’s standard and custom finishes that truly set the design house apart.

“All of our finishes are quite complex and done in a way that will allow the finish – painted or stain – to age like an antique with time,” Sharp says. “We

have close to 100 standard finishes to choose from and well over 1,000 archived one-of-a-kind custom finishes to also draw from.” Some finishes require a two-week process and an artistic eye to apply correctly, adding to the complexity. Mulligan’s will lend out samples once an order is placed so the designer and customer can see how their finished pieces will look. Custom designs are available at $150 per strike-off.

Innovative designs and inspiring new finishes keep Mulligan's offering fresh and exciting. One other thing that's changed? The Mulligan's cow is gone – perhaps forever – after it was stolen for the third time.

Sharp said that they used to dress it up just as Mollie did. But now this Hollywood landmark is now enshrined in Mulligan's logo, as it should be. A Hollywood legend, indeed. A ll of our finishes