ML - Michigan Avenue

2014 - Issue 3 - May/June

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK L isa Simeone and Gina Deary may look strikingly different, with Simeone's cascading mane and Deary's colorful vintage style, but it's clear that the two have an incredibly deep personal and professional bond. "When we started the company, everyone warned us not to go into business with each other because of our friendship," says Simeone. "But we feel that it's because we are friends that we're able to make it work. We're inspired by each other." Simeone Dea r y Desig n Group was est ablished in 20 02 , but it t races it s root s to L ieber Cooper Associates, where Deary was a senior project designer focusing on hospitality ventures and Simeone served as vice president of hospitality design. There was an instant connection between them, according to Deary: Both knew that when the time was right, they would join forces to build their own company. Says Simeone, "Our goal was to think big t houghts—to create spaces that [previously] could only be imag ined and to not let anything stand in the way of t hat." They def ine t heir work as craft ing "indiv idua lized concept exper iences." It's a not ion t hat's ref lected in t heir newly renovated Michiga n Avenue off ices, a spacious contempora r y studio f illed w it h dozens of young desig ners, where a unique art installation— 56,0 0 0 pencils in a brocadelike array, a ref lection of the firm's atten- tion to detail, says Dear y—spans the reception wall. With more than 100 hotel projects to its name, Simeone Deary has received numerous prestigious design awards, including a 2013 Gold Key Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design and a 2013 Hospitality Design Award, both for its work on the Hilton Columbus Downtown, as well as a second Hospitality Design Award for the Hilton Dallas Park Cities. The firm earned the same awards in 2010 for its design of the Elysian Hotel, now the Waldorf Astoria Chicago, the client that Deary and Simeone credit for putting their company on the map. These days, the team is making headlines for its recent renovation of the dining hot spot BOK A in Lincoln Park. Simeone Deary is also tackling a slew of hotel and office projects around Chicago and as far away as Austin. The two share a laugh when asked which project defines their work. "There is no signature Simeone Deary project," says Simeone. "If anything, that is our signature. Each project we do must have its own personality. At the end of the day, all we really want to do is the best we can for our clients, ourselves, and each other." MA Designing Women THE PRINCIPALS BEHIND THE CHICAGO DESIGN FIRM SIMEONE DEARY PROVE THAT FRIENDS CAN MAKE THE BEST BUSINESS PARTNERS. BY LISA BARR PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON LITTLE Lisa Simeone (LEFT) and Gina Deary, seen in their Michigan Avenue office, say balance is crucial to their relationship. 66 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM DYNAMIC DUO 066_MA_SP_DD_May/June_14.indd 66 4/14/14 9:37 AM

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