Photos: O'Brien at Marshall Field's and on the magazine cover. Photos by Cathy Seabaugh
Amber-toned, tortoise-shell Gucci glasses partially hide the bushy brown eyebrows that are as unique to designer Thomas O'Brien's appearance as his designs are to the world of home decoration.
He was the boy from Endicott, N.Y., who imagined at least once during his youth that he would grow into the industry that dominated his hometown, birthplace of International Business Machines (IBM).
The Village of Endicott, also known as 'Carousel Capitol of the World,' obviously has an eclectic collection of interests and abilities among its 13,500 residents. O'Brien, who has two older and two younger siblings, must have picked up the business savvy of IBM and the imagination that accompanies a perpetual, glorious ride on a carousel.
The openly gay, 42-year-old New Yorker recently unveiled the Thomas O'Brien Loft at Marshall Field's in downtown Chicago. The State Street space offers shoppers 1,800 square feet of 'the O'Brien touch,' a collection of furniture and furnishings that seem to be a pure reflection of the man. Warm, solid and comfortable.
'Like making modern antiques,' he tried explaining, 'that sort of charm I want to have enter into my designs.'
The Marshall Field's Loft is a major move west for O'Brien, who opened Aero Studios in New York's SoHo district 11 years ago. Two floors of retail showroom there translate into fun for this king of resale who says he believes in retail karma.
'There's nothing better to me than going to the Salvation Army,' he said convincingly, laughing at himself. 'I have to look through every T-shirt on the rack.'
This particular day, however, he's wearing pin-striped dark pants with black leather shoes—definitely not 'Army' purchases—and a checked blue and green shirt that perfectly matches some of his dinnerware patterns located in the Housewares department of Field's. Coincidence? Solid but not bold tones. An O'Brien touch.
In the bedding section of the store, his three designs subtly stick out with the beds dressed in collections named Arden, Clover and Field. The pattern of the Arden sheets and bedspread came from one of O'Brien's favorite Japanese handkerchiefs. The bedspread draped with a sheer overlay that softens the entire look, the setup follows suit with the rest of this middle child's creations.
Enveloping all the things he likes and then picking out intricate details to craft new designs has worked wonders for O'Brien's career. He spent 2-1/2 years traveling with Jeff Walker, a creative genius at Polo, and Ralph Lauren in the late 1980s working on the company's home collection.
'Jeff was really the one who believed in me,' he said. 'He was a great teacher.'
O'Brien also has worked with Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani, including the possibly intimidating task of renovating Armani's Manhattan apartment.
Walker passed away in 1991. Shortly after that, Aero Studios doors opened. A 'pretty true replica,' as O'Brien describes it, of Aero also has been set up in Field's, displaying a combination of O'Brien's original designs and the vintage items for which he loves to hunt.
'I love being a merchant,' he said. 'I love having a store. It's one of my favorite parts.'
Single the past year and a half, O'Brien said his close relationships right now are with the tight-knit group of 20 people who make the O'Brien creations a reality. Then there's the bond between him and his 21-year-old princess, Emma, a feline who's been around half his life. Daisy the Maltese has celebrated a 15th birthday and Bubby the cairn terrier is the baby at age 12. A chair design already bears the name 'Emma.'
O'Brien graces the cover of the November issue of OUT magazine and the article includes a sexy shot of the designer in the shower (wearing clothes), a charming portrait of Emma, and some of the furnishing choices he has made for his historic home in Bellport, N.Y. Formerly a military school for boys, the structure has survived major transition since its erection in 1833.
The house, his clothes, the age of his pets, the names he's chosen for the bedding and dinnerware, even the large turquoise rings O'Brien chooses to wear … he's a living example of his designs. Somehow, he introduced elegant to cozy and it's a match made in heaven.