Emily Beare and Joseph Dirand

Emily Beare’s affable yet professional work ethic consistently garners her some of CORE’s most luxurious and jaw-dropping listings. As we saw in this week’s Selling New York episode, titled “Gold Coast”, Emily’s challenge was to sell a $12M two-bedroom apartment on Fifth Avenue. During the episode, viewers watched as Emily harnessed the power of CORE’s top-notch marketing team to strategize a plan tailor-made to this special property.

Emily proves throughout the duration of this episode that innovative marketing strategies are essential to successfully sell unique properties like this pricey Fifth Avenue home. Continue reading for some exclusive information about what happened after the cameras stopped rolling and what didn’t make it into last night’s episode of Selling New York! (more…)

Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Walker, two architectural masters.

Disclaimer: I am not an architect.

A GREAT architect is both artist and craftsman.

Art is subjective.
Craftsmanship is not.
An artist’s calling is to express, evoke and innovate.
A craftsman’s (or artisan’s) is to design, and to create form and function.
It is rare to find one who can combine both effectively.

The great architects that I have worked with that manage to combine both effectively leave their egos at the door. Their agenda is not to create a personal expression, but rather to achieve the highest level of design, form and function for the end user. They have a deep respect for history, but their work is current. Ironically, by successfully achieving this, they create intrinsic value that is a fingerprint of their work.

The attribute I respect most in a great architect is their ability to design from the inside out. Residential buildings need to be livable. There are too many buildings constructed that have a deceptive exterior and a disconnected interior. These buildings may have a definitive facade, but the interiors offer homes with layouts that are incongruous.

How does this happen?

All too often, the merits of an architect are based on successful self-branding and business acumen – not artisan artistry!