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28650: Hermantin(News)Testing his metal: Ralph Cassagnol went from engineer to model to (fwd)
From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>
Posted on Sun, Jul. 16, 2006
Testing his metal: Ralph Cassagnol went from engineer to model to designer of
furniture
BY MIREYA NOVO
mnovo@herald.com
If you want to meet a true Renaissance man, you need go no further than
Cassagnol Design, a stylish furniture showroom painted bright red and featuring
one-of-a-kind furniture that could almost be mistaken for sculpture.
Nestled between Miami's Design District and the Wynwood Gallery District, the
showroom is owned by Ralph Cassagnol, a young man who has accomplished more in
his 31 years than many people do in a lifetime.
Born in Haiti, to a Haitian father and Cuban mother, Cassagnol spent his
childhood traveling with his family between Port-au-Prince and New York,
picking up four languages, English, Spanish, French and Creole.
With his stunning good looks, Cassagnol was told that he should try modeling
but he decided to go for something more stable. He obtained a degree in marine
engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was hired by General
Electric to work in its nuclear division in California.
After four years as an engineer with long hours, Cassagnol says the modeling
offers began to sound more appealing. His second career took off immediately.
He was the leading man in Beyonce's video Baby Boy and his face was splashed
all over major department stores, from Macy's to Saks Fifth Avenue.
How did he transition from the glamour of modeling to designing furniture? ''I
was always drawing and designing stuff and always liked working with metal. I
grew up around that in Haiti,'' he explains.
The time came when he wanted to bring those designs to life. He opened the
showroom two years ago to coincide with Art Basel, which drew thousands to the
Design District. Most of his design ideas came to him when he was flying from
one locale to another. He points to a hyper modern piece that resembles an
armoire. ''The idea came from those old chests, but I didn't want it to be
rustic and old,'' Cassagnol says.
His design is functional, too: The stylized metal armoire opens into a bed.
But Cassagnol is not one to sit on his laurels. In addition to being designer
and model, he is also lead singer and songwriter for the band MaWon, which is
recording its first album. ''It's about Haitian culture but some of it is in
English and some in Creole,'' he says.
The designer himself marvels at his many twists of fate. ''I never would have
imagined that I would end up designing furniture,'' he says. ''But then I would
have never dreamt that I'd be doing a video with Beyonce, either. None of that
was part of the plan.'' But, he adds philosophically, ``That's life.''
Florida Finds is a weekly feature about purveyors of home products in South
Florida. To suggest stores, craftspersons or manufacturers to profile, e-mail
newhomes
@miamiherald.com.