The Design Compendium Shop

Born in New York and raised in Brooklyn, Design Compendium came into being after a fateful meeting between Lou Mahr and Godfrey Rayner met over 25 years ago. They met in the only way that NYC allows—pure happenstance. Boarding the same bus on a snowy winter day, the bus crashed (of course) and Lou found himself thrown onto Godfrey’s feet. Design Compendium was born and over the years we grew into a full design, production, and installation firm—complete with industrial designers, graphic artists, photographers, woodworkers, welders, sculptors, history majors, and one pharmacist-turned-designer. However, more than a design firm, DC became a family where people inspired one another every day and where the recent college graduate could find a home in the world of visual merchandising.

We’ve had the honor of working with Chanel, Gucci, Asprey, Bloomingdales and more, and along the way we worked with some of the most talented visual merchandisers in NYC. Our work ranged from storyboards to store windows, from fixtures to flagships, and we worked with nearly every material imaginable: from wood, paper, and glass to feathers, beach glass, and jelly beans. DC’s projects took us from Brooklyn to Tokyo to Lexington Avenue (which we have to unique honor of having shut down for a project installation). We truly appreciate the design work we've been part of for the past thirty years, and we’re forever grateful to have learned from and worked with so many creative people.