The delayed Naples Art & Design Expo opens Thursday, Nov. 19, a double-hinged door to the importance of its L-shaped neighborhood behind Naples Boulevard:
- There is a vendor or manufacturer for nearly every aspect of home design — upholstery, stone, furniture, draperies and cabinetry — inside the busy buildings in the boxy district behind Naples Boulevard.
- Similarly, the art studios that nestle against the design trade businesses hold everything from glass sculpture to classical portraits to small ceramics, dyed fabrics and wall-gulping abstracts.
With the same ingenuity that married peanut butter and chocolate into a candy bar, commerce and art have collaborated for three days of open houses and demonstrations. Their mission: To bring people a sense of the entire aesthetic of home design. Two specific workshops on Friday, Nov. 20, demonstrate ways of pairing art and furnishings (see information box for times locations and free registration instructions).