vip in the city

Let’s Get Comfortable launch

Another beautiful almost-Spring day. Union Square was filled with New Yorkers, and the musicians were out in full force, entertaining the crowds and making new fans in the park.

Passing through the dog run, I spied AC and M sitting on a bench, keeping watch over AC’s frolicking dogs, and exuding cozy contentment. What a sweet scene! I called out to her, and said a brief hello, before continuing on my way up Broadway.

Tonight, a launch party for Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams’ first book, Let’s Get Comfortable: How to Furnish and Decorate a Welcoming Home.

Gold and Williams founded the Taylorsville, North Carolina-based home furnishings design company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in 1989. The $100-million-a-year company supplies chains like the troubled Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma Home and Restoration Hardware, and has 13 and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Signature stores (with 5 more to come, including a New York City location at Andre Balazs’ undulating glass-and-brick Kenmare Square.)

The book, written with Mindy Drucker and published by Meredith Books, promotes the MG+BW “relaxed design” aesthetic, based on mixing, not matching – with comfort and livability as chief considerations. The design philosophy is reflected in the authors’ homes; photos of their residences are included in the 216-page book.

The duo was in New York City to kick off their book tour with an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show” that morning.

Inc. magazine named the team among their list of 26 most fascinating entrepreneurs. The openly gay business partners are well known for their active philanthropic efforts, on behalf of such organizations as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Empire State Pride Agenda, The National Black Justice Coalition, the Design Industries Foundation for AIDS (DIFFA), and Gold-founded Faith In America, which fights religion-based bigotry. Other causes include the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Related: Tips on charitable giving from the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.