Take 10 With Showroom Owner Greg McIntyre

Greg McIntyre Flanked by Rhonda Hirata, VP of Marketing for the SFDC and Pamela Babey, Principal of BAMO

Now that the San Francisco Design Center has closed, reopened, and closed again during the Pandemic, how are showrooms coping? COUPAR checked in with Greg McIntyre, CEO of Shears & Window, to find out. Greg has a unique perspective on the showroom ecosystem; the late Jack Shears hired the Atlanta native over 30 years ago to manage the elegant J. Robert Scott gallery designed by Sally Sirkin Lewis.  Showing a talent for leadership led to Greg's promotion to CEO, overseeing Shears & Window's furniture and textile showrooms. The legacy that Jack and his partner Adam Window started in 1976 of providing designers with the most exquisite furnishings and the highest level of customer service continues today under Greg's management.

CC: Since the SFDC reopened June 15th (and now closed), what have been the challenges of doing business under the new guidelines?

GM:  With our employees and our client’s safety in mind, we have been open by appointment only. We also require masks, and in our textile department, you must wear gloves. These tighter restrictions cut down on our showroom traffic, but they allow us to work more closely with clients as long as we maintain social distancing. We have also been doing more shopping for clients in both showrooms, sending or delivering samples and tear sheets as needed. It’s a challenge, but we have had a great response. Now that the building has just been closed again, we continue to offer these services, and we have been conducting “facetime” showroom tours and shopping visits with clients. It’s fun and keeps us all connected. As they say, we are all in this together, so we need to support and work with each other.

CC: How are designers and staff coping with making showroom appointments, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizers?

GM: Clients and staff have been very accepting and willing to wear masks and take precautions. It’s all about safety and staying well.

CC: How are your vendors managing production with the restrictions? 

GM: We are lucky to represent great manufacturers, many located in Los Angeles. They, too, have been working on staying on top of orders while maintaining safety measures.  After being closed for so long in both their offices and workrooms, it’s taken some time for them to “catch back up” and get on track, but things have been moving very smoothly. 

CC: Who is your interior design icon?

GM: That’s hard; I don’t have a single icon but rather a list of designers whose taste and talents I admire. Elsie de Wolfe, Billy Baldwin, Albert Hadley, Bill Blass come to mind. And several who I have had the opportunity to represent and work within the showroom-John Saladino, Michael Taylor, Sally Sirkin Lewis, and Rose Tarlow are a few on that list. Tastes can change, but good design is good design, no matter the era.

CC: Now that we are San Francisco-bound, where do you wish you could travel?

GM: It’s funny, with the initial lock-down, it was such a dramatic change in our lives, it didn’t even occur to me to want to travel. I love my home, and I love San Francisco, and having all that time, it gave me a chance to clean out my closets, drawers, and cabinets…sadly, the garage was too daunting, so I have put that on the back burner! And now that things have slowly started to open up, I’d love to revisit the south of France, one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. And Paris, of course. But I’m not comfortable flying at the moment, and since Europe won’t let us travel there, I’m staying put for now. It’s a very strange conundrum.

CC: Favorite city to view art?

GM: New York or Paris.

CC: The best gift you’ve ever received?

GM: My husband and I have been together for many years…when they legalized same-sex marriage, we decided to tie the knot. When we first met, marriage was not something one ever thought of, but we’ve come a long way…anyway, the best gift I have received was the wedding band he gave me when we were able to get married.

CC: The best gift you’ve ever given?

GM: I gave him a wedding band!

CC: What are three things you can’t live without?

GM: My family, my good friends, and good champagne!

CC: Best advice you’d give your teenage self?

GM: Buy as much Apple and Google stock as possible.