To celebrate the Grand Opening of his new location at 1053 East Whitaker Mill Road, Suite 109, in Raleigh, Bob Drake, owner of Trig Modern design center and showroom, will host a special “Thirst4Architecture” (T4A) networking party/happy hour on Thursday, May 19, from 6-8 p.m. As part of the celebration, the Grand Opening will include a special presentation by renowned New Zealand multi-disciplinary designer David Trubridge.

Free and open to the public, Trig’s Grand Opening/T4A will offer participants Moroccan cuisine from Babylon Restaurant in Raleigh and craft beer from Lynnwood Grill & Brewing Concern, another establishment in the Whitaker Mill neighborhood, and New Zealand wines from the Spy Valley winery, provided by the guest of honor, David Trubridge.

For the Grand Opening, Drake and interior designer Ann Marie Baum will introduce new lines of modern furniture and lighting that Trig Modern will carry in its new location, including Montis from The Netherlands, Rowe Furniture from Virginia, and new lighting collections from some of the store’s existing vendors.

“We'll also have a display of Raleigh Denim-designed fabrics manufactured by Bernhardt,” Baum said, noting that Victor Lytvinenko and Sarah Yarborough, who started Raleigh Denim Workshop in 2007, are planning to attend the Grand Opening.

Bigger and Better: Back in December 2015, Drake announced that he was moving his modern furniture showroom and design center from West Jones Street in downtown Raleigh to a larger space on Whitaker Mill Road within an emerging business and entrepreneur center known as Dock 1053. Trig Modern is occupying 5000 square feet of the 183,000-square-foot warehouse and using the extra space to emphasize its function as an interior design center along with a showroom featuring modern furniture, finishes, lighting and accessories.

Throughout the new open interior at Dock 1053, Drake and Baum will create vignettes that use furniture, light, color, texture, and accessories to demonstrate “fully polished, pulled-together looks that underscore Trig’s design sensibilities and that retail customers might emulate,” Baum noted.

Special Guest: Securing a David Trubridge appearance for the Grand Opening was a major coup for Bob Drake. Trubridge’s lighting, furniture, and jewelry designs have been featured in many international publications as an instigator of the trend of “raw sophistication” and as an exemplar of environmentally responsible design. In 2008 the French magazine Express listed him as one of the top 15 designers in the world.

Starting at 7 p.m. that evening, the prolific designer will present and discuss his work, his perspective on design, and his journey towards international success.

Trig Modern is the only Trubridge retailer in the Triangle region and one of only two in the entire state. For more information on Trubridge and his work, visit www.davidtrubridge.com.

Thirst4Architecture: T4A design networking events are part of North Carolina Modernist Houses’ community outreach initiatives to bring all fans of modernist design together in a casual atmosphere. Throughout this year, T4A events are co-sponsored by Emilie Huin, specializing in the sale of Modernist homes throughout the Triangle. For more information on this and future T4A events, go to www.ncmodernist.org/t4a.

For more information on the grand opening, including directions, email Drake at Bob@trigmodern.com, or call 919-516-8744