Design Extraordinaire John Derian Shares His Artful Holiday Decorating Tips
The decoupage artist and vintage dealer’s Manhattan shop is a must for the season’s shopping
For New Yorkers, there are a few indisputable signs of the holiday season. The arrival of the iconic Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Plaza or the window decorations at Saks Fifth Avenue are the first to come to mind as far as light-filled Manhattan streets go. But for the in-the-know, a definitive adventure to initiate the festivities is a trip to John Derian’s East Village gift shop, where an explosive range of holiday decorations spills across three adjacent storefronts. Come November, and those on the hunt for the most ornate and often unexpected tree ornaments and tabletop decorations make their way to the store, which has evolved into a modern-day wonderland over the years with Derian’s keen eye for the most whimsical. It is, in fact, his exploratory take on tradition that lures shoppers for finds that blend the familiar with contemporary or even quirky twists.
The enduring impact of Derian’s business, which he started 36 years ago, owes its popularity to the founder’s expansive idea of what a Christmas tree ornament can be. “There is something for anyone,” he tells Galerie. “If your husband is an electrician, you can find a screwdriver ornament for him.” Mushroom ornaments, which he started selling 15 years ago, are a good example of the gradual rise of an idea to fame. “I simply loved the way they look, but now, considering how we are obsessed with our gut health, they are more popular than ever,” he quips.
Derian’s childhood in Massachusetts was full of holiday cheer when he would pull out all the decorations and cover the whole house where he grew up with five siblings. “This was a habit I continued my whole life,” he says, and admits always having an appreciation for “shiny objects.” After opening his Manhattan store for antiques, linens, glassware, and decoupage, a trip to a Christmas decoration fair in Frankfurt changed the trajectory of his business. Three years ago, he expanded his store to accommodate his annual holiday offerings, which range from traditional to eccentric, including ornaments in shapes of foods, sea creatures, or reptiles. A German-made creepy Krampus maquette in papier-mâché or glitter-covered mushrooms in psychedelic colors is peppered between tens of trees adorned with a bottle of maple syrup or garlic in hand-blown Polish glass.
Derian sources his vast repertoire—which comes in artisanal glass, felt, or wax—from a range of local and international artisans. He has formed relationships with family businesses from Germany, Czechia, and Poland, some of which focus on specific kinds, such as tree toppers or tiny trees and ornaments for travelers. Scale for Derian is not set in stone when it comes to a Christmas tree, especially for small New York City apartments. “Table top trees are great,” he says and adds, “they are also popular in my shop—just have fun with whatever you want to put on it.” Since moving into his current apartment, he has, in fact, scaled down his own tree to one that is two feet tall. However, he is still trying to figure out where to install an eight-foot-tall tree, which he was recently gifted.
The biggest advice Derian seems to have for decorating your space for the holidays is to have fun with the idea. Besides size, color and material are other completely subjective elements of any decoration. “I recently helped a friend in Florida decorate his place with a blue tree,” he says, and underlines that pretty much anything can be transformed into an ornamental accent: “You can turn a bare branch into something decorative—and you may want to keep it a little longer after the holidays.” The decoupage artist looks back at his former holiday parties for reference. One year, for example, he made the bold decision to host a party with undecorated trees. The absence of ornaments caused some stir among the guests, but he made sure to decorate just one tree for everyone’s surprise. Twenty or so years ago, he threw a company party at his Lower East Side studio, where he filled the entire space with trees that he was able to purchase for $20 a pop. “Guests had to push their way through the trees to find their way, which was a last-minute idea that had a sensory impact,” he remembers.
Over three decades in the business has taught Derian to pay attention to the connections we build with objects that we collect. “Even though we all do our own take in choosing things, there is bit of a communal aspect in what we do,” he says. “Just remember that this is a gentle holiday, which we chose to celebrate by decorating our homes.”