28650: Hermantin(News)Testing his metal: Ralph Cassagnol went from engineer to model to (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Jul. 16, 2006



Testing his metal: Ralph Cassagnol went from engineer to model to designer of 
furniture

BY MIREYA NOVO
mnovo@herald.com

If you want to meet a true Renaissance man, you need go no further than 
Cassagnol Design, a stylish furniture showroom painted bright red and featuring 
one-of-a-kind furniture that could almost be mistaken for sculpture.

Nestled between Miami's Design District and the Wynwood Gallery District, the 
showroom is owned by Ralph Cassagnol, a young man who has accomplished more in 
his 31 years than many people do in a lifetime.

Born in Haiti, to a Haitian father and Cuban mother, Cassagnol spent his 
childhood traveling with his family between Port-au-Prince and New York, 
picking up four languages, English, Spanish, French and Creole.

With his stunning good looks, Cassagnol was told that he should try modeling 
but he decided to go for something more stable. He obtained a degree in marine 
engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was hired by General 
Electric to work in its nuclear division in California.

After four years as an engineer with long hours, Cassagnol says the modeling 
offers began to sound more appealing. His second career took off immediately. 
He was the leading man in Beyonce's video Baby Boy and his face was splashed 
all over major department stores, from Macy's to Saks Fifth Avenue.

How did he transition from the glamour of modeling to designing furniture? ''I 
was always drawing and designing stuff and always liked working with metal. I 
grew up around that in Haiti,'' he explains.

The time came when he wanted to bring those designs to life. He opened the 
showroom two years ago to coincide with Art Basel, which drew thousands to the 
Design District. Most of his design ideas came to him when he was flying from 
one locale to another. He points to a hyper modern piece that resembles an 
armoire. ''The idea came from those old chests, but I didn't want it to be 
rustic and old,'' Cassagnol says.

His design is functional, too: The stylized metal armoire opens into a bed.

But Cassagnol is not one to sit on his laurels. In addition to being designer 
and model, he is also lead singer and songwriter for the band MaWon, which is 
recording its first album. ''It's about Haitian culture but some of it is in 
English and some in Creole,'' he says.

The designer himself marvels at his many twists of fate. ''I never would have 
imagined that I would end up designing furniture,'' he says. ''But then I would 
have never dreamt that I'd be doing a video with Beyonce, either. None of that 
was part of the plan.'' But, he adds philosophically, ``That's life.''

Florida Finds is a weekly feature about purveyors of home products in South 
Florida. To suggest stores, craftspersons or manufacturers to profile, e-mail 
newhomes

@miamiherald.com.