MIYO Home is pleased to announce the Chair-ity cocktail event on March 30th, with proceeds benefiting the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation. To celebrate the launch of the virtual boutique, MIYO Home commissioned eight local artistic visionaries along with a celebrity interior designer to create a customized MIYO Home Chair. Artists were invited to translate their visions onto a classic design piece – a chair – using the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation as a reference of inspiration. The one-of-a-kind chairs will be on display throughout the evening and auctioned off. The auction will begin prior to the event on the MIYO Home virtual boutique and will end at the event; 100% of the proceeds from all eight chairs were donated to the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation.

“The Juvenile Bipolar Research is a foundation that is very near and dear to me,” said MIYO Home co-owner and long-time supporter Fati Rosenberg. “It’s the first charitable organization fully committed to the support of research for the study of early-onset bipolar disorder; my ultimate goal is to draw awareness to the foundation and further aid in the study and treatment of this debilitating condition.”

The Chair-ity event took place at the beautiful MIYO Home Zen Garden where the eight completed MIYO Home Chairs were unveiled. Guests gathered while artists share insight on their inspiration as well as why they chose to collaborate for this important cause. On behalf of the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, Dr. Demitri F. Papolos, M.D., Director of Research, was on hand to commemorate MIYO Home and supporters.

Among the eight visionaries who donated their talents were Thom Filicia, celebrity interior designer and TV personality; Seth Browarnik, celebrity lensman; local designer and developer, Mario Egozi; Miami-based European artist, Iran Issa Khan; Coral Gables interior designer, Hillary Scrutis; renowned interior designer, Briggs Solomon; Miami’s most sought after landscape designers, Fernando Wong and Miami-based interior designer, Robert Zemnickis.

About JBRF
The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation (JBRF) funds research dedicated to determining the etiology of juvenile-onset bipolar disorder and advancing the state of knowledge about this condition so that more effective treatments can be found. JBRF is committed to the development of early diagnostic protocols thus improving the likelihood of a healthy and productive life for children with bipolar disorder. This mission impacts over 1 million children and their families. For more information on JBRF visit www.jbrf.org

Demitri F. Papolos, M.D. Director of Research
Dr. Demitri Papolos is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and Co-Director of the Program in Behavioral Genetics. He is also the Director of Research of the Juvenile-Bipolar Research Foundation. His work has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the American Journal of Psychiatry, the American Journal of Human Genetics, and in Molecular Psychiatry.

Dr. Papolos has developed diagnostic tests for bipolar disorder in youth, and implemented online programs for rapid identification, screening of large samples of adequate size for large scale genetic studies, as well as for clinical practitioners.

He is the co-author with his wife, Janice, of The Bipolar Child: A Comprehensive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder, Broadway Books, 2000, 2003, 2007), featured on ABC News’s 20/20, the Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR’s, The Infinite Mind. Dr. Papolos has a private practice in New York City and in Westport, Ct.

About MIYO Home
The premier destination to find the latest home design trends, MIYO Home has the signature must-haves with clean lines and a pristine color palette you are looking for to turn your house into a beautiful and stylish home. The essence of the store is created by avid world travelers and their passion for immersing themselves in other cultures. MIYO Home is fully stocked with everything for your home, such as luxurious sofas, natural wood coffee tables, paintings, foreign artifacts, outdoor furniture and much more. These unique pieces are available at an accessible price point.

Unlike other home-furnishing retailers, MIYO Home offers convenient and rapid delivery – within 48 hours of purchase – to make decorating your home seamless. Providing decoration solutions to your everyday consumer, interior designers, developers and architects, the MIYO Home showrooms offer a diversity of designs, in a fraction of the time.

MIYO Home also offers complimentary in-home consulting to all and has taken the guesswork out of interior decorating. MIYO Home experts will come to your house for a one-on-one consultation to develop inspiring design concepts that are tailored to your personal style including indoor and outdoor home needs. The experts will create a custom décor, color palette and layout for your home with the products found at MIYO Home.
For more information on MIYO Home, please visit www.miyohome.com or call 305-576-4170.

Photographs by Betty Alvarez copyright 2011