Hidden Treasures

BY PHIL HAGEN

>>> Durette Studio, Las Vegas, Nevada

In the showroom, door hardware is displayed, appropriately, on doors.

Durette Candito pulls the Lithuanian number away from the wall and offers a feel. You have to accept. Not just to be polite, but because the solid brass item lures you with its seductive form—all hand-cast, hand-filed—and exquisite detail. And when you grip the cool lever and effortlessly pull down, you suddenly realize that all door handles are not created equal.

"It feels good in your hand, doesn't it?" she says knowingly.

This type of tactile sensuality resides quite unexpectedly here in downtown Las Vegas, especially being next door to the "XXX Adult" movie house. For one thing, at 1007 S. Main St., you walk through the front door to get in. But mostly it's about the doors you'll find within—or, as in the case of the aforementioned $1,000 Davide passage set from Baltica, the portable demo doors known as working blocks.

Durette Studio, you see, is perhaps Nevada's most prestigious supplier of decorative hardware, much of which is exclusive, handcrafted imports from some of the best clans of craftsmen around the world. Lines carried include Baldwin, Studio Steel, Bouvet and Baltica. Most of owner Candito's modest space is showroom, with hundreds of door parts—from knobs to knockers—displayed and arrayed among and within meticulously arranged vignettes of other "jewelry for your home," such as artistic picture frames, wooden chests and coat hooks. Durette also showcases Studio Steel's delicately shaped chandeliers, Hubbardton Forge's handmade lamps and Curzon's ornate drapery hardware.

Not all is as rustic Old World as it might sound, with contemporary hardware getting its share of space, too, mirroring the fact that Las Vegas is steadily developing tastes beyond faux Tuscan. It also reflects the central fact about Candito's existence here in this abrupt intersection of what's outside her studio (urban-work-in-progress) and what's inside (a high-end shop you'd expect to find in Santa Fe): Her bread and butter in the two years the studio's been open is not walk-in traffic, but take-out interior design.

At this location, amid the various showroom spaces and a comfy conversation pit, she pays the bills as an architectural design consultant, with projects including custom residences and retail spaces from Amarillo to Beverly Hills, but mostly in Las Vegas. Her forte is drawing interiors and writing specifications—from floor tiles to ceiling finishes—for architects and designers.

Candito typically works behind the scenes, letting the architect or designer keep all the credit. Which is fine, because she enjoys the "challenge" of them telling her what they want and then finding all the right answers (parts, sizes and prices) that make an interior happen. "I'm Little Miss Perfectionist," says Candito, whose company motto is "Details, details." "I'm not out for glory. I like making my lists and I love making a designer look good in front of the client."

Specifying hardware presents a lot of opportunities for that in Las Vegas, where the knee-jerk solution is too often Home Depot, she says. "Hardware is very technical, and there isn't a lot of knowledge about it out there." She has saved many an architect's day by tactfully educating him on, say, the difference between a bifold and bypass door, or by rushing a demo board over to a designer–client presentation.

"As an designer, I've been there," she says with a smile. "That's why I'm a full-service business."

The showroom offers a working kitchen as a vignette.

Not long after earning her associate's degree in architecture in the mid-'80s, Candito worked for Malcolm Worby Designs in her native Santa Fe, where she did lighting and hardware specifications as well as interior drawings. One day she wondered, Why aren't we selling this hardware on our own? It wasn't long before she helped the company set up wholesale distribution points in the Southwest, specializing in European imports.

And that's how she first fell for door handles.

Then, six years ago, she followed her husband, Mike, a drummer, to Vegas in pursuit of a better jazz scene. It certainly wasn't for a more sophisticated interior design culture. Eventually, though, the joke was on him: "My husband's been frustrated, but my business quickly took off," she says.

For the first few years, all that taking off happened seven days a week out of her house. Then she decided to diversify and give Home Depot competition, so she set up her studio to show off interesting wares downtown.

Though Candito is at ease there—especially since her neighboring bail bondsman left—she still puts some spin on her location for callers. "I tell people that I'm in a transitional area," she says, "keeping it on a positive note."

The other positives are the central location and her belief that the area, the Arts District, will soon blossom. And it already has to some degree, highlighted by the popular monthly street and gallery festival called First Friday (her husband's trio has been known to perform at Durette Studio on those nights).

The third reason for her location has to do with the ever-expanding World Market Center a few blocks away. The residual effects from that project are even more distant than the Art District's, but that's Candito being ahead of the curve.

Fortunately, the new Las Vegas has started to notice. In fact, someday she may forget about all that consulting that's eating her "days off" and focus her studio solely on where the action has been heading despite the unlikely location.

Durette Studio and Durette Candito Design, 1007 S. Main St., Las Vegas, NV; (702) 368-2601 or www.durettecanditodesign.com.

Durette Candito.