Phyllis Morris Furnishings
If you have a vintage Poodle Lamp, it might be by Phyllis Morris.
Morris became famous along the streets of Melrose long before it was the shopping haven it now is.
Phyllis’s poodle lamp gave her the exposure she needed at just the right time. With her location on Melrose in Los Angeles she soon because “designer to the stars” and the rest is history.
Phyllis had ‘stand out’ style often seen wearing pink pedal pushers and a mink coat which today is not unusuak but back in 1955 it was unique.
Phyllis also believed in, and enjoyed, bold fun marketing that reflected her bold and whimsy style. She is famous for driving her pink convertible Cadillac down the streets of LA with pink poodle lamps in the back seat and real poodle dogs in the front seat!
Phyllis was in the right town at the right time and soon everyone knew of her.
After her store was established rose Place Morris began designing and selling furniture.
Just like her accessories, the furniture too was unique and unexpected. Dark wood with dramatic large carved scrollwork and baroque sensibility.
Then when the 1960’s hit Morris began to design more modern offerings but still used exotic finishes. Business was so good she then moved to a larger location on famous Beverly Boulevard.
The sixties served Morris well as the bright colors and pop culture was right up her alley. Some could argue she was the first to announce “Pop” as she did have the guts to design poodle lamps!
Morris hob-knob-ed with the rich and famous such as Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, Liberace, Joan Collins, and even Regis Philbin.
Morris later was consigned to design furniture for the high roller suites in Las Vegas, Nevada where her bold style was a perfect match. Her fees reached the $200,000 range which was a lot back in the 70’s.
It is said that the first occupant of one of her first designs in Vegas was Frank Sinatra, followed by Jackie and Aristotle Onassis. Morris always wondered what the former First Lady and the Greek shipping tycoon thought of the fur rugs she used throughout. Morris also provided furnishings for Elvis Presley where she chose all Black carpet with furniture in only white and yellow silk.
Needless to say furnishings and accessories by Phyllis Morris are in high demand. We have buyers chomping on the bit for opportunities by Morris. Some of the vintage pieces have become most valuable. For example the poodle lamp could be worth $8,000, a Louis style chair could be valued in the range of $14,000 baroque table and chairs can fetch $50,000 and and a gold gilded mirror can bring $20,000.00,