DECOR DIRECT ANNOUNCES GIFTS TO RINGLING SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN

Decor Direct, Sarasota's Young Business of the Year, has announced its March charitable donations to the Ringling School of Art and Design Scholarship Fund.

Sarasota, Florida - Decor Direct, an importer of handcrafted furniture and accessories headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, is pleased to announce its charitable gifts donated to the Ringling School of Art & Design in March 2003.

Decor Direct donated the decorations for the Annual Student Scholarship Fundraiser for Ringling School of Art and Design, an "Evening at the Avant-Garde", which was held on March 28 under starlit skies in Sarasota. For the event's silent auction, Decor Direct donated a Tang Horse reproduction of an antique funerary object created during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) of China.

When the gavel dropped, the winning bid for the 34" horse raised nearly $500 for the Ringling student scholarship fund.

We're thrilled to be able to participate in this worthy cause, and help support a driving force for the arts in Sarasota", said Decor Direct President Anthony J. Minicucci, by telephone from Bangkok, Thailand, where he is currently on a buying trip for the company.    

In addition to being a winner of the 2002 Young Business of the Year Award by Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Decor Direct has also received other accolades, including the Best of Show" award from the local American Society of Interior Designers. Minicucci has also been named to the Gulf Coast Business Review's prestigious "40-Under-40" list of local successful business people.

Now in its sixth year of business, Decor Direct is a hybrid company, open to the wholesale trade Monday through Friday, but also open directly to the public on weekends two to four times per month. Decor Direct's mission is to cut the cost of cool décor", by providing artful home furnishings at direct import prices.

Decor Direct supplies interior designers, antique dealers, furniture retailers and the general public with eclectic furniture, art and antiques. The firm carries furniture and decor from artists, craftsmen, and artisans in 12 countries including Laos, Burma, Malaysia, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

For more information about Decor Direct, please call Celeste Gruenstein at (941) 365-5757 or go to www.decordirect.net.