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About Us

duoHOME opened in The Gordon Square Arts District in Cleveland's Detroit Shoreway neighborhood 23 November 2007. The duoHOME studio is in the historic BANK Building, flanked by TurnStyle Boutique, American Portfolio and LUXE Kitchen & Lounge. We are also neighbors with Sweet Moses, Gypsy Beans & Bakery and Esperanza Threads. duoHOME, at slightly over 1500 square feet, is both a retail store front as well as the design office for the two principals, Scott Suskowicz and Tim Kempf.

On 05 June 2010, duoHOME demonstrated its commitment to the neighborhood and its success as a design and home furnishings shopping destination by annexing on an additional storefront, effectively doubling the studio footprint. This expansion allows duoHOME to showcase even more furniture and home accessories.

The goal of the retail aspect of duoHOME is to offer well-made, high-style home furnishings/accessories at a competitive price point as an alternative to "big box" stores. We offer personalized service and strive to present unique and eclectic items that don't haunt the shelves of every retail store in the greater Cleveland area. Additionally, we are committed to offering as many "green" products as possible, and try and incorporate green principles into our design projects.

Many clients ask about our studio name - the name duoHOME was carefully chosen to reflect our personal design philosophies. "duo" refers to the synergy between the two business partners, the concept of being both a retail storefront and an interior design studio and the equal emphasis placed on products that are both well-made/affordably-priced and useful with a high sense of style. "HOME" is our design focus - clients often comment our store feels like someone's home. When planning interior solutions for clients, whether residential or commercial, we strive to create interiors that are welcoming, inviting, satisfying and comfortable - a place that feels like HOME.

"Decorating is not a look, it's a point of view." -- Albert Hadley

Principals Tim Kempf, left and Scott Suskowicz, right

Image courtesy of SPANGLE magazine

www.spanglemagazine.com

BIO: Scott Suskowicz, Principal

A native of Solon, Ohio, Scott Suskowicz has pursued his passion for home furnishings and finishes for the past twenty-two years.

Scott's training began in Architecture at Miami University, followed by the pursuit of his BA in Interior Design at Kent State. During college, Scott was Maitre D' at The Barn at Walden where he enjoyed his, now hobby, food.

Upon leaving The Barn at Walden, Scott began his home furnishings career with Sedlak's Interiors, currently located in Solon, Ohio. As professed by Scott, "The intensive training and knowledge that I received at Sedlak's has been invaluable to my career to this day!" After leaving Sedlak's, Scott was a store manager for Pier 1 Imports, and an Interior Designer at Warner Interiors. Lusting for high-end designer goods, Scott left Warner Interiors to join the Baker Knapp & Tubbs showroom in The Ohio Design Centre in Beachwood, Ohio.

His career with Baker Knapp & Tubbs spanned ten years, moving from Sales Associate to ultimately becoming Showroom Manager. As Showroom Manager, Scott had the tremendous opportunity of managing showrooms in London, Seattle and Washington DC, training new showroom managers in each of these locations. Scott's keen business sense was strategically refined while managing these Kohler-owned business locations. While at Baker Knapp & Tubbs, Scott continued his personal design practice, specializing in kitchen and bath design. Projects were completed in Auburn, Hiram, Solon, Highland Heights and Strongsville, Ohio.

Following his innate entrepreneurial spirit, Scott joined the Roth Collection, also at The Ohio Design Centre, as business partner in 2003. All aspects of the business, including outside sales, were his responsibility. During the summer of 2007, Scott joined forces with business partner Tim Kempf in the creation of duoHOME, excited at the culmination of all aspects of his career in a fabulous Home Furnishings and Designer Accessory Boutique and Interior Design Studio.

BIO: Tim Kempf, Principal

Tim Kempf has been working within the interior design/home furnishings industry for almost twenty-five years. Formally educated in Art History at Ohio State University and trained in Interior Design at Cuyahoga Community College, Tim has spent the past two and a half decades working in both the wholesale and retail arenas of interior design, as well as heading a private practice design.

Following an internship at Donghia Showrooms, Tim was offered a position with Donghia in The Ohio Design Centre in Beachwood, Ohio. Tim worked with three additional showrooms during the course of his fifteen years at The Ohio Design Centre: Roth Collection, Baker Knapp & Tubbs and Gregory Alonso, Inc/Cleveland. The experience gained during this time provided Tim with an additional fifteen year education in luxury textiles and benchmade furniture. "On-the-job" training in luxury goods shaped and informed Tim's sense of style, exposing him to the finest in contemporary, transitional and traditional furniture forms and expanding his knowledge of exquisite, high-end textiles.

Tim was the owner/principal of KEMPF DESIGN, an interior design consulting firm, for five years. Primarily a residentially-focused practice, KEMPF DESIGN partnered with an architectural firm on the partial renovation of Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio. Additionally, Tim authored a series of interior design columns for "The Beachwood Buzz," a city newspaper in Beachwood, Ohio and has been quoted as a design source/opinion in Cleveland Magazine, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Northern Ohio Live Magazine. Tim is currently a contributing Home & Style columnist with Ohio Authority, Ohio's premier online magazine.

Tim is a brilliant space planner and has a keen sense of color. He enjoys helping clients shape their ideas and vision to create interiors that are beautiful, well-conceived and functional.