Fleming Boyd in her Libbie Avenue showroom (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Fleming Boyd cut her design teeth working for the New York offices of Soane Britain, a company known for creating fine hand-crafted furniture, or what Boyd refers to as “future heirlooms.” The firm's aesthetic and her immersion in the purest forms of craftsmanship inspired Boyd to open Oliver Street Designs in 2016 with a few lighting prototypes.
Designers ordered from her catalog, and her lights were made to her specifications by a few trusted craftsmen. Today, the Oliver Street brand includes light fixtures, bespoke or custom-made lamp shades, furniture, and wallpapers. Samples are on display in her showroom at 401 Libbie Ave. She relies on a network of workshops to produce her designs, and when speaking of her work she is passionate and her speech liberally laced with the word “craftsmanship.”
Boyd, who has worked in New York and Atlanta, relocated to Richmond as a newlywed in 2019. Her husband, Tyler, is a native Virginian, and Boyd is originally from Alabama. She finds there is a great interest in design here, as well as history and culture. Boyd opened Oliver Street’s Richmond showroom last September. Most of her customers are designers, but she says retail clients are also welcome to visit the showroom. “I really created this store because I felt like there was a gap in the market for those who wanted to see and touch and feel a product or sit on a sofa and try out the down fill.”
