Connie Cooper Designs Showcased at Farrow and Ball On January 19th, Farrow and Ball hosted an event at their 396 Post Road East, Westport location to showcase the window design by Connie Cooper of Connie Cooper Designs. Many of the attendees were HBRA members showing support for Connie’s work. The purpose was to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS, Partnering with DIFFA, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, the window was unveiled on December 1, which was World AIDS Day. “My space was imagined as the personal office of a doctor who travels the world helping those with AIDS. She is home for the holidays but still focused on her critical work. I was even able to find an antique doctor’s bag that was filled with all sorts of vintage medical tools and apparatus from 1948,” said Cooper. Greenwich Builder Named Best In Fairfield County In addition to winning a home-industry award that helped Greenwich dominate the annual competition, brothers Anthony and Michael DeRosa, who co-own DeRosa Builders, saw their company named the best builder in Fairfield County for 2016. Anthony DeRosa said despite their ages, he and his brother represent plenty of industry experience in their five-year-old firm. At 19, DeRosa owned his own construction company straight out of high school, and he often sought help from his brother. In pursuit of a more stable job, Anthony DeRosa found a project manager position in Greenwich as his brother held down an insurance job in Manhattan. “My boss had the foresight to get out of the business in 2008 and sold his company to me and another guy,” Anthony DeRosa said. “We were always busy and made good connections. After six or seven years in Greenwich, we were embedded in the local network.” The business partners separated in 2010, said DeRosa, who moved on to owning his own company again. His brother’s corporate background turned out to be just what the fledgling firm needed, and the two went into business together. In a town full of longtime building companies, the brothers quickly gained a reputation, DeRosa said. “We were young when we started, and we were building multimillion-dollar houses. That made people wonder, ‘Who are these new guys?’” he said. “After only a year, people were coming up to us and saying, ‘Oh, you’re DeRosa Builders,’ and we wondered how they knew about us.” Read More FEBRUARY 2017 | HBRA of Fairfield County | 27
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