The influence of Shaokao Cheng and his wife, Niki, reverberates throughout New York City, emanating from their Camerich and Calligaris furniture stores as well as the homes of countless clients. Since opening the very first Madison Avenue BoConcept location in 2003, the award-winning husband-and-wife entrepreneurs have become lifestyle magnates among Manhattan’s elite. During 2007, they started to expand and evolve their stores into cultural beacons, hosting immersive charity events benefiting The Lance Armstrong Foundation, intimate concert experiences with Tyrese and Kelly Price, fashion shows for designer Asher Levine and others, and launch parties for the likes of L.A. Reid, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, and many more. In under a decade, their clientele grew to include everyone from Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields, and Liev Schreiber to Jay-Z, P Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Kid Cudi, and Tyson Beckford, to name a few. In addition to features in The New York Times, New York Post, and The Observer, their design work has been seen on The Apprentice, Design Star, Million Dollar listing, and in numerous commercials and movies, while Niki guested on NBC’s Today Show and Open House NYC as an expert. Perceiving furniture as a “lifestyle,” they continue to surprise and engage clients at every turn.“When people come to one of our stores to shop or for an event, I want them to leave with this sense of unexpected gratification,” says Shaokao. “You don’t traditionally associate furniture with music, literature, fashion, or art, but they’re all entwined. We want to create a community.”That’s exactly what Niki and Shaokao have done with their first store and their subsequent BoConcept stores in Chelsea, Carle Place, Paramus, DUMBO , UES, Edgewater [New Jersey], and Flushing [Queens]. In 2017, they opened the city’s very first Calligaris brand store in Soho and converted their remaining stores in Chelsea, Upper Eastside, & DUMBO to Calligaris, Camerich, and M Collection.