When Nancy Reagan and her managing board decided to remodel the gift shop at the Reagan Library, they borrowed a page from the democratic process. It would be an open competition; strongest candidate gets the job. Trio Display beat out several retail design firms to win the contract. “We thought it should reflect the Oval Office,” said Brian Jones, Trio Display Design Director, “and so did they.”

So happy was Mrs. Reagan and her designer, Peter Schifando, with Trio’s work, they signed the retail design firm on to tackle the planning of the Air Force One Pavilion adjacent to the library. Designing a retail space around President Reagan’s “Flying White House,” a Boeing 707, posed an interesting design challenge.

Jones and Jeff Grant, Trio’s President, started from scratch: a bare concrete pad and four walls. They worked with architect Ken Nichols to design the unique space. “We designed the place from top to bottom, incorporating an aeronautical theme.” Trio even had custom fixtures and custom furniture manufactured for the Pavilion. “We were up there on a weekly basis for nine months,” said Jones. The plane itself had to be taken apart and trucked up the road to the Simi Valley, California, location and reassembled on the spot.

President Bush opened the Air Force One Pavilion to much fanfare in October 2005. For TRIO it was a project that included “Great clients and great times.”