Niki Cheng and Shaokao Cheng at their Chelsea BoConcept store. (PMc)

The first time The Observer met Niki and Shaokao Cheng, it was July, during the opening night of Julio Gaggia’s art show. Mr. Gaggia, the boyfriend of the plastic surgeon Mark Warfel, was preparing his work “Living Art: Chelsea Boy Apartment,” during which he would live for five days as a window display model at the BoConcept furniture store on West 18th Street. He spent the week eating, sleeping, working—and performing other, less-mentionable activities—in a showroom that divided him from gawkers outside with a pane of glass.

While we lounged about on the display furniture, socialite photographer Patrick McMullan brought over a petite woman with short, pixie-cropped hair.

“Niki is one of the few Power Asians in New York society,” he loudly whispered, flourishing Ms. Cheng before us. She smiled shyly and posed for a photograph before excusing herself.

It would be two weeks before we realized that Ms. Cheng and her husband owned the store where we had dropped more than one canapé between the cushions of a $3,000 couch.

In fact, the couple owns all five locations of the Danish furniture store in New York City, and another two in New Jersey. But the stores themselves aren’t the reason Mr. McMullan calls the Chengs “Power Asians.” Rather, it’s the couple’s seemingly innate social instincts, their ability to leverage a fairly cookie-cutter, mid-market design base into a celebrity-filled social whirl. One might say “Only in America,” or (even worse) “Only in New York,” but this wouldn’t exactly cover it. There is a certain type that thrives in Manhattan no matter what they’re selling, no matter where they’re from, no matter how few resources they have upon arriving.

If Darwin were alive today and researching the survival of New York species, he would do well to study the Chengs. They’re not social climbers, per se, but social movers—Gladwellian “connectors” who know everyone from celebrities to the guys with the best drapes in the city. They share their knowledge strategically with other key additions to their ever-expanding Rolodex. For Niki Cheng, 39, and Shaokao Cheng, 41, life is not about climbing a ladder. It’s about traversing the monkey bars that crisscross Manhattan.

“Niki and Shaokao have a wonderfully progressive view of New York society,” said Village Voice scribe Michael Musto. “They mix into their social circle drag performers, club holdouts, top celebrities and the corporate crowd. It’s all-inclusive.”

Last Friday, we met Ms. Cheng for a second time—again at the Chelsea store. While we were there, actress Faye Dunaway came in and had what one could only call a fit of method acting for a sequel to Mommie Dearest. The recently evicted Academy Award winner had come in two weeks ago and bought a piece of art from the store, and now she wanted Ms. Cheng’s help on a new design project.

“I adore this store. I’ve raved about it; they really need to get some of this stuff to London,” Ms. Dunaway told The Observer. “They don’t have anything like it there now.”

Unable to find a confidentiality agreement for us to sign, she stormed out shortly thereafter. (We didn’t get to tell her that there are actually 13 BoConcept stores in the U.K.) It was the kind of scene that no one wants a reporter to witness while writing a profile, but if there was any bad blood, Ms. Cheng didn’t show it.

“Really, don’t be upset,” she told The Observer, rubbing our arm soothingly. “She’ll call back. Anyway, where were we?”

The Chengs are adept at pleasing their celebrity clients, a skill that has come in handy while designing P. Diddy’s home, Jay-Z’s office (bed included), Mary J. Blige’s entire apartment and Estelle’s closet. Susan Sarandon, Lil’ Kim and Patti LaBelle have also used the duo’s interior design services, and Ms. LaBelle sang at the BoConcept flagship store for a Lance Armstrong benefit. They count designers Vivienne Tam, Asher Levine and Zang Toi among their closest friends.

Not that everyone in their circle is a brand name. After Ms. Dunaway left, we rushed over to Astor Place, where BoConcept was sponsoring a tent for a Christmas tree stand run by a Brit named Marco Romero, his girlfriend and his brother. Though he runs a jewelry shop in Greece most of the year, Mr. Romero spends three weeks in December living out of a van selling holiday firs, and Ms. Cheng took it upon herself to decorate the tent that the trio takes shifts in.

Despite a franchise that traffics mainly in large-scale items, Ms. Cheng has a burgeoning obsession with “micro-units”—apartments that are between 250 and 300 square feet.

She wanted to prove that it was possible to use BoConcept furniture to decorate a very small space, and the Romeros provided her with an interesting challenge. Their tent was about seven feet long and seven wide, and the guys had to hunch over even when standing at its tallest point. Empty, the space seemed minuscule. But after Ms. Cheng put down an orange rug, a short shelving unit, an ottoman, a table and two chairs (as well as several well-placed decorative objects), the tent looked like a living room on the Lower East Side.

It’s never quite clear why Ms. Cheng decided to treat Romero and his tent like VIPs, but when it was revealed that a $3,000 lamp from the store broke on the ride over, Ms. Cheng gasped, then turned to Mr. Romero. “We’ll have to get you another one.”

Shaokao Cheng, Cienna Cheng and Niki Cheng. (Patrick McMullan)

Perhaps the random act of kindness was a viral marketing ploy, or stemmed from her own back story of struggle. (Probably a bit of both, if we’re being honest.) Niki Cheng—née Chong—was 25 when she moved to New York in the mid-’90s. She had an architecture degree from the University of Malaysia and a visa that was only good for one year. She was scraping by as a coat-check girl at Von when she met Mr. Cheng, a young banker whose father had given him a $90,000 loan to buy a single-bedroom apartment on Madison and 32nd.

The two were introduced by a restaurant co-worker of hers, and she began relocating her belongings to his apartment after the first date, she said. After a heady three months of dating, Mr. Cheng invited her to move into his place permanently. “He didn’t realize I already had,” she laughed.

But there was a catch: his apartment in Murray Hill would be undergoing extensive renovations for two years. They made a pact: if they could live through the 24 months without breaking up, they would become a pair in the business sense as well. Mr. Cheng also pushed his girlfriend to get a job at a furniture retail outlet that would give her a three-year visa.

One day while working there, Ms. Cheng came upon a catalog that featured a coffee table identical to the type she sold. Except that Ms. Cheng’s outlet was selling her model for $2,000, and this unheard of Danish brand was selling its at $299.

The brand was called BoConcept, and its international franchise operation was just getting off the ground. The Chengs approached the company with the idea of opening a New York store on Madison Avenue, but were turned down. BoConcept’s owners thought that space in the city was too expensive and there wouldn’t be enough room to show the big items. In their view, New Yorkers were not the target market for their oversized aesthetic.

But the duo were undeterred. “We had spent a year putting together research that proved that this store could be opened in New York,” Ms. Cheng said. They also showed their plans to a friend they met at Bungalow 8.

Their friend turned out to be designer Max Azria, who spent 10 minutes calculating the figures the couple had acquired during their research, sketched a number down on his pad, and told them to go for it.

In 2003, BoConcept agreed to let the couple try their hand at a New York flagship for $300,000. “We had everything to lose,” Ms. Cheng said. “They had nothing to lose.” Niki was 28 and Shaokao 30. They had recently gotten married in Hawaii after three years of dating because, as Mr. Cheng put it, “My wife went to three different psychics who told her that marriage would bring us good fortune.” Mr. Cheng and his father remortgaged their houses to pay for the initial investment.

They barely survived the first two years; they couldn’t figure out the computer systems, and there were issues with shipping. Their business model might not have actually worked had Mr. and Ms. Cheng not been so socially ambitious.

With his degree in engineering and hers in architecture, they were able to use their conjoined home-decorating skills for seemingly un-BoConcept-related purposes. When one big-name celebrity client called, nothing from BoConcept would fit in their closet, so Ms. Cheng happily suggested shelves and fixtures that did. Soon, the singer was calling the couple to redesign her living room, and this time they used items from their Dutch catalog.

The fact that BoConcept’s furniture design is somewhere between IKEA and West Elm is somewhat beside the point. What the Chengs have done was take a relatively bland furniture store from a not especially popular Danish franchise and parlay it into a personal calling card.

When the two aren’t peddling 12-piece sectionals, they can often be found at yoga or otherwise getting fit. At 12:54 a.m. Saturday morning, The Observer received a text from Niki, who asked if we wanted to attend a 10 a.m. Bikram session with her. (We pleaded out.)

Later that morning, Ms. Cheng was at the Madison store, dressed from head to toe in brown Juicy velour. She helped hunk real estate agent Ryan Serhant from Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing find items for his move from Pine Street to Chelsea ... which of course will be documented on Bravo’s website. After he left, Ms. Cheng rushed out herself for a private second yoga session of the day, but not before inviting The Observer over for a home-cooked meal the next night with “some friends” that included Ms. Tam and Mr. Musto.
http://youtu.be/JjI2SwrGnHs
A 2010 BoConcept commerical featuring Mr. Musto and Ms. Cheng.

In 2006, the Chengs moved with their baby daughter Cienna from Murray Hill to a $1.7 million, 2,200-square-foot artist’s loft with 12-foot-high ceilings on Fifth Avenue at 29th Street. This is the space, apparently, where you can keep two six-foot ottomans without it feeling cluttered.

Cienna is now 6, their son Eden 3; when we arrived Sunday evening, their mom was running around the gigantic apartment, scooping them up for bed. Ms. Cheng looked ready to fall asleep herself, after making a feast: home-cooked dishes with pork belly, chicken, eggplant and fish, and a lotus soup for dessert. Ms. Tam was there, and Mr. Musto showed up for dessert. Mr. Levine wasn’t able to make it, but the table was more than full.

Mr. Cheng explained that she had rescheduled her meeting with Ms. Dunaway, but was too busy cooking to make it down to the store. So she had the actress come up to her apartment and multitasked.
As we were leaving, Mr. Cheng asked sincerely if we would come back and have dinner when we weren’t on the job. Ms. Cheng had already invited us to their Christmas party and a luxury garage sale they were co-sponsoring this week. They were so nice! How could we decline when they were so generous?

Another rung added to the monkey bars.

Courtesy W Hotel.

Remember that great Sean John ad Mark Ronson was in 10 years ago? The Observer loved that ad. Sure we could have asked the producer whether married life had changed him,  or “what’s next,” but all we really wanted to know was whether it was P. Diddy’s idea or his to let the toothpick dangle so lazily in that print advertisement we once saw ages ago in VIBE. And as electronic rockers Phantogram left the stage of Symmetry Live—the W New York-Downtown’s music concert series—we asked him.

Yeah. He didn’t remember either. As we fell asleep in his eyes, a girl with forty-three bracelets shuttled him to the DJ booth.

We were at the W for a VIP Event celebrating the traveling photo exhibition ROCKED, featuring the work of Mick Rock, the “man who shot the 70s.” He has taken every single amazing photo of every famous musician ever, and after a ruddy Brit gifted Mr. Rock with three scarves from his British scarf company, The Observer took the opportunity to ask Mr. Rock if it was true that he had the W Hotel staff rearrange his room so he could indulge his love of yoga. “Who the fuck told you that?” was all the confirmation we needed. He calmed down when he saw that both he and The Observer were wearing acid wash jean jackets and learned that his stylist and The Observer were old fencing teammates at Exeter. Egregiously we forgot to congratulate him on his truly impressive show, distraced as we were watching as our friend from Nylon hit on two unseasonably tan women at the bar.

At this point in the evening, a nice and healthy woman at the VIP reception recognized The Observer from somewhere neither of us remember and asked us if we would like to meet the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We couldn’t tell if that was Karen O. or someone who just looked like Karen O. (it turned out it was), so we focused our terrible reporting on Nick Zinner. We’d be remiss not to mention that the lead guitarist and YYY sound-architect is the sweetest human being ever. The last time we saw him was walking out of a sushi restaurant in Williamsburg, and upon mentioning this Wednesday night, his flush of embarrassment at having been to Williamsburg at all was evident to all the semi-attractive squinting toads standing around. While Mr. Zinnner remembered the night in question, he nonetheless sternly remarked, “I don’t go to Williamsburg.” Mr. Zinner is all types of cool and so fucking adorable and a strict vegetarian who really, really, really doesn’t like Williamsburg or talking about food and seems to have lost his smile in a Town Car, but never called the driver to go back and claim it.

The host of the evening was Michaelangelo L’Acqua, a terribly charming three-piece gentleman who is the W Hotels Global Music Director. “People like Janaelle Monae get it. Das Racist doesn’t,” he informed The Observer. (Having worked with scores of musicians for various projects, Mr. L’Acqua is well-learned on the subject of musicians who behave like jerks at the slightest curtain flap of fame.) I asked if he had heard that a previous W Hotels ROCKED performer, Theophilus London, almost drowned at Miami Art Basel last week? “No. But he’ll be here later tonight if you want to ask him about it.” (Which he was, but The Observer declined to pursue this line of questioning for fear of the musician’s height and the assumed sadness behind his dark and stylish sunglasses).

As Mr. L’Acqua rose and stood handsomely to leave we went to harass non-jerk Albert Hammond Jr. and his glowering lighthouse of a girlfriend at the DJ booth. We wondered why Mr. Hammond Jr. has never played at New York’s Petty Fest (an annual concert featuring dozens of famous actors and local musicians covering Tom Petty songs for one glorious night in October) despite being close friends and sometimes band mates with almost everyone who plays it. “I know, I know,” he sighed before changing the song to something knowing yet recognizable on his iTunes playlist.

The Observer turned our attention to the actor Stephen Baldwin, seen talking without the aid of his hands to a friend of ours. Nonetheless we approached with caution because we’ve never seen a wolverine in the wild and, well, The Observer has heard its share of stories. Yet despite Mr. Baldwin’s unforgivable sartorial misstep of wearing a black undershirt under a blue button down he proved to be a sporting partygoer, telling tales of shitty concerts he’s seen with aplomb. We showed him our notebook to prove our credentials, only for him to find it littered with such hard hitting questions for the other VIPs in attendance as “Challenge Chace Crawford to arm wrestle” and “Ask Penn Badgley if he remembered when the CW was called the WB and also if he too wants to arm wrestle?”

The reception portion of the evening ended with a spill and a photo alongside Mick Rock’s fetching daughter, Nathalie Rock after which we proceeded to a tented side lot to watch the Phantogram performance. The attractive musicians only cemented our fandom, and we’re happy to report that no one drowned in anything other than a sea of free scotch and poorly designed business cards. Then again, we hear Mick Rock almost drowned in a pool of scarves.

The round gives Tinychat the support of celebrity investors like Ashton Kutcher, P. Diddy, plus investor celebrity Ron Burkle. 

There seems to be a symbiotic relationship here. Celebrities are interested in dabbling in the tech space, since the fame game is increasingly playing out on the web. 

At the same time, the endorsement of a big name celeb, especially a social media savvy fellow like Kutcher, can do wonders for a site's user base. 

Tinychat, which is currently based out in Glen Cove, Long Island, is looking to move into larger offices in New York City proper. 

Like Snap Interactive, which The Observer recently profiled, Tinychat has seen some astronomical growth in recent months, thanks in large part to the viral nature of it Facebook application.

bpopper [at] observer.com | @benpopper

Ms. Salt replaces Patrick O'Connell, who resigned after 12 years with the magazine earlier this week.

Here's hoping that Vogue's PR strategy starts to look more like Fashion's Night Out's PR strategy, i.e. more collaboration between Anna Wintour and P. Diddy. (This video is required viewing.)

Ms. Salt will lead Vogue's second annual Fasion's Night Out, scheduled for September 10th.

In this holiday season's films—Revolutionary Road, Australia, Milk—costume design is at the forefront. [LA Times] 

Neiman Marcus has reported a $12.9 million profit in the first fiscal quarter. But don't get too hopeful yet--the profits are actually an 83.6 percent decrease for the retailer, as its profits dropped from $78.8 million to $12.9 million. [WWD] 

P. Diddy said that he's toning down his personal style and trying not to dress too "flashy," given the current state of the economy. [Vogue UK]

Oscar winner Helen Mirren, who has publicly talked about the lack of fashionable choices for older women, is considering designing a collection for British label Marks & Spencer. She's already decided on a name: DWS, as in "Dresses with Sleeves." [Vogue UK]

Curiously, the venue selected for the premiere was the AMC Loews on East 19th Street, a relatively tiny theatre where celebrities like Adrien Brody, Mos Def, and P. Diddy had to walk the carpet practically elbow to elbow.

“I’m a big fan of Mos Def and Beyonce and the whole cast,” said P. Diddy. The entrepreneur and rap producer showed off a Gucci coat with a bulky fur neckline, but was not the sole rap artist making a flashy entrance. Ms. Knowles’ (alleged!) husband Jay-Z arrived in a well-fitted suit and the big nerd-chic glasses that have become ubiquitous in the pages of fashion magazines. And Mos Def was questioned about his choice of a flannel shirt and bow tie paired with a long coat and jeans.

Gabrielle Union, who plays Muddy Waters' (Jeffrey Wright) wife Geneva Wade, told the Daily Transom that despite not having a singing role she was intimidated working along Mr. Wright and the rest of the cast.

“Definitely the first time I walked into the trailer and there was Adrien [Brody] and Jeffrey [Wright], I was, ‘Ahhh!’” said Ms. Union. “I’ve actually been the wife of literally like 50 percent of the men in this film. Half of them I’ve already done the walk of love with, but Jeffrey, you really don’t want to disappoint him because he’s just incredible.”

Also among the cast was British actor Eamonn Walker, cast as Howlin’ Wolf, who (unlike the rest of the cast members) did not grow up listening to blues records.

“I knew nothing about the blues really. I kind of heard it in the background, but I really had to do some heavy research for this film,” said Mr. Walker. “And yes, of course they all teased me a little, but, you know, sticks and stones may break my bones…”

Live with Regis and Kelly host Kelly Ripa arrived with her husband Mark Consuelos.

“This is Elizabeth and James,” said Ms. Ripa showing off her loosely-fitted black dress. “Love the Olsen twins, love those girls!”

Ms. Knowles and Mr. Brody were some of the last to arrive and were preceded by Ms. Knowles’ mother, costume designer Tina Knowles.

“This is just such a part of history,” said Mrs. Knowles. “I kind of twisted Beyonce’s arm a bit to do this one because she just really didn’t have the time, but I am so excited that she was part of this.”

Mrs. Knowles was interrupted by screams for her daughter, who had just walked in, and responded by pointing both arms in Beyonce’s direction and exclaiming, “And here is Sasha Fierce!” (Ms. Knowles’s mother seemed to be plugging her daughter’s new album, I am…Sasha Fierce, named after her on-stage alter ego.)

Ms. Knowles, for her part chose not to speak, and instead twirled in her floor-length gown for the cameras.

Lauren Hutton has agreed to become the face of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's next campaign for their clothing line. [Vogue UK] 

D.C. watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Sarah Palin, the RNC and several political operatives, accusing them of violating campaign finance laws by spending $150,000 on clothes. [WWD] 

Hachette Filippachi has suspended the publication of ELLE Accessories until Fall 2009. Anne Slowey, the editor of the title, has set up a gmail account where interested parties can get in touch with her newly available staffers. [FWD]  

P. Diddy will dress up as the Pope for Halloween. [Vogue UK] 

Kate Moss often ducks into Topshop stores in disguise to see how her line for the store is selling. [Vogue UK] 

P. Diddy is buying Enyce from from Liz Claiborne, Inc. for $20 million. [The Cut via WWD]

Vivienne Westwood's son, erotica photographer Ben Westwood, led a chain gang of bound and gagged models in fetish clothing to London’s House of Commons on Tuesday to protest a government bill that makes pornography illegal. [WWD] 

Anna Wintour caught a Sunday matinee of W. at the Regal Cinemas in Union Square. [P6]

A Los Angeles cop, who was said to be fearful for his safety, pulled a gun on P. Diddy and his entourage during a routine traffic stop. [NY Daily News]

Casey Johnson, the billionaire heiress previous linked to Courtenay Semel, showed up at Kathy Lee Gifford's 55th birthday party with a new girlfriend named "Lisa," who was wearing a leather trench coat. [P6]

While Jennifer Aniston has split from Cameron Diaz's ex, John Mayer, Ms. Diaz is still enjoying the company of Ms. Aniston's ex, Paul Sculfor. [P6]

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson shopped for baby clothes yesterday, but the sales staff of the baby boutique said that neither was pregnant. [NY Daily News]

Tatum O'Neal, who wrote a memoir in 2004 about her drug addiction, was arrested for buying crack on the Lower East Side on Sunday morning from a homeless man. [NY Daily News]

Lindsay Lohan reportedly passed on a $1 million offer from OK! magazine to do a cover where she "comes out" about her gay relationship with Samantha Ronson. [P6]

Suze Orman says that with today's economy, Carrie Bradshaw would have to switch from Manolos to Payless. [Intelligencer]

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard want you to know that they walk to Brooklyn Academy of Music in downtown Brooklyn from their Park Slope home, despite Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz introducing them the other night as "the most glamorous of the stroller derby crew in Park Slope." [P6]

Ashley Olsen continues to date Lydia Hearst's ex, Justin Bartha. [P6]

Along with losing her temper and possibly her freedom, Naomi Campbell is also apparently losing her hair. [NY Daily News]

P. Diddy and Cameron Diaz have been seen going into a lot of rooms together. [NY Daily News]