Andrea Valentini, a nationally known Rhode Island designer, has recently opened a new showroom and gallery.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Imagine, for a moment, that you are an award-winning designer whose list of fans includes The New York Times, the Museum of Modern Art and even the rap star Kanye West. Now imagine that you’ve just opened your first-ever boutique — in Providence, R.I.

Sound far-fetched? Not if you’re Andrea Valentini, a Warwick-born designer and interior architect whose latest venture, a combination showroom, design studio and art gallery, opened recently at the Providence Piers complex on Allens Avenue.

Located in a first-floor space that formerly housed the Gail Cahalan Gallery, the showroom features selections from Valentini’s own design portfolio, including her award-winning line of “Bump” bags, totes and purses. In addition, Valentini is the force behind LAUNCH, a gallery that will showcase the work of students from the Rhode Island School of Design.

“It’s really something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Valentini explained during a recent visit. “As a designer, I’m used to doing most of my work behind the scenes — things like developing new products, testing materials and meeting with manufacturers. But I also wanted to have a place where I could interact with the people who actually buy my products.”

As for the gallery, Valentini, who graduated from RISD in 1995 with a degree in interior architecture, sees it as a chance to give something back to her alma mater.

“As a student, I can remember desperately wanting to exhibit in a real art gallery,” she said. “My hope is that LAUNCH will be that kind of place for today’s RISD students.”

That, at least, explains the motivation behind the gallery and showroom. But what about the address? Why would someone who’s earned a slew of design accolades, including an invitation to the 2003 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial, open a boutique on Allens Avenue, a gritty thoroughfare that’s better known for its factories and warehouses than its style savvy?

Actually, it makes perfect sense, Valentini said. For one thing, she’s no stranger to the dust and noise of a factory floor, having worked closely with many of the manufactures who supply the various parts and materials that go into her products. At the same time, much of her inspiration comes from trying to give these industrial-grade materials a sense of style and elegance.

“I’ve always been drawn to materials that had an industrial look or character to them,” she said. “And I think people really respond when they find something that maybe looks very hard-edged and industrial but actually turns out to be very elegant and organic.”

Valentini’s signature work — her “Bump” line of bags and totes— is a prime example of what might be called industrial chic. Made from a variety of materials, including leather, foam and fabric, the “Bump” products take their name from their most visible feature — an alternating pattern of ridges and hollows that suggests the interior of an ultra-plush egg carton.

First developed about a decade ago, the “Bump” line has since expanded to include everything from a collection of stylish purses and handbags to larger totes and overnight bags. There’s also a line of “Bump” placemats and upholstery fabrics, as well as a “Bump” gym bag.

It was this last item that caught the eye of superstar rapper Kanye West, who recently posted a picture of the gym bag on his web site, www.kanyeuniversecity.com. “That was a really nice surprise,” Valentini said. “It’s one thing to take out an ad in a magazine, but when someone like Kanye West starts plugging your work for free on his web site, that’s amazing.”

In addition to her “Bump” bags and fabrics, Valentini is also the creator of the Coosh Egg Chair — a molded-foam lounge chair that comes in a variety of colors and sports a playful crinkle-cut pattern. Like the “Bump” products, the Coosh chairs manage to look both industrial (the grooved surface patterns make them look a bit like a giant cogs or gears) and organic.

The chairs, which have garnered a number of major design awards, are also surprisingly versatile. Cut from hunks of polyurethane foam, they come with a matching ottoman that can be tucked into the seat of the chair to save space or opened up to form a full-size chaise lounge.

Recently, Valentini has applied her industrial-meets-organic aesthetic to two other fields: lighting and jewelry. Visitors will find examples of both at her Allens Avenue boutique, including a collection of earrings and necklaces based on the double-helix shape of DNA molecules and a molded-foam floor lamp that looks a bit like a giant glow-in-the-dark cocoon.

And, of course, the boutique will feature the full line of “Bump” products.

“I can’t tell you how great it is to finally have some natural light,” Valentini said, referring to the large picture windows that look out on to a busy stretch of Allens Avenue. “I’m so used to working in dark little studios that having all this light is like, well, totally fantastic.”

Andrea Valentini Design and the LAUNCH gallery are on the first floor of Conley’s Wharf, Providence Piers, 200 Allens Ave. in Providence. Hours for the showroom and the gallery are Tues.-Sat. 11-6, or by appt. Contact: (401) 467-7104 or www.andreavalentini.com.

bvansicl@projo.com