Such a wonderful piece on Style.com today, covering Jean de Merry’s 10-year anniversary event, JDM-10.
Karolina Kurkova: Now Available In Lamp Form
She’s more used to modeling designers’ work than designing pieces herself, but Karolina Kurkova took to the drawing board for her latest project. Kurkova was selected as one of ten guest designers by West Hollywood gallery owner Jean de Merry to design a custom piece in honor of the ten-year anniversary of his artisanal, made-to-order furniture line and store. “Jean will tell you, I was very hands-on with this,” Kurkova said of her ornate, towering lamp. “I wanted something to really represent a woman’s essence, from her curves on top to the strength of the base on the bottom. Even the crystals sewn into the fabric are all from the Czech Republic [her homeland]. Every piece of this design has a part of me.” With all proceeds benefiting the charity of the designer’s choice, the project attracted a motley crew of talent (known as the JDM Ten), including local interior design star Oliver Furth, L.A. native Irene Neuwirth, and Katherine Heigl.
Days away from his first Resort showing, Gregory Parkinson played on his love of prints and texture when designing his wood cabinetry. “My work is all about layering and mixing patterns and colors, and this really seemed to take that to the next level,” Parkinson said. “We’re bombarded with so much visually these days that it’s nice to have something that is just pretty…and functional as well.” Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, with typical wit, created a chair that was more like a throne. “It’s lyrical but it still sort of has that humor,” Tagliapietra said of its antler details, inspired by vintage photos the pair came across. “I like my furniture to have a personality. It’s not like a piece of clothing that you have the luxury of saying you’re not in the mood for.”
“The pieces in this show,” Shladovsky says, “reveal the evolution of my relationship with the forces of nature, mainly those I cannot control.”
Ruth Bachofner Gallery (@ Bergamot Station Art Center, Los Angeles) is pleased to present, Living with Art, a premier exhibition of work by interior designer and artist, Azadeh (Azie) Shladovsky, March 19 – April 16, with an opening reception on Saturday, March 19, 5-7 PM.
Founder of LA based multidisciplinary, AAS Design Studio, Azadeh Shladovsky, introduces a limited-edition, sculptural furniture collection, Living with Art. This collection explores Shladovsky’s unique relationship with nature and highlights her ability to create powerful expressions that are as beautiful as they are functional. Her perspective is informed by and, to a degree, controlled by the forces inherent in her wood medium. In her work, Shladovsky uses nature and its processes as a guide, both in how each piece is formed and how it is perceived. “The pieces in this show,” Shladovsky says, “reveal the evolution of my relationship with the forces of nature, mainly those I cannot control.” Just as nature influences our human experiences, our experiences also change the way we see and interpret the natural world. These pieces are meant to provoke a dynamic sensory experience and engage the subject in a dialogue that struggles with questions of tension, control and peace.
To attend the Living with Art opening reception, this Saturday March 19th: rsvp@theculturecreative.com
I had the pleasure of attending Voila! gallery’s launch party for their new line of custom moulding designs by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard. The new line is beautiful and quintessentially MLB of course, but it was the entire collection of interesting curiosities that really blew me away about the showroom. Voila! explores, discovers and exhibits their treasures, mixing vintage oddities with antiques and contemporary art, to truly create an authentic space with a unique point of view. As gallery owner and designer, Katrien van der Schueren explains, “we mix old with new [and] we make our own creations, edgy with a sense for humor. I am from Belgium, and surrealism is close to my heart and my aesthetic.”
I’ll let their work do the rest of the talking. For more info and to check out their entire collection, check out: Voila!
I love a good pop-up store, and Lee Stanton Antiques is doing just that, bringing their warehouse to LA for 1 month starting Monday, September 20th. With their neighbor moving to a larger showroom across the street, LSA is taking over the temporary space next door to feature items from their popular Newport Beach warehouse. They’re making room for a new shipment from a recent buying trip to Europe, so word is that there will be special deals during this limited time event.
Underneath the aesthetic value of any iconic design, you are sure to find a real connection to the human condition. For me, that cross-section where a beautiful object corresponds with our universal experiences is a fascinating place. At the Hidden Dimensions gallery of the Milwaukee Art Museum, they’re doing just that, focusing on taking an anthropological approach to understanding familiar objects. The following short reveals how SEX features into the function of early American objects, such as small-scale tea tables of the 18th century. Good stuff!
Sometimes I wonder how “green” an eco-product really is. Sometimes, the cynic in me is frustrated by the whole eco-movement, especially in the home products arena. Somehow, the real need to take better care of our environment turned into a brand new marketplace for capital gain. No I’m not a Communist, I thoroughly enjoy most of the benefits of Capitalism, but I still have a conscience and observing eyes. I bet my savings that most of the flyover states think they’re doing right by Mother Earth when purchasing Breyers “organic” ice cream, and yet they know nothing of LEED Certification or the term “carbon footprint.” This worries me.
Oh, here’s another observation. What’s up with 300-thread count organic sheets costing more than regular 600-thread count cotton? Um, I care n’ stuff, but this is a no brainer, I’m sleeping on the 600.
Ok enough criticisms, that’s not what this blog’s about… this blog’s about ideas for stylish living, so here’s my take on going green: BUY ANTIQUES. Wouldn’t you say that an object that has made it through the ages is truly sustainable? And, the fact that nothing new is being created helps us maintain our natural resources. Not to mention, if you buy an antique near home, you wouldn’t incur the carbon footprint of shipping from overseas. Above all, I love that a solution to our environmental challenges can be found in the past. I also enjoy challenging the visual image of what people think eco should look like.
All I’m saying is that bamboo flooring and solar panels aren’t the be all and end all for solutions, rather, think about antiques as a stylish solution to our current environmental concerns.
Some readers of this blog may remember an entry I posted earlier this year on the art of Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese concept of “imperfect beauty,” … an embrace of imperfections, to say the least. Well, today I came across an artist by the name of Lotte Dekker, who is taking this concept to another level!
Lotte Dekker developed a new technique for repairing porcelain based on kintsugi (literally golden joinery in Japanese), a 15th century Japanese technique that repairs porcelain with gold leafing. It became so popular during its peak that people deliberately broke their own pottery so they also could have it “repaired.”
Dekker’s technique, called “Bison Kintsugi,” is kintsugi in spirit, but instead uses modern-day Bison glue and inexpensive gold powder to achieve similar results. Dekker also another technique she calls “Tectonic Repair,” using a kneadable glue that widens and essentially reshapes the cracks. By reshaping the crack, instead of denying it, the object is allowed to become a new form altogether. And may I add that this technique is highly green, which only adds to the relevance of incorporating the concept in our design solutions today.
A fascination for challenging aesthetics continues…
Once a week or so, I’ll usually stroll on over to Mel & Rose for lunch. On my very unL.A. meander to pick up my order, I’m always impressed by the store, The Open Doors. Located at 8257 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood proper, Jeff (the owner) describes his shop as “a fun collective of frisky antiques, originals and unique gifts…vintage and antique furniture and furnishings.” As a vintage and antique dealer in the game for over 25 years (you may remember his namesake store on La Brea some years back,) Jeff considers himself one of the last “generalists” in a marketplace filled with specialty designer showrooms. From serious pieces to obscure finds, Jeff has cross-pollinated it all to create a wild shopping experience.
My favorite pieces in the place are the blue deco chairs (pictured above.) Runner up, the Warhol homage silkscreen, circa late 70′s from Neiman’s home store.
The place is totally casual, and Jeff’s super nice. Tell’m Sean sent you!
