February 6, 2013

Christopher Coleman for V&M

Whilst cruising V&M today, Kate let out a shriek. At first I was concerned but after rushing to her desk to see what was up, I quickly understood her excitement. Apparently, V&M has launched something they are calling their Design Atelier, which showcases four lines produced exclusively for V&M by the designers Marie Aiello, Heather Maloney, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz and Christopher Coleman. The standout (in my not-so-humble opinion) and the cause for Kate’s exclaiming are Mr. Coleman’s bold, graphic items. I did a House Beautiful showcase house with Mr. Coleman many years ago and somehow lost track of him. Looking at the images of his work, I have trouble understanding how that could have happened. Love it or hate it (I love it!), his work is unforgettable – strong, fearless and full of energy:

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January 8, 2013

One Kings Lane Sale

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had restful and rejuvenating holidays and are starting off 2013 with a bang. The ladies of M. Design sure are. Tomorrow night, we are thrilled to be included in our second sale on One Kings Lane. All of the items that transformed our two quirky spaces for California Home + Design’s Small Space, Big Style showcase house are up for grabs. Along with our “Southwest on acid” offerings will be pieces from Erinn Valencich, Christopher Kennedy, Christian May, Azadeh Shladovsky and Potted. The sale begins at 5:30 PST and will continue through Saturday but you know how these sales go – if you see something you like, act fast! Enjoy!

December 18, 2012

Paris, Marrakech and more!

Hey all! I am off tomorrow at the crack of dawn for a holiday adventure in Paris and Marrakech (plus a quick stop in Madrid and New Year’s in Denver). I probably won’t be able to post until I am back but if you are interesting in seeing what I find while I am there, follow me on Instagram. My handle is Mollyloot and I will be loading up scads of pictures of people, places and things that inspire me. If you have had your fill of social media and can’t add one more app to your overloaded phone, stay tuned here for a debrief when I return. Happy holidays and I wish each and every one of you health, happiness and style in 2013. Enjoy!
December 15, 2012

Christopher Farr drawings

Hey all. I went by Christopher Farr’s lovely shop on La Cienega today to see a group of drawings recently completed by the man himself. I was completely entranced by the intricate patterns and rhythms of each piece. Mr. Farr uses inexpensive paper he sourced after seeing wrapped around a purchase at Crate & Barrel (love that!) so he can work freely and experiment without hesitation. Arte Povera in action! He begins with black ink (in most cases) and an object (sometimes a broken paintbrush or a rubber stamp) and works his way across and around the paper, feeling his way through, allowing the designs to take shape without a preconceived plan. Some of the paintings are done in a “single breath” – the object is dipping into the ink and the drawing begins. Once the ink is gone, the drawing is complete. These pieces invite you into the process and entice you to stay a while and explore. I suggest you do! The drawings will be up at his gallery until they are sold out so I would go soon (because at prices starting at $750, I plan on snagging a few for gifts or maybe, just for me). Take a look and enjoy!

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October 25, 2012

El Anatsui

I am obsessed. Years ago, I saw an image of this wall of wonder in a magazine and promptly tore it out and put it front and center on my wall of inspiration:

Of course, I lost the article with all of the info on who divined this rippling, metallic cloth. A few years down the line, when I was asked to do a space for the Skid Row Housing Trust’s latest building, I thought back to this image and decided to make a curtain in a similar style, with the help of my fellow M. Design-ers, Kate and Amy. My mistakes were multiple but the top two were 1) my unfettered optimism that this would be easy and 2) not understanding how the original was fabricated. I thought it was constructed of flattened bottle caps but alas, I was wrong. The ensuing three days of pounding hundreds of bottle caps flat, drilling tiny holes in them and attaching them with jewelers rings has gone down in M. Design history as one of the worst ideas I have ever had. Oh well… Read the rest of this post »
October 10, 2012

Big Style, Small Spaces Showcase House – the pictures!

Afternoon everybody! I finally have some shots of the California Home + Design Big Style, Small Spaces Showcase house we recently completed. All of the designers were asked to create spaces for the same imaginary clients, a costume designer for stage and film and a precussionist for a rock band. My space was the oddly shaped mezzanine and I decided to break it into two sub-spaces – an office/creative lab for her and a cozy jam room for him. Enjoy and check out a list the kind sponsors after the pictures!

Don’t miss the lo-fi but extraordinarily clever table by San Francisco based, Jason Lees.
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September 12, 2012

CH+D Small Space Big Style Showcase House

We here at M. Design have the honor of being included in California Home + Design’s inaugural showcase house that opens this Friday, September 14th. When their fabulous editor-in-chief, Erin Feher asked if I would like to participate, I jumped at the chance to let my freak flag fly a bit. Showcase houses are always fun for designers because we don’t have to compromise on our vision and can use pieces that clients might shy away from in our day-to-day projects. To wit, my inspiration was Southwest-on-acid (not exactly an easy sell to many, er, most clients) and my jumping off point was this super fly wallpaper from from the French company, Elitis’s Geisha Collection.

It is a handmade, textured paper shot through with neon pink (also available in yellow and blue) and I love the marriage of the organic, natural feel and the uber-contemporary vibrant color. To give you a sense of how it looks in the space, check out this rendering, done by the wonderful artist and illustrator, Victoria Molinelli.

I am thrilled to report that the room looks pretty much like the rendering but is even better when you are in the space. Come by and see it in person and check out the other lively, creative environments created by my co-designers; Azadeh Shladovsky (kitchen and powder room), Christopher Kennedy (living room), Erinn Valencich (master bedroom and bathroom), Brian Patrick Flynn (guest bedroom and bathroom), Christian May (mezzanine bathroom), Potted (outdoor spaces) and Danielle Cornwell (resource libvrary and vistor lounge). Check out the CH+D website for more details on my inspiration and small space solutions. I will post pics soon and give you the skinny on all the great pieces and generous sponsors that made this room come to life for those of you who can make it there yourselves. Just wanted to whet your appetite toady! The showhouse is open from September 14th – November 18th on Fridays from 10am-2pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-3pm. It costs $20 and part of the proceeds go the very cool Architecture and Design Museum here in Los Angeles. Enjoy!

September 11, 2012

Georgia O’Keeffe

Like Monet’s waterlillies, images of Georgia O’Keeffe’s work were ubiquitous throughout my high school and college career, covering the walls of dorm rooms and beat-down apartments, so much so that I dismissed her as a “poster art” artist and moved on. Oh, you silly, naive fool! This summer after a particularly trying visit to a conceptual contemporary art show, I began thinking about Ms. O’Keeffe and her lush, emotional paintings of the western flora and fauna she held so dear. It was time to revisit her work. Man, am I glad I did. I was truly moved and deeply excited by what I saw. Both the palettes of her painting and the homes she lived in are deeply inspirational to me and I am happy to say that I am not the only one feeling this way. There is a gorgeous piece on her home in Abiqui, New Mexico currently being re-run on the Architectural Digest site and a new book out on both that home and her beloved Ghost Ranch called Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Houses: Ghost Ranch and Abiqui by Barbara Buhler Lynes. Naturally, I snatched a copy up pronto and have been covetously flipping from one austere, elemental image to the next for days on end. In case you doubt the power and freshness of this thoroughly modern woman and painter, feast your eyes on some of her elegant, enduring work and enjoy!

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July 25, 2012

Collected by

Leave it to my uber-chic client, Lee, to turn me on to my favorite new line of lighting! How I love creative, collaborative clients. These pieces from Jason Koharik’s Collected by collection are so good that I seriously considered not sharing them with you all but then I figured, the more the merrier (sorry Lee!). Do you see un peau de Serge Mouille’s influence here? J’adore. For you LA folks, Mr. Koharik’s work is carried by Lawson Fenning. Use them in good taste and enjoy!

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June 29, 2012

Filip Dujardin

I came across the work of Filip Dujardin the other day and found myself mesmerized, and smiling. That’s a hell of a good combination in my book. Dujardin is a Belgian architectural and fine art photographer with a eye for composition and a surrealist’s sensibility. His series entitled Fictions is a wonderful piece of sleight of hand. He manipulated images of existing buildings to create funny, impossible, terrifying, beautiful structures that are shot with the same precision as the real buildings he documents. I find each one rather compelling and have added a Dujardin fiction to my ever-expanding wishlist. Enjoy!

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