April 18, 2011

TRADhome

The combination of a nasty cold + my birthday has kept me from from blogging for the past few days but never fear, I am back!  While I was illin’, I got a chance to check out the latest e-zine, TRADhome and am pleased to report that it is well worth a read.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that they were kind enough to ask me to contribute to a story on fresh takes on Louis XVI chairs, which I will post separately).  That said, I genuinely think this love child from the editors of Lonny and Traditional Home is a winner.  It is chock full of good stories, resources and design – my only beef would be that at 347 pages, it’s a little overwhelming!  Don’t let that deter you, though.  Arm yourself with a big cup of coffee and dig in.  I have pulled out a few highlights below but I am just scratching the surface of this new design tome. First up, I was thrilled to see a piece on Ferrick Mason fabrics and its designers, Brian Ferrick and Alex Mason.  I have been a fan of their fabric for a while now and you can see why (from top, Warfield in orange and blue, Calliandra in green and brown and Criss Cross in orange and brown):
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March 8, 2011

Westweek

Today, it’s all info, all the time. I did my best to jazz it up but really, this a break down of three events not to miss at this year’s annual design frenzy Los Angelenos call Westweek. I am going to make a day of it on Wednesday, March 23rd and if you are in town, I suggest you do, too. All of the events below take place at the building everyone loves to love/hate, the Pacific Design Center:

10:30-12pm: Editor’s Round Table, Silver Screen Theatre

The editors from four of the five shelter mags left (Michael Boodro from Elle Decor; Dara Caponigro, former style director at Domino and current editor-in-chief of Veranda; Ann Omvig Maine from Traditional Home and the forthcoming online magazine, Trad Home and Newell Turner from House Beautiful) come together for a panel discussion moderated by Design Center president, Charles S. Cohen. I am very interested to hear the thoughts of the editors at the magazines who have managed to weather this insane economy. There will be receptions for all the players in different showrooms after. Consult the website for more info.

1:00-3:00pm: Pierre Frey Inspiration & Realism of Fabrics: Exhibit and Reception with Jean-Laurent Thierry. ”Curiouser & Curiouser” Alice in Wonderland

After researching a few of the artists invited by Pierre Frey to create fabric designs for him between 1935-1955, I am intrigued. Look at this surrealist fantasy called “L’Oiseleur” by Irene Rohr:

Plus Jean-Laurent Thierry, the present CEO, is rather jaunty, isn’t he?

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March 4, 2011

Party Time!

Recently, I was fortunate to be invited to two fabulous parties and thought it only right to share. The first was a delicious seated dinner at Christopher Farr’s divine gallery to introduce Farrow & Ball’s luscious new color palette of paints. I must say, the guest list was chock full of an exciting array of design pros: Peter Dunham, Kathryn Ireland, Oliver Furth, Kim Alexandriuk, Joe Lucas, Parrish Chilcoat, Pat McGann, Gary Gibson, Meg Joannides, and Ron Woodson, to name drop a few. All of the walls in the gallery had been painted in one of the new shades from Farrow & Ball and then paired with a rug or fabric from Christopher Farr’s incredible collection. Take a look at the results:

Oh my god, I am in love with this Anni Albers rug!
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