Owen Lawrence hosted a party last week in honor of Spanish artist Jaime Hayon's Crystal Candy Set collection for Baccarat. Hayon's work is always vibrant, whimsical, and a bit fantastical, so it's no surprise that these candy jars, part of a very limited edition collection, are no ordinary candy dishes. I just don't see filling them with peanut m&m's, although I suppose you could.
I find it refreshing to see companies like Baccarat and Lladro (another line for which Hayon designed a collection) commissioning young, quirky designers to create pieces that might entice a younger generation into collecting crystal or porcelain. These old line firms may not survive if they rely solely on their traditional, bread and butter client base (I think quite a few of us, myself included, fall into the latter). Anyway, enough of the pontificating. On to the photos of the collection:
After Nine
Harcourt Lolly on the left and Lucky Green at right
Pina Passion Vase
Jelly Copper
And, because I love a beautifully set table, I couldn't resist a few snaps of Fio Pichardo's handiwork:
To inquire about the Hayon for Baccarat collection or any other Baccarat pieces you see in the photos, contact Owen Lawrence at (800) 499-3607.
(The image at top was taken from Hayon's website.)
Monday, October 05, 2009
Jaime Hayon for Baccarat
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Getting Twiggy With It
I know, a horrible title. But it was late. I was punchy.
I'm loving Houles new Twiggy collection, one that was inspired by the legendary model and her fashion sense. We always talk about tiebacks and tassels being jewelry for the home. Well, this window jewelry was meant to be reminiscent of necklaces, pendants, and belts. Don't be shocked if you see me walking around with some of the collection on my person!
Available at Brunschwig showrooms.
Laura Ashley- I Hardly Knew Ya
I loved Martin Wood's book on Nancy Lancaster and devoured his follow-up on John Fowler (who didn't?!). So when I heard that his next subject was Laura Ashley
, I was intrigued. Intrigued because Wood was writing it, and curious about what made Laura Ashley a compelling subject. Well, let's just say that the last time I was taken with anything Laura Ashley was back in the 1980s- but I'm enchanted by her, her story, and the look once again.Welsh born Laura Ashley and her husband Bernard got their start in the apparel and textile business in the early 1950s when they began to print fabric in their home. The business took off with a line of small neck scarves that became all the rage. Tea towels followed, but it was their garment line that took the company to an entirely new level- and made Laura Ashley a household name in Britain and beyond.
Of course many of us fondly remember those Laura Ashley dresses that we wore as children (they were a little Laura Ingalls Wilder-ish, but hey, it's better than some of the clothes little girls are wearing today), but did you know that Laura and her husband were innovators? Bernard insisted on selling their fabrics alongside the garments, something which people felt would never work... but it did and quite successfully. And many of their prints were actually a bit edgy looking, a far cry from the traditional florals that many of us associate with the house. Who knew? I certainly didn't.
The book is chock full of photos of various clothing collections (the Venetian Collection was pretty fabulous) as well as color photos of their prints. But for me, the best part are the photos of the Ashley homes. If you swoon for very British interiors, trust me, you'll have a ball reading this book.
Remember this photo? Diana was wearing a Laura Ashley skirt.
Laura Ashley fabrics c. 1972.
The Ashley dining room in their home in England.
And for you Francophiles, a guest bedroom in the Ashley's French chateau
And the designer who I wasn't familiar with? John Minshaw. And what a nice surprise this book was. John Minshaw Designs
is a wonderful introduction to a designer whose work is classical with a twist. There is a brief biography of Minshaw- important for those of us who are new to the designer- but the monograph is mainly a compilation of project photos. No need for me to write anything else because I think the photos will do Minshaw more justice than my writing will.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
That Door!
The carved door frame in this New Jersey home had been a gift to previous homeowners by Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Not just any old door, but one with provenance.
Then there was Ruthie Sommer's door, a Pagoda and fretwork topped affair. Love it.
Going back in time to the early 20th c.- Henry Sleeper's Gloucester, Massachusetts home Beauport featured the China Trade Room with, yes, a fabulous door frame. Simple, but fabulous.
And my love affair with Chinoiserie style doors continues. Just look at this door in the dining room of the English House in Atlanta. Philip Shutze was the architect responsible for this glorious example; both door and frame are richly detailed with Chinese Chippendale style carving. Do you think a door like this would look out of place in a 1968 condo...like my 1968 condo??
(Image 1: House Beautiful, Feb 2005; #2, In Style Home, Spring 2007; #3 via Emily Evans Eerdmans; #4 from American Classicist: The Architecture of Philip Trammell Shutze
)
Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow
Bear with me and my book reviews. You know that the Fall is like Christmas to those of us who love design books!
One of the more intriguing books to come out this season is Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow
Rutherford traces the history of the silhouette all the way back to Etruscan vases that are considered to be the precursors to this graphic art form. The book explores the silhouette's popularity in 18th c. France and of course the Victorian age (those Victorians were awfully crazy for silhouettes...), and many 20th c. examples are included as well, most notably the provocative work of artist Kara Walker. Rutherford reminds the reader that silhouettes have long been created in many forms besides paper cutouts- paintings and carved and molded pieces were also favorite mediums for the silhouette.
After reading this book, I find that I now have far more of an appreciation for silhouettes; to me, they're no longer just a Victorian novelty. Is it fine art? Well, no, not really, but to dismiss silhouettes as mere decorative trifles would be quite a shame.
Roger Palmer, Lady Dorothy Bradshaigh (c. 1705–1785), life-size head, hollow-cut on blue paper, 9-3/5 inches high, Private Collection
A Jockey at Newmarket, Pringle (dated 1827), painted and bronzed on card, 3-1/2 inches high. Lidstone Collection.
The Hunt, Master Barber, aged 9 (fl. c. 1851), cut-out paper, 5 inches high, Ian Cross Collection.
(All images ©Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow by Emma Rutherford, Rizzoli New York, 2007)
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Perfection
This 1936 photo of a cocktail room stopped me dead in my tracks. (Yes, we can just stop the post right here. A cocktail room. How utterly fantastic and so very civilized. I'm going to call my living room a cocktail room from now on because it is where the cocktails are drunk in my home.) Everything about this room sums up what I love best: Chinoiserie; a mural; cocktails; a dark floor (perhaps linoleum or some type of composite?) with what appears to be metal inlay.
The mural was painted by Allyn Cox, famous for his murals at the US Capitol. You may also remember my post about the Peacock Mansion here in Atlanta with its Allyn Cox mural in the dining room (see below). How I wish the cocktail room photo were in color, but here is a description of the room:
A corner of a cocktail room in a house in Glencoe, Illinois, with murals by Allyn Cox. The background is pale yellow, the figures are a luminous blue-white, with black touches in hair and shoes. The room itself is done in grey, with splashes of vermilion.
Perfection. Enough said.
The dining room of the Goodrum House (aka the Peacock Mansion) with its Allyn Cox mural.
The Peak of Chic is a Bride!
An Elegant Bride, that is. I'm sure that's news to my family. It's news to me too! Don't know who the lucky groom is either. Even better, the reception is an ode to Dorothy Draper, the Peak of Chic's favorite decorator! Oh, and Antony Todd, another Peak of Chic favorite, designed the event.
Sounds like my ideal wedding. And to think that I didn't even have to do any dating before my walk down the aisle!
(Image from Elegant Bride, Fall 2009, Jonny Valiant photographer.)
Monday, September 28, 2009
David Hicks: A Life of Design
One fall book release that I have anxiously been awaiting is David Hicks: A Life of Design
First, this book has much more biographical information than the previous Ashley Hicks project. That book gave you a glimpse into the life of David Hicks, but this tome really fleshes out the story of how Hicks got his start and created his design empire. Hicks was certainly ambitious (perhaps one could say aggressively so), and when opportunity knocked on his door, he didn't hesitate to make the most of it. Perhaps that's not such a bad thing as we are still talking about Hicks today.
The other point I'd like to make is that Hicks' work went beyond that mod, graphic, zingy look that he is so associated with. Much of Hicks' later work is actually restrained, elegant, and even at times subdued. I think that this phase of his career is often overlooked, and it's one that should be explored by young designers.
Granted, many of the photographs included in this book appeared in Ashley Hicks' earlier book as well as many of David Hicks' own books. However, there are Hicks interiors that I have never seen before, especially those of his early career. If you are a Hicks fan, or if you collect monographs of great designers, I think this book will be a worthy addition to your collection.
The ballroom at Claridges transformed for an event by David Hicks and this then business partner Tom Parr, c. 1957.
A Hicks Parr room from the 1950s.
The Belgravia drawing room of Princess Guirey, designed by Hicks in the 1950s.
One end of the Long Gallery at Baronscourt, the seat of the Duke of Abercorn, c. 1978.
(All images © David Hicks: A Life of Design by Ashely Hicks, Rizzoli, 2009.)
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Want to know a secret? I love mirror. I love mirrored walls, mirrored doors, mirrored screens, mirrored furniture, and mirrors on a wall. (I don't, however, do mirrored ceilings.) Am I a narcissist? Do I like to admire my reflection? Well, no. OK, so maybe a little.
What I'm drawn to most is mirror that has something interesting going on. Think smoked or antiqued mirror or better yet verre églomisé. And mirror that has been incorporated into a room's architecture really pushes me over the edge- in a good way. What I find a shame is that so few artisans or designers are doing unique things with mirror today. (An exception is my friend Ray Goins who is a master at verre églomisé, but that's a post for another day.) Back in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, mirror really was the height of sophistication, and the imaginations of furniture craftsmen, architects, and designers knew no bounds when it came to using it. Take, for example, this door:
Now, a door like this could not have been in the apartment of a milquetoast. Instead, it graced the New York apartment of screen legend Gloria Swanson circa 1928. I can't quite figure out where the door actually is or how it opened, but that's not the point. The mirrored panels were outlined in steel molding, and in the middle was an electric fountain backed with a bright gold niche. Yes, the fountain shows questionable taste, but hey, it was Gloria Swanson. And you have to admit it was pretty creative.
Above is an outdoor ballroom designed by Nancy McClelland, a very talented and prominent designer whose name has been somewhat forgotten through time. That rather rotund fountain, the shell above the door, and the stylized tree were all made from mirror mosaic. This is really pretty fantastic. Gaudy? A bit. Do I want it on my balcony? No. But can you just imagine how this outdoor ballroom looked at night with guests attired in dinner jackets and satin bias-cut gowns, champagne coupes in hand, dancing among the mirrored decorations? Now tell me, when have you seen anyone go to this much trouble lately to do something different?
OK, so this example above might be more to your taste. A bedroom in Paris c. 1936 in which the door and window frames, the radiator covers, and tables were covered in mirror. I'm not so crazy about the commodes (or are they the radiator covers?) with the strips of mirror on them, but that door...perfection. That was some glamorous architecture!
And finally, a dining room from 1941. The mirrored fluted pilasters framed panes of mirror. The diamond inset behind the clock was a nice touch.
If mirroring walls, doors, and radiator covers seems a bit complicated, you could always buy a mirrored screen like the one at top, available from David Duncan Antiques. It's obviously not the type of mirror in which to preen, but it looks pretty smashing nonetheless.
