Recently in “Collectibles”

 

Internationally known, Cuban-born interior designer and author Vicente Wolf can be a big help!!!! His 3000 sq. foot Manhattan loft features VW HOME, an internationally sourced selection of furniture, lighting, & accessories all reflecting Vicente's style ........ and includes a series of "collections of collections"!!!! 

Japanese silk textile trimmed in black mink.

Giant python skin purse.

Connecticut handbag designer Joy Liotta Horvath is a serious "accessorator!!" She has designed a collection of unique and stunning "custom couture" handbags, using vintage frames, unusual textiles, and novelty leathers. Her company Gioia Handbags, celebrates "the marriage of handbag artistry and the tradition of creative handiwork."  

and all things in between!!! 

Part of her collection can be seen this weekend at the Bridgehampton Antique Show at the Community Center ...... where her booth is an eclectic mix of the most stunning design elements and the way they are "put-together" is an inspiration for all "design divas!!!"

The front of the store is classically modern; the herringbone floor, wood shelves, and the clean white walls are a perfect foil for the men's collection. The masculinity up-front is in stark contrast to the backroom .....  with it's updated contemporary cabbage rose wallpaper, floral chintz circular settee,and pale pink rug reflecting the modern femininity that is the theme of the women's collection. 

The great "stuff" includes fabulous books, a fantastic striped leather leash that is calling my dog's name, a collection of eccentric Lladro ceramics by Spanish designer Jaime Hayon that belong on my library shelves, and framed rock 'n roll posters that hung in my brother's room in the 60's ........ real Jimi Hendrix memorabilia!!!!!! 

One of the fantastic things about getting stuck in Milan, while the Icelandic volcano spewed ash, was getting to visit two of the four Milanese House Museums, homes with a unique combination of period architecture and antiques, with the addition of contemporary design ...... old and new working in tandem, showing how contemporary furniture and objects belong everywhere!!!!

I was particularly taken with the Villa Necchi Campiglio, a residence built in the 1930's, designed by architect Piero Portaluppi. The interiors were created by a collection of important Italian designers and decorators of the period, including Albini-Palanti, Buzzi, Marelli, and Ulrich. After the war, an extensive collection of antique furniture was added. 

Presented last month, in Paris, by Balenciaga, these shoes, designed by Pierre Hardy reflect the high-tech materials in Nicolas Ghesquiere's clothing collection, combining all of  the design elements I adore ........ architecture, sculpture, collage, color, and texture!!!! They incorporate classic shoe silhouettes with a variety of materials that include leather, wood, plastic, metal, and new high-tech materials. I love the Memphis Design influence in the shapes, materials, and colors. They are truly divine!!!!  

On Prince & Mercer Streets, in front of J.CREW ......sitting behind a very long table, probably made from a wooden plank and a pair of saw-horses, covered with a white cloth ........ sat Kristine, a 9 month pregnant "fashionista"!!!!! Spread before her was the most outrageous, incredible, over-the-top collection of leather wrap bracelets in the world ....... every color imaginable ........ with closures of stainless steel, gold plate, and gold plate oxidized bronze ........ an "accessoration" supreme!!!!! 

This F.I.T graduate and soon-to-be mother of two has been "working this block" for 8 years. She doesn't believe in trends ...... though she is definitely on trend at the moment .... leather is her passion and she never deviates!!!! She told me "I wear it and I believe in it, I never switch, not in 8 years." Her mantra is .... "If you don't know what you're looking at your not my customer!!!!" 

According to Kristine, "they" come from all over ..... men & women .... chic "accessorators," hip trendsetters, as well "uptownies's" who wear her jewelry to "funk-up" their Hermes look .... and  as she says.....they always come back for more!!!!!! I know I will!!!!! 

Lebanese designers Huda Baroudi & Maria Hibri, owners of Bokja (blog 1/21/10), have really out-done themselves with this "refitted" vintage VW BUG that is "flowering" in Rosanna Orlandi's garden for the 2010 Milan design fair!!! 

Pieke Bergmans, "Light Bulb Installation" each unique

Thomas Lemut, "Table Basse" table created from 15 different metals, unique

Max Lamb, yellow polystyrene tables coated in rubber, unique

Phillip Maloun, "Rocco" recliner in powder coated steel and nylon, edition of 4

Stephen Johnson, assorted brass plated found-object sculptures, unique

Studio Glithero, "Les French Family" 10 paper wrapped cabinets on 

Valerio Capo and Sam Pratt, owners of the Gallery Fumi, have put together a collection of work from some of the finest, emerging & established designers in the contemporary design world. The gallery, opened in early 2008, is a well-lite, two story, bare-brick walled space that "plays nicely" with the work that is exhibited!!!! Included in the well-curated collection is furniture, lighting, accessories, and artworks.

For these gallerists, design is the "art-form" they have chosen to collect ..... and they have  selected to exhibit the work of designer's, whose pieces they would have in their own personal collection. They commission pieces exclusively for the gallery, both unique works and limited editions. The result of their selection is a very well edited collection of interesting, innovative, and exciting designs. Included in the galleries list of international artists is Max Lamb, Raw Edges, Nacho Carbonell, Paul Kelley, Kranen/Gille Studio, and Federico Uribe. In addition, they have worked with both the Royal College of Art in London and ECAL in Lausanne, Switzerland on a project, An Object Which Enables Reflection, where students competed with each other to rethink the mirror. The project was judged by a panel of "design experts" and the winning prototypes were exhibited at the gallery. 

Valerio and Sam are not trapped by "old think," they have no preconceived ideas, and are creative in their exploration of the concept of a gallery. They are working from the heart, fearlessly ....... showing innovative, new design in a very difficult financial environment. I applaud their enthusiasm, creativity, and taste!!!!!

'Cut Out' Sofa 2004 upholstery covered in leather

My first stop in London was at Katharine Morling's studio (see 10/20/09). We had a wonderful visit & I saw her fantastic new pieces. One was an installation for Osborne & Little; her life-size table & chair, combined with their wallpaper, layering her drawings on top of the paper .... STUNNING!!!  The other piece was a life-size collection of ceramic furniture ....... an entire room installation, commissioned by a client in Glasgow. I saw the first three pieces, a sofa and two club chairs ......INCREDIBLE!!!  She really is a fabulous artist ...... and when she sends the images I will absolutely share them!!!

 

Next, I went to the David Gill Gallery to see Barnaby Barford's exhibition (see 3/4/10), which was even more divine than I thought it would be!!! While I was there, I also got to see these "fantastical" pieces from Mattia Bonetti, a designer who's work I adore (see 12/3/09) and covet!!!!! These pieces of furniture are amazing ..... the sofa is the ultimate of ultimates .... and the floor lamps screams my name!!!!!!! WOW ..... this is a master who requires no words, the pieces speak for themselves ...... actually they sing!!!!! Bravo David, you work with extraordinary artists!!!!!

The final stop was the Gallery Fumi .... it exceeded all of my expectations, and owner Valerio Capo was a wonderful guide  ......  wait & see!!!!!

Best Made Company. was founded by designer and author Peter Buchanan-Smith, and outdoorsman and environmental entrepreneur  Graeme Cameron, boyhood friends who met in 1984 at legendary boys camp, Camp Ahmek, in Northern Ontario. They say that, "it was there they learned- with love & respect- to wield an axe." 

Thirty years have passed and both boy's have grown into men. They have families and children, live urban lives in Manhattan & Toronto, and are surrounded by the "must-have toys," imperative to our fast-moving lives: i-Pods, iPhones, nanos, flat screen TV's, cell phones that take pictures & videos, apps, and more!!! They realized, time is moving incredibly fast and "toys" need updating almost monthly. Slowing down and catching their breath, Peter & Graeme began thinking about timelessness, true happiness, real satisfaction, honesty, and simplicity. They talked about their boyhood, where they had been, what they wanted, and what they needed ....... and realized "all we really wanted was just a good axe- so we got to work."  

Working from small workshop in downtown Manhattan each axe is made to order. The 29" long handles are made of Tennessee Hickory, each is hand-painted, varnished, and polished. The heads are fine-grain steel and are exactly 71/4" deep. One of the most important elements in the design process is naming each axe!!!!  According to "axe artists" Peter & Graeme, "the naming process is crucial: it's where we give the axe the beginning of it's story, albeit a very short story (we purposely do not caption the axes, just give them names) because we know our customers are inventive enough to create the real ongoing story." Finally, the axes are packed into hand-made wooden crates and this "timeless instrument" begins it's "adventure."

I saw the axes originally at Partners & Spade, a well-curated design emporium, and knew I  had to write about them!!!!!!!! They are stunning objects- good design, wonderful colors, & great packaging too. But, definitely the most unusual "accessorations" I have found yet!!! I think they are fabulous ........don't you adore them too!!!!!!

For those of us who grew up in the 60's, the most important "accessoration" on our polo shirt's was the embroidered Lacoste "alligator" ..... it is an iconic logo and the forerunner of penguins, bears, horses, etc, and the giant Ralph Lauren Polo Player!!!!! Lacoste is trying to breath new life into the alligator with the help of world renowned Brazilian designers Fernando & Humberto Campana. The brother's have designed 4 limited-edition shirts that were hand-made at the Coopa-Roca Women's Co-operative in Rochina, Brazil, updating a traditional "accessoration!!!"   

Available at Moss and Moss Online, the 4 shirt styles are ...... women's all-over lace-applique (edition of 12), men's all over lace-applique (edition of 12), men's "alligator pools" (edition of 125), and women's "lianes" or "vines" (edition of 125). The pattern of "alligator pools" on the mens shirts is influenced by the "anavihanas", small fluvial islands in the Amazon; and the women's shirt is influenced by the "vines" that grow in the trees in the tropical rain forests.

I think this "accessoration" project is extremely innovative and it also serves an important purpose ...... it engages the women of the co-op in a project that enables them to improve the quality of their lives and the lives of their families, and it continues the development of the traditional Brazilian hand-craft techniques. Giving back is the most important "accessoration" of all!!!!!