Recently in “Furniture”

Swedish design collective Muungano was started in 1996, and began as "a critical discussion about the meaning, methods and values of design but has broadened through the years to include a commercial stance to design." For the past several years the studio has been focused on projects in or related to Africa and this collection of furniture is a result of these collaborations. The collection, Baufrica, combines the form and function of Bauhaus design with the color and pattern that is found in traditional African design. The furniture is made of waxed ash, and multi-colored lacquered tubular steel. The modular collection is upholstered in neutral grey, strengthening the weight of the bright colors native to Africa. 

It  is no secret that the depth & quality of African color appeals to me!!!!! I think Muungano's ability to use this influence in an innovative and contemporary design context is very exciting ....... the union of "north" and "south" ..... the "cold" country and the "hot" one...... blending  traditional Bauhaus grey with bright "piped" African colors ....... resulting in a harmonic use of color as an accent, but one which does not trivialize or minimize it's presence!!!!!! They have used color as an excellent "accessoration!!!!!"

The "Vanity" magazine table is designed by Dutch product designer Roderick Vos for Linteloo.  Each table is based on a system of nine compartments, each holding one magazine, the sizes are based upon the most common magazine dimensions. Included with the table is a wooden panel for one space, that can be used to place a coffee cup, a vase of flowers, or nothing!!! Beneath the table top three boxes are created, each can hold additional volumes of the magazines. Vos created two designs for this sleek table, one square and one rectangular, both having a matte black coated steel frame ...... taking a "problem" and creating a stunning "solution" is his design formula!!!!

Vos's message to his clients is simple ...... "I don't want to be constantly entertained, or entertain others. I want to make you happy with beautiful useful pieces. Objects that exude aesthetic pleasure. Strong shapes that feel beautiful, good and true. Such sensations are nothing to be ashamed of."

The "Vanity" table is perfect for "the accessorator," ....... I am a magazine junkie, who lives in a constant state of magazine mess ...... piles covering every surface, including the floor!!!!

N.Y. Magazine art critic, Jerry Saltz's review of the 2010 Whitney Biennial describes Portland-based artist Jessica Jackson Hutchins' piece "Couch for a Long Time," (top image), as "one of the best pieces here."  The sculpture, a "lumpy" sofa collaged with newspaper clippings about President Obama, cradles a series of "gnarly" ceramic objects. According to Saltz, "All the images together with the cracked pottery evoke intense pressure- the pressure that he, we, art and America are under."  In addition, Hutchins received kudo's from Holland Cotter in Friday's NY Times Whitney review, as well as being included in the Sunday NY Times T- Style section piece about "Whitney women" and ....... the Biennial has only been opened for five days!!!!! 

And if being included in the Biennial wasn't enough for last week .......... Jessica opened two simultaneous solo shows in New York City ...... at the Derek Eller Gallery in Chelsea and at Small A Projects on the Lower East Side!!!!! Her new work is still extremely intimate, very narrative, and a sublime blend of her favored materials ...... glazed ceramics, textiles, papier-måché, collage, and furniture!!!! The pieces are personal, adapting accessible and familiar ideas, sometimes including bits & pieces from her family. Both exhibitions feature a variety of works on paper, as well as a stunning selection sculpture. 

Furniture, either found or from her own home, is a major element in Jessica's work. In a number of pieces the furniture becomes the base for a combination of collaged elements that create "figures" holding ceramic vessels. In several pieces ...... including "Recliner,"  a recliner covered in papier-måché, collaged in color photographs and magazine images or "Leaning Figure," another similar work that has been collaged in a combination of paper, fabric, and paint ...... the furniture becomes an invisible armature. The piece "Kitchen Table Allegory" is the actual dinning room table from Jessica's home. It has been gouged and cut, is covered with colored ink residue, and has been pulled apart, as if waiting for a leaf ...... instead a ceramic vessel sits in it's center. Prior to being a "complete" art work, the table was gouged to create the "plate" for a series of collaged mono-prints that appear in both shows. The piece "Couple," a worn loveseat with two papier-måché, spray painted mounds and a ceramic vessel nestled between them, is another narrative work that intrigues the viewer and allows numerous interpretations. In addition, there are several anthropomorphic ceramic pieces that are monuments to human fragility, "Infinite Break" a reference to Tiger Woods, and "Disgraced Skater," a slumping athlete. 

These over-the-top, "fastastical creatures" .......... designed by Marcel Wanders for Bisazza (see blog 2/12/09), are a limited edition collection of tables or pouf-tavolino (ottoman). I dream about living in an all white linen beach house, "accessorated" with one of these stunning glass mosaic objects ...... a wonderful collection of books ....... and fabulous contemporary art!!!!!!!!!   That's my idea of heaven!!!!!

Catalonian Marti Guixé, living between Barcelona and Berlin, calls himself an "ex-designer." He is extremely outspoken in his "disregard" of design and works hard at pushing boundaries between design, art, and performance. Firmly ensconced in the contemporary movement, often using cheap or disposable materials, looking forward rather than backward, and forfeiting traditionalism ...... results in his more playful, less commercial, approach to design. An important example of his work is this installation, "Respect Cheap Furniture,"  an edition of 50 hand painted plastic Monoblock chair that are painted with the name of the edition. This well-known, inexpensive chair, universally accepted for it's good design, is an important addition to his series "stop discrimination of cheap furniture" begun in 2004.

I think that these chairs, part of an exhibition last fall in Berlin, are a wonderful reference to my view of our current design climate ..... nothing has value and everything is valuable!!!! Seems like an "accessorator's" dream ...... or is it a nightmare???????

Vanessa Stramboni has an "accessorator's" sensability .....  that I adore!! She mixes eccentric French vintage, with African ethnic; blending bijoux (jewelry, in our lingo!), textiles, furniture, lighting, and fantastic objects to create her store's eclectic feeling. I adored the set of four black & white, French 60's chairs, whose seats are re-upholstered in a black, white, & grey wool check fabric .... very reminiscent of Chanel!!!! The collection of black and white African masques, that have a slight hint of red, are exceptional "accessorations" ...... and of course, I love, love, love the African stool that still has touches of it's original bright colored paint!!!!! 

Norwegian furniture designer Amy Hunting (currently living in London) has come up with this fantastic bookshelf!!! To create this innovative and exciting design, Amy has used blocks of over 20 types of wood, found in a London timber importers waste bin and cotton rope. Reclaiming these simple materials has had stunning results!!!

According to Amy, "The dogma behind this product is probably quite obvious: what can you do with blocks of wood and cotton rope? Using a knot traditionally used for sailing and fishing you can pull the strings and the shelf will disassemble. It can easily be put together again." 

Every "accessorator" is fascinated with bookshelves ...... the most fabulous place to accessorate ...... and this design is so clever and chic ...... and ecologically appropriate!!!!!!!

Amy Hunting's website 

These wonderful "new-vintage" pieces of furniture are from Blue Ocean Traders in Louisville, Kentucky. Combing reproduction antique frames with vintage linen grain sacks, from Eastern Europe, gives each piece a unique history with a modern twist. Historically, the sacks were one-off patterns; woven into the linen was either the farmer's name, initials, a specific stripe, or linen pattern. The purpose of these markings was to identify each farm, so that the sacks got returned to the correct farmer after they had been emptied. In their travels, Blue Ocean's designers put together a collection of these sacks, creating this selection of vintage-inspired furniture, each with bespoke upholstery.

This is my PERFECT find from the NY Gift Show .......... child size chairs by the design icons of the 20th Century!!!!!! Imagine a baby 1956 Eames lounge, a tot's 1958 Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen, or Mies Van Der Rohe's 1927 Barcelona chair in mini ........... and that's just the beginning!!!!!!! This collection is available from the Australian company, Little Nest. The brainchild of Samantha Firestone, it is now distributed in the U.S. by Los Angeles representative Karen Alweil Studio.  

These designer's are the best of this century, the most influential and exceptionall!!!!! But, the idea of creating these iconic designs in miniature is over-the -top ...... a giant WOW!!!

"Plastic Classic," designed by Taiwanese industrial design student Pili Wu, combines the expensive, traditional classic design of Chinese furniture with a typical cheap, anonymous Taiwanese stool. Redefining the traditional loop chair ..... simple. elegant, and expensive,design .... into an object that is in combination with mass-produced product results in a "split personality!!"

"The Plastic Classic project began as a focus on the transformation of Taiwanese culture, hoping to represent what i thought and felt living in Taiwan. In Taiwan, plastic stools are very popular, seen on street, alleys, and by street food stalls or ban dou (traditional Taiwanese outdoor banquet, seen at weddings or celebrations). Taiwan used to be a plastic production kingdom, plastic chairs and stools have been present fot a very long time, yet interestingly nobody knows about the designer or inventor of plastic stools, but it's cheap price, simple structure and fast production has enabled its popularity, so popular that it has turned into a "classic" design that nobody has ever really noticed. Similarly, loop chair is another classic of traditional Chinese furniture, its elegant and reliable structure represents a certain social status and position." Pili Wu

I think this chair, the ultimate meaning of low-brow meeting hi-brow, is divine and would be wonderful in New York, as well as Taiwan!!!!!!!!!!

I have always adored the unique pieces of furniture from the Lebanese furniture company Bokja, the brainchild of Huda Baroudi and Marie Hibri. I first heard of the collection from a Lebanese friend who was renovating her apartment. Her architect sister, who had designed the space, took her to meet these two wonderful woman and see their furniture. The result, an immediate match was made and a stunning vintage chaise, covered in a patchwork of antique suzani textiles was sent to New York. I must admit I was very jealous when I saw it ...... it is sooooooo me!!!!!I 

Since then, I have been following the company with a passion!!! I have seen the collection in New York City at ABC Carpet & Home; in Miami, in 2008 at Design Miami; in Milan at Spazio Rossana Orlandi; last fall in Paris at Merci; and in London at Gallery Fumi. Finally, last month I was in the new Bokja store in Beirut and met Hoda!!!! She was charming and of course, as is the case in Beirut, we had friends in common...... but, most importantly, she remembered the chaise that had come to NYC!!!!! We chatted, I learned more about the company, and fell in love with a number of pieces in the store!!! 

Bokja is not the new kid on the block ........ Hoda and Marie's partnership began in 2000, when textile collector Huda, put a piece of Uzbek tapestry over one of Marie's antique chairs, to get a better look at it ..... and a collaboration was born!!! The charming, eclectic furniture combines extraordinary textiles from all over the middle east, a melange of color, patten, and often needlework, with antique furniture from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.  Each bespoke piece of furniture tells a different story and the narrative results in a name and "passport" specific to the piece. 

Opened in Soho, in October, this stunning hotel was brought to life by world renowned, British hotelier's, Tim & Kit Kemp, owners of the UK's luxurious Firmdale Hotels. The duo's unique philosophy, "hotels should be living things, not stuffy institutions," is the basis of their "specialty" hotel business. While incorporating this concept in all of their hotels, this is clearly the design dictum leading their first U.S. venture. Co-owner Kit, known for her "quirky, colorful, London style,"  designed the hotel's interiors. She uses an innovative mix of color, pattern, and texture; adding a unique blend of antique, classical, and modern furniture and accessories. A modern mix of organic materials and shapes, as well a variety of foliage and flowers, also complements the hotel's aesthetic. In addition, Kit has put together an extraordinary collection of original contemporary art, that is featured throughout the hotel. Designed to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly, the hotel is aiming to get gold LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, as well.

There are a number of innovative and interesting design elements throughout the space ..... the first one that appears is the hotel's sign. Seen from the outside of the building, through leaded glass windows, the word CROSBY is composed of individually framed collages, reminiscent of Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick, each including a different letter. The word STREET is a combination of vintage and new "found" letters, a la artist Jack Pierson. The visual is spectacular ....... but, unfortunately, there is an Italian shelving unit sitting inside the window that is a bit distracting ....... this is easily remedied and is my only complaint in this otherwise perfect place!!!!!

The public spaces in the hotel are fabulous!!!!! The lobby seating area includes a wonderful vintage wood frame settee covered in soft French linen, and two vitrines filled with shells, that became instant coffee tables!!!! Two "rag -rug stripe" slipper chairs finish the set up...... and in the distance are two wing chairs covered in souzani patterns!!! On the other side of the lobby is a stunning organic wooden garden bench, covered in greenery; a stone dog reclining on it, under an enormous mirror, is lit by a giant theatrical standing floodlight ...... beyond chic!!!! In addition, there is spectacular art in the lobby, including a giant 10' head made out of white letters, three divine dogs covered in comic strips, and a wonderful framed collage of a dachshund!!! YUMMY!!!!!

The Crosby Bar, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tea, has incredible eye candy; a magical blend of pattern, print, and color!!!! In addition, hanging from the ceiling are the most spectacular light fixtures in New York City!!!!! Another wall fixture is created by telephones mounted to the wall that are lit .......... so incredible!!! Vintage tables have zinc or aluminum tops ..... chairs and throw pillows are upholstered in incredible Maharam woolen collaged textiles, designed by Hella Jongerius ....... and the banquets are covered in amazing stripes!!!! The bar has a trio of colored lucite lamps that make my heart pound!!!! I thought I had landed in "accessorator heaven"!!!!!

These divine aluminum folding chairs are going to be previewed at Maison et Object in Paris, January 22 to 26. And of course, this "color queen" is dying to see them immediately !!!! Created by the trendy Italian accessory company Seletti, the chairs have padded seats in six pantone colors. The colors include; 672C pastel pink, 186 C ruby red, 377 C macaw green, 14-0848 mimosa, 268 C royal purple, and cool grey. Love the labels too!!!!!

Of course these are fabulous "accessorating" colors and if you miss them in Paris you can see them next month at the New York Gift Show!!!!