Recently in “Odd Stuff”

Monopoly, my favorite board game "accessoration" is having it's 75th birthday!!!! In honor of the occasion Hasbro has created a, soon to be available, birthday edition named Revolution. Forgoing it's traditional square board for a new round one, using credit cards instead of paper money for digital banking, and changing the names of the familiar color coded properties.... according to Hasbro the game is still the same!!!! 

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!!!!!

French company Frederique Morrel, the brainchild of husband and wife team Frederique Morrel and Aaron Levin, has moved from covering poufs, footstools, pillows, furniture, and lamps in vintage needlework ......  to these updated taxidermy "deer creatures." This past week at Maison et Object, in Paris, the company presented "The Slice of Life" collection. The unique, handmade creatures are created from polyurethane taxidermy molds, re-enforced with steel rods and covered in re-cycled vintage tapestry. Each piece, whether a full-sized animal or a trophy head, is then completed by the addition of real antlers, horns, hoofs, or fur pieces. Frederique's concept is "to "decycle" (put into a new life-cycle) unj-justly un-recognized, anonymous and devalued pop artifacts." 

According to Frederique and Aaron, "Our products have been carefully re-made using vintage needlework saved from oblivion in the interest of the redemption of the painstaking work involved in their original creation. When wondering around markets or garage sales we're often very saddened to see discarded embroidery. We think about the love, time, craftsmanship, and patience that went into creating such beautiful things and find it so sad that they end up unwanted and for sale for a few dollars."

I think these quirky and clever "artifacts" are divine and decadent ......... imagine one "accessorating" your great room ...... or a whole heard of trophies "accessorating" a wall!!!!!

That's a WOW!!!!!

This collection, of 15 conceptual birdhouses, is by Spanish industrial designer Roger Arquer. The project, Birdland, created in his London studio, continues Roger's exploration of "variations." Beginning with an iconic object, in this case a birdhouse, he redesigns the object to satisfy a variety of factors, not thought about in its original design. In this case the factors include weather, hierarchy, geometry, and the number of the bird family-members!!! Although he has individualized each "house", he relates them together to create a "family." Currently,  the birdhouses are exhibited in Tokyo, at the Spanish Embassy, in an exhibition titled "I'm In Love."

Fishbowl, a project in which Roger created 15 variations of the classic fishbowl, is also part of his design exploration. He gave the fish human characteristics and then solved problems that "human" fish might have living in the classic bowl. The variations are clever and funny ....... including "Under Candelight" about floating on water for a romantic evening; "Private Matters" about privacy for the fish; and "Above Water" about sharing the water between the fish bowl and a plant.

I think that the thought, wit, and charm infused into Roger's work is magical and would love to have a Birdhouse and a Fishbowl ......... or even one of his three MouseTraps (yep, there are even mousetraps!!) in my collection!!!!

Artist Gabriel Dishaw recycles old circuit boards, copper wires, and a variety of "useless, old junk" to create his favorite classic sneaker silhouettes in his newest series of Junk Art. The collection is called "Pentium" after Intel's chips.

"Using found objects from typewriters, adding machines and old computers, I take the items people no longer have use for and I carefully disassemble these items and then reassemble these together using metal wire creating my Junk Art.I begin each sculpture with an idea of how I can take these found pieces of useless metal and insignificant objects and create something that everyone can understand and relate to." Gabriel Dishaw

These wild and wacky "sneakers"  are perfect for the man who really has everything ..... and truly needs nothing!!!!

This incredible, unique and inspired site specific installation was created by Texas Collective OKAY MOUNTAIN and was commissioned by Arthouse. "Arthouse at the Jones Center is a non-profit, non-collecting, contemporary art space located in downtown Austin, Texas, whose mission is to create meaningful opportunities to investigate and experience the art of our time through exhibitions, programs, and commissions of new work." 

The best description of the piece is by the artists who created it ........"Mixing absurdist humor with a fascination, with consumer culture, the Austin-based collective OKAY MOUNTAIN presents CORNER STORE, a fully immersive micro-convenience store that serves as a tongue-in-cheek critique of the art fair environment. Based on the eclectic and quirky independently-owed convenience marts found throughout Texas and the greater southwest region, the store offers fairgoers a variety of handmade products at "convenient" prices, thereby providing a memorable rest stop on the hours-long journey of the art fair trail."

Everything in the "mart" is a work of art, fabricated by the 11 artists living in Austin, Boston, and Chicago, that make up the collective. From the magazines that are for sale......the coffee machine, the frankfurter case, the pickle dispenser, and the ice machine......the cash register....as well as all the bags of chips & cookies, candy bars, and packs of cigarettes....and the various cans of food, boxes of detergent, and condom packages......the "building" and everything inside was created by the artists and is for sale!!! Creating the store and its contents to scale in Texas, trucking it to Florida, and then re-installing it in Miami in two days, was a monumental task!!!!

I think that my absolute favorite pieces are ........ the "stuffed" ash tray in front of the store .... the telephone outside  ...... the door with the lost dog poster ....... and the printed newspaper insert advertising all of the contents of the store!!!!  BUT, most of all, I wish I could bring the whole thing back to NYC ....... and install it in my backyard and invite everyone to do their Christmas shopping at the ultimate "pop-up" store ...... Arthouse's Corner Store!!!! 

                                        MARK DION- CROQUET SET

                                    ANDREW MILLER- BIRDHOUSE

                           GEORG BASELITZ- EAGLE SCARECROW

                                    ADAM McEWEN- HARE SWING

                                        cast urethane, lacquer, rope

                                       LEO VILLAREAL- BUCKYBALL

Here are several pieces from Cumulus Studio's second collection of limited edition "functional outdoor objects."  Nathalie Karg has once again worked with a collection of innovative and exiting contemporary artists, creating a second collection of unique outdoor pieces. (See Aug. 26, 2009 post for first collection)

How divine would it be to cook on Nathan Mabry's "drum barbeque" ......  or play croquet using Mark Dion's "coffin croquet set!!!"  And of course, the birds in my backyard would be thrilled to live in Andrew Miller's "bird condominium," although they would  certainly be scared of Georg Baselitz's "eagle scarecrow!!!!"

There is no one who loves to "accessorate" more than I do ....... and being able to add my garden to the list of places I can "prop" excites me beyond belief!!!!! And there are even more outdoor pieces on Nathalie's website to fill the whole yard!!!

Workshop Workshop, a factory and salon created by artist Jim Drain, poet P. Scott Cunningham and sculptor Graham Hudson, produces zines that respond to Design Miami/ itself - it's participants, objects, conversations, histories, narratives, belief-systems and forms. Even the detritus of the tent's construction has been put to use by Hudson, who is  in the act of constructing the space using remnant lumber, rubber, plastic and furniture - anything the fair and the city (the larger fair) has cast off.

The above text is transcribed directly from the written description of this project at Design Miami. It was amazing to walk around this space, talk to the various "creators" involved and watch the daily creation of the zine. The space was divine in its unique chaos and the results were spectacular pieces of "art.".  This "accessorator" was transfixed and impressed by the entire process!!!! 

"Droog will present its first house at Design Miami. Commissioned by Amsterdam housing association Ymere and designed by Tokyo-based Atelier Bow Wow, an understated façade conceals an extraordinary interior furnished with Droog products. Imagined for a single, a contemporary family or as a VIP guesthouse, the one-of-a-kind layout is essentially a seamless flow of spaces, each with its own functionality merging with circulation space. Private rooms such as the master and optional guest bed, the bath, the balcony and a sound-proof refuse are amply separated by shared space, creating a unique combination of contact and independence, spaciousness and intimacy.

Irish artist, Orla O'Brien created this collection of magical, unique "lassies" by combining wire, wool, clay, vintage paper, pain, hair, and a variety of textiles. She hand dyed, molded, coiled, hand embroidered, distressed, and manipulated various materials to create different personality for each of her "friends." Their papier mache faces express their individuality, while the stance of their string wrapped bodies and limbs show their strength and gumption!!! In addition, each doll is accompanied by their own "passport," ..... listing their name, nationality, and date of birth .... making them ready for a quick jaunt around the world.....starting at Mint, Lina Kanafani's fantastic store in London, where they were found!!! 

"In creating my own collection of dolls, I have attempted to recapture my magical childlike state of mind. From my treasured memories I have crafted tangible figures which tell the viewer a story about the written past and my present self. Each doll was designed by establishing the characters of unique and individual people involved in my world. In developing the doll characters I focused on giving each figure a personality while reinforcing an identity by creating a passport for each doll." Orla O'Brien

I am enamored by Orla's natural instinct for creating art from reclaimed "bits and pieces." The dolls are reminiscent of the simplicity of another era. Their good "vibrations" are wonderful "accessorations" for all of us!!!!!!

    

My friend, NY Times writer Penelope Green,  wrote an article several months ago about the latest design trend .... The New Antiquarians. Revolving around a revival of interest in anti-modern or fantasy vintage furniture and accessories  ..... or as Penelope says "the accouterments of the turn-of-the-19th-century leisure class," a number of 20-&-30-somethings are creating spaces that are designed to resemble parlors of the Edwardian Era. Over-stuffed rooms are often filled with ancestor portraits; antlers from a variety of species; taxidermy animals and birds; medical cabinets filled with potions, petrified bone, skulls, and other small trinkets; old tufted leather seating; candlesticks and candelabras; and a variety of other ephemera of that age ...... all in all, a look worth thinking about!!!!

One night last week, I was in a taxi going down Chrystie Street, and as I was passing Sammy's Roumanian Restaurant (thinking of chicken fat & my old friend Bernie Ozer), I noticed an unusual and intriguing store next door!!! I went back several days later and learned that it was owned by Ryan Matthew, one of "The New Antiquarians" that Penelope had written about!!! Ryan, a silversmith, is transfixed by this "new vintage" and his  apartment in Brooklyn is accessorized with "mummified hunting dogs, wax figures and Black Forest taxidermy"!!!  Several weeks ago, he opened Against Nature on Chrystie Street, as an "homage" to this new visual.  The men's store is stocked with tailored and be-spoke suits by Doyle Mueser, custom denim by Simon Jacobs and a selection of jewelry and leather accessories by Ryan. I find the interior design of the store and its "fantastical" antique furniture and accessories fabulous!!! The furniture includes vintage cabinets, a divine blood-red tufted leather sofa, turn-legged tables, and antique showcases. The accessories are true "period," including mummified skulls under glass, a pair of taxidermy albino peacocks, vintage leather bound books, silver candelabras. The concept, from store design to clothing, is a feast for the eye, it appears to have been on Chrystie Street since the 19th Century!!!!!

Against Nature is an "inspirational must see"!!!!! Whoever says there is "nothing new under the sun" hasn't taken a trip to Chrystie Street ....... everything old looks new here!!!!

This is probably the most innovative and creative "bookcase" design I have ever seen!!! Walking along Orchard Street Friday, I crossed the street to look at this trendy "lifestyle" store Reed Space. It was filled with "cool" clothing that was wonderful, but .......  all I could see were these fabulous "bookcase" of baby desk chairs!!!! Hanging next to each other on simple hooks, these chairs make the most stunning wall sculpture ...... such a simple idea ..... reclaiming kids desk chairs in a functional way!!!!!! Sooooooo green!!!!