DESIGNCOMMOTION
IF YOU’RE A KATE’S PAPERIE FANATIC LIKE I AM,
YOU’LL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT LILY PULITZER’S STATIONERY AND HOME COLLECTION IS AMONG KATE’S SPRING OFFERINGS. HERE’S A SNEAK PEEK.
The Natural Shaped Wood Console from Marsia Holzer’s 2009 Collection is an example of the designer’s commitment to salvaging huge exotic trees that have fallen in storms. Because nothing is cut, a look of organic simplicity is maintained. A former costume designer, Holzer dressed celebs like Elvis. Thank you, thank you very much!
HAS IT REALLY BEEN 40 YEARS?
Because peace is on everyone’s mind, we’re betting you’ll want to mosey on up to Montreal where Yoko Ono and John Lennon staged their bed-in four decades ago this May 26th. You can stay in the bed-in suite (for $599 a night) and see Yoko’s didactic exhibition opening on April 2.
Who said
Southern Belles
aren’t hip
with
the times?
Betsy
is out
to prove
ya’ll wrong.
KARIM RASHID GETS TOTALLY RAD (AGAIN!)
Curated by Karim Rashid, “Totally Rad,” an exhibition at MAD, showcases the work of visionaries who have transformed functional radiators into titillating design objects. Rashid’s design for Hellos, called Klobs (left), is an example of these radiators that are radically different than their puffing, wheezing predecessors. The show opens on March 4 and runs through May 17.
Tord Boontje’s vision crystalized in the Swarovski Crystal Palace at Maison et Objet in January. Using densely wrapped crystals, a technique he employed with his Ice Branch light fixtures, he created three new furniture designs: Crystal Ice Bench, Crystal Ice Table and Crystal Ice Stool, which give an illusion of floating icicles encased in a striking minimal structure. The eye-catching centerpiece of the exhibition, Cascade (inset), was designed by Vincent van Duysen, who was given the ‘Scénes d’intérieur Designer 2009’ award at the fair. Cascade is an opulent three-meter chandelier with cascading drops of Swarovski crystals, echoing the tempestuous flow of a waterfall.
Our Well-Traveled Aesthete shakes up the time-honored tradition of Shaker design. As he points out, the idea that “form should follow function” is a Shaker precept. Well, um, you certainly wouldn’t want to put the cart before the horse. Read on here.
Gallery Libby Sellers in London presents “Drawn from Clay – Noordoostpolder,” a research and process-led exhibition by Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Rijswijck of the Dutch design studio Atelier NL, who spent months exploring the fields and researching the agricultural particularities of the Noordoostpolder region of central Netherlands.
After 15 years in Paris, French furniture dealer Renaud Vuaillat has opened a New York gallery in Chelsea. Twentyfirst/Twentyfirst, located at 551 West 21 Street, will focus on exquisite limited editions of European design objects and furniture. Opening on March 4, a premier exhibition by Cumulus Studios will be on view through March 31st.
I had the distinct pleasure of attending Casa del Bianco’s “Linens and Lunch” while I was in New York recently. The company’s incredibly knowledgeable owner Fabrizio Biasiolo, was not only articulate about the history and care of Italian luxury linens, he was incredibly charming as well. Click for a primer.
BELGIAN MANUFACTURER ROYAL BOTANIA INTRODUCES SLEEK, MODERN DESIGN TO THE U.S. OUTDOOR MARKET FROM THEIR NEW YORK SHOWROOM AT 394 BROADWAY.