style court

Lost in Lace

2012-01-27T14:30:00.164-05:00

[Clockwise from the top left: Francis Ford Coppola's Palazzo Margherita photographed by James Merrell for WSJ Magazine; screengrab from the High Museum of Art's Crocheted Chair video; Annie Bascoul installation for Lost in Lace.]

[Photo my own.]

It's follow up day. Many of you have probably heard that Marcel Wanders's epoxy Crochet Chair did receive enough votes at last week's Collector's Evening to become part of the High's permanent collection. I can't wait to really study all of its details up close and in person.

And Wanders isn't the only one fascinated with threads. Centuries-old lace, crochet and macrame continue to inspire a range of contemporary artists. Currently on view (but not for much longer) at Gas Hall at Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery (in the UK) is Lost in Lace. Much like the spirit of Wanders's chair, the objective of the exhibition is to challenge conventional notions of lace, or more specifically, what lace can be. For the show, 20 international artists, including Annie Bascoul, have installed mainly large-scale works. There's a lace app, which you can see I've been playing around with, and a concurrent textile exhibition: Lost in Lace: Concealed and Revealed. This show encompasses portraits, clothes, accessories, tools and archival material from the 16th to the 20th centuries, and even sheds light on some of the darker stories behind lace.

[Again, Palazzo Margherita photographed by James Merrell for WSJ Magazine.]

No darkness in Rita Konig's terrific story about Francis Ford Coppola's Jacques Grange-designed Palazzo Margherita. One bedroom is making me eat my words about lace -- or anything lace-like -- at windows. The interpretation above is just magical and of course reminds me of a certain scene in an old Italian movie. See much more over at WSJ.

[Screengrab from Magnolia Pictures' I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton.]

Loosely related past post: Swinton and Delaunay.

Birding

2012-01-25T16:54:00.003-05:00

[John Robshaw bird cards]

Loads of spring 2012 goodies are beginning to appear over at John Robshaw; among my favorites are his colorful screen-printed bird cards.

Naturally I'm drawn to the patterns lining the envelopes, but I also like the idea of hanging onto one of the cards, instead of mailing it, and tucking it into a mirror's corner or a frame -- my own stand-in for a Catesby.

[Screengrab from Vimeo]

You may recall some of the buzz surrounding the 2008 documentary about 18th-century naturalist and artist, Mark Catesby. This year marks the 300th anniversary of his journey from England to America. If you're interested in related talks, special events and exhibitions, visit the Catesby Commemorative Trust. Also, the University of Virginia offers an electronic version of Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands here. And BTW, in 2009, the University of South Carolina received a rare leather-bound first edition of this work. More bird love here.

Feminine, Not Girly

2012-01-24T17:32:00.002-05:00

[Photos one and two my own. Leftover paperwhites stand-in until I can get my hands on some white oleander like Deborah Needleman's.]

Feminine, not girly. I put the phrase out there a few years ago. Maybe I was hoping it would catch on like pearl clutching or maybe I meant to keep up a regular blog feature centered around the words.

[All photos on my scrapbook page, above, are by Ngoc Minh Ngo from Garden Design's November-December 2011 piece about Deborah Needleman's dream-worthy surrounds.]

Regardless, in my head, I still use the phrase all the time. For me, this book cover (Erica Tanov's bedroom in detail with flowers by Nicolette Owen of Brooklyn’s Little Flower School shot by the amazing Ngoc Minh Ngo) embodies it. The look is unabashedly feminine but not at all twee. And it's an end result I aspire to. More and more I find myself editing -- changing the back of a bookcase from yellow to the darkest ebony, questioning whether or not I've got enough aged, battered stuff to balance out the pretty, and donating or re-imagining things I've outgrown.

Apart from the book, today's ultimate example of feminine, not girly is Deborah Needleman's garden. Her country place has popped up in conversation here before but not as seen through Ngoc Minh Ngo's eyes for Garden Design, November-December 2011. With so many garden shows opening across the U.S. in February and March, it's a nice time to revisit Cynthia King's Needleman interview, too. Check it out here.

[Photo by Thuss + Farrell from Matthew Robbins' Inspired Weddings, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012.]

Britain's Got Talent

2012-01-23T21:48:00.002-05:00

[Clockwise from the top left: V&A Pattern: Liberty & Co. by archivist Anna Buruma; Antelope Chair by Ernest Race; Pleasure Gardens print by Hans Tisdall; and Patrick Rylands re-issued 1970s bath toys. All images from the V & A.]

The fab Dowager Countess was taken aback by a swivel chair and an electrified chandelier but her great-grandchildren and their kids will see more transformative changes in Post-WWII Britain.

This other era of radical development is explored by the V & A in the soon-to-open British Design: 1948-2012. For the show, curators have pulled together more than 300 design objects representing British innovation at its strongest-- modernity often tempered by respect for the past, notes the museum. Exhibition visitors will see ceramics, furniture, glass, textiles, fashion, fine art, graphic design, photography, and, if I'm not mistaken, a never-before displayed Jaguar.

One of the stand-outs among the gift shop offerings is expected to be the re-issue of Ernest Race's graceful bent steel Antelope Chair with a moulded plywood seat in 'Festival of Britain' yellow. (This piece was originally commissioned to be used on the terraces outside the newly built Royal Festival Hall at the 1951 event; yellow was an official Festival color, so Race went with the sunny shade.) He came to work with steel because, at the end of WWII, he was given a brief to create durable, affordable furniture with non-rationed materials (no wood). The Antelope, with its delicately slatted back often compared to a Windsor chair and those Big Bang Theory molecular-looking ball feet, typifies Race's melding of Modern and Trad.

In 1970, Patrick Rylands's fish and bird bath toys won the Duke of Edinburgh's Design Award. His background in ceramics shines through in their sculptural, pick-me-up form. (A bit Eva Zeisel, no?) These have been re-issued too. The Liberty fabric book, pictured above, we discussed earlier, and Hans Tisdall's graphic design is highlighted here.

Related past post: Camera Happy: The V & A's photography exhibition, Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton.

Collecting Books

2012-01-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

[Photography by James Fennell from The Irish Country House courtesy Vendome Press 2010.]

I've always found James Fennell's photo of disheveled books at Huntington Castle beautiful but I'm guessing Isabelle de Conihout, Curator of Rare Books at the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris and a specialist in bookbinding history and book collecting, would tell us this arrangement is kind of rough on the volume's softly colored spines.

She'll be in New York tomorrow night, January 24, at The Bard Graduate Center for a talk: Cardinal Mazarin: A Great Collector of Art and Books in Seventeenth-Century France. In addition to his serious passion for art, Mazarin had a thirst for books. His personal library was ultimately opened to the public, overseen by librarian/scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-1653), and grew to become the Bibliothèque Mazarine. Details on the 6 p.m. lecture here.

Coupling

2012-01-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

[Screengrab from Julie Taymor's Frida, 2002. The O'Gorman house pictured in the background.]

Did you notice the little nod to Frida Kahlo in my Wandering post? She's been crossing my path a lot lately. In Some of My Lives: A Scrapbook Memoir, Rosamond Bernier writes of her adventurous visit to the daring Juan O'Gorman-designed early-1930s San Angel house shared by Kahlo and Diego Rivera (connected by a bridge, the blue cube was Rivera's and the dark pink belonged to Kahlo). More recently, stylist Sibella Court channeled Kahlo's colorful aesthetic for a lush chapter in Nomad, and the traveling exhibition Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray opens at the Tuscon Museum of Art on January 28. (BTW, there's a beautiful online overview of Muray's iconic, painterly images over at the George Eastman House.)

[Nickolas Muray, Frida with Nick in her Studio, Coyoacán, 1941. Via Tuscon Museum of Art.]

Also opening January 28, the TMA's concurrent show, Frida's Style: Traditional Women's Costumes from Mexico. In Atlanta, another Frida-related exhibition is in the works: Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting is scheduled to open at the High roughly a year from now, February 16, 2013. Over 75 of the couple's strongest works will be included.

Kahlo did her share of self-portraits -- and is definitely known for smaller paintings as well as her distinctive eyes -- but I've never seen her trademark feature captured in miniature. Hand-painted eye miniatures, aka lover’s eyes, were in vogue in Europe more than a century before she was born. While London would likely be home to the world's largest collection of these pieces, today it's Birmingham, Alabama. Over the past two decades, Dr. and Mrs. David A. Skier of Birmingham (Nan and husband David, an eye doctor) have acquired 96 mysterious tiny works which will go on view at the BMA February 7. I've been so focused on the ceramics that I neglected to mention The Look of Love. Emma Mustich explores the show over at Salon.

Fanning Out

2012-01-20T16:11:00.196-05:00

[Click to enlarge. Narcissus and Orchid, 1920 (on folding paper fan mounted as an album leaf) by Chen Hengke (Chinese, 1876–1923) ink and color on alum paper. Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, in memory of La Ferne Hatfield Ellsworth, 1986. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.]

I was trying to research the flowers in Downton Abbey.

[Screengrab from Downton Abbey, season one, episode five.]

But then, revisiting some things in Lady Sybil's room, I became distracted.

[More screengrabs from Downton Abbey, season one, episode five.]

I know, I know. A lot has already been said about the show's sets and Highclere Castle where much of Downton Abbey is filmed. Early on, Patricia Shackelford, aka Mrs. Blandings, did a terrific interview with DA's production designer, Donal Woods. Still, I haven't tired of the luminous mix on Sybil's mantel. I love how the arrangement is thrown off a bit by the books stacked at the edge (very Sybil) and I like the added layer of the fan. In fact, needing a Friday Piece with ties to orchids and the 1920s, I decided it would be another fan.

Shown at top is 20th century Chinese painter Chen Hengke's work on folded paper, Narcissus and Orchid. Surf over to The Met to get a detailed look at his wonderful brushwork. Part of post-Qing China, the artist studied abroad in Europe and Japan, and then adapted traditional Chinese styles for a new era (more on this over at Princeton's Asian Art Collection). Other examples of Chen Hengke's orchids can be found at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

[Image via the Atlanta Botanical Garden.]

And the live variety will be on view in what promises to be a show-stopping display of hanging gardens created for Orchid Daze's tenth anniversary at the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Fuqua Orchid Center, February 4 through April 15.

Year of the Dragon

2012-01-20T11:01:00.001-05:00

[Detail view, Jar, 15th–16th century Vietnam, Le dynasty (1428–1788) Glazed stoneware. Birmingham Museum of Art Collection. Purchased with funds provided by the Estate of Mr William M. Spencer III.]

Not much longer to wait: the oft-mentioned Dragons and Lotus Blossoms, the landmark Vietnamese ceramics show, opens Sunday, January 22 at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Shown above is one of the buzzed about pieces, the BMA's intricately decorated Le Dynasty glazed stoneware jar singled out by Apollo as the Ninth Most Important Acquisition Worldwide in 2011. (You can spy a few other objects from the show in past posts here and here.)

To celebrate the exhibition opening, there will be a free Sunday afternoon talk with Vietnamese ceramics authority, John Stevenson, followed by a reception. Details here.

Now and Then

2012-01-18T12:04:00.001-05:00

[Recent edition. Photo my own.]

One of the strengths of An Object of Beauty is the way, without ever becoming pedantic, author Steve Martin skillfully weaves a little art history 101 throughout his entertaining fiction. He incorporates a significant array of artists too, from the giants to the lesser known, even putting American illustrator Maxfield Parrish into a key plot twist.

[First edition. Image via E. Wharton & Co.]

As mentioned in a couple of past posts, Parrish -- most fashionable and famous in the 1920s -- did the illustrations for Edith Wharton's Italian Villas and Their Gardens; in the end she thought his interpretation was too disconnected from her text. The original early-20th-century binding was done by Decorative Designers -- a Parrish-inspired design with gold, green, blue, brown, and white on ungrained dark green cloth. When The Mount Press and Rizzoli published a facsimile just a few years ago, the binding under the new dust jacket featured the same stamping but only in gold on green -- no other colors.

In 2008, The Athenæum of Philadelphia had an exhibition of book designs by Margaret Armstrong and the prolific Decorative Designers firm encompassing late-19th-century styles through to midcentury-modern. Art Bound can still be explored online.

[Image from Art Bound.]

Margaret Armstrong designed the binding of Wharton's In Morocco published by Scribners in 1920. (There's more info about the DD firm over at The University of Alabama.) And BTW, currently on view at The Athenæum is The Decorated Book: Continuing A Tradition, a look at contemporary book arts.

Library Thing: More Wharton

2012-01-17T01:00:00.007-05:00

[Edith Wharton's library at The Mount. Photo by John Bessler from Edith Wharton: A House Full of Rooms: Architecture, Interiors, Gardens by Theresa Craig.]

[First edition 1924 book cover from Wharton's Old New York series

with artwork by Edward C. Caswell.]

I don't think I've ever organized my books according to conventional logic -- like by obvious category. For me, it's always been accessibility first (most referenced books within easy reach), then size (ginormous tomes squeezed in wherever I can find room, etc.) and then aesthetics (playing with alternating horizontal and vertical groupings to accommodate other fave things -- boxes, ceramics, pictures and so on). But this week I'm taking inventory. To prep for a furniture rearrange, a lot of my books have to come down off the shelves (and benches, and stools, and chairs), so I'm taking the opportunity to reorganize them a bit. The new plan won't be coherent enough to please a librarian but at least Matisse and Picasso will be hanging out together.

[Wharton library again. Image via The Mount.]

In the past we've gone over contemporary bookshelf aesthetics -- everything from the heavily styled to the more chaotic ready-for-The-World-of-Interiors-shoot look. This time, I thought it would be interesting to revisit Edith Wharton's libraries.

[Lilly Library, Indiana University archive photos of Wharton's St. Claire terrace and library from Edith Wharton: A House Full of Rooms by Theresa Craig.]

Because, in the 21st century, we've all seen some oddly designer-fied shelves (books with spines so obscured that actually reading them seems prohibited), a lot of people are starting to recoil when decoration and books are mentioned in the same breath. But Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer and design revolutionary Wharton apparently enjoyed reading and looking at her sea of books.

[Screengrab from Bob Vila's 2002 tour of The Mount.]

In The Decoration of Houses she advocates rooms lined with built-in bookcases as the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing approach; this way books are very accessible and do double duty as part of the decor. Of course, she was working with gorgeously bound volumes -- often sets of them, in fact. Accidental color-blocking, if you will. To really emphasize the visual appeal, she advised keeping other decorative elements in a library restrained. There's a nice clear of view of The Mount's library in 2002 -- when Henrietta Spencer-Churchill was asked to do a special installation -- in this video. Since it was filmed, Wharton's own books have returned to the house.

[More Lilly Library, Indiana University archive photos of St. Claire from Edith Wharton: A House Full of Rooms. Pictured below, Wharton with her housekeeper Catharine Gross circa 1920s.]

During WWI, Wharton lived in France and became immersed in relief work on behalf of injured soldiers and orphans. For these volunteer efforts she received the title of Chevalier (knight) of the French Legion of Honor, and in the 1920s remained in Europe, renting and ultimately buying a former convent, Saint Claire, along the Riviera. In Edith Wharton: A House Full of Rooms Theresa Craig explains that Wharton created a new library for herself there, part of a major remodeling project, pictured above in black and white. Less formal than The Mount's library, it had a brown brick floor with small scattered rugs, light-colored wood bookcases (some were set into the walls and some protruded out), and long tables for reading.

I decided to add Wharton's 20s-era Saint Claire hallway to the mix because of the Chinese-inspired wallcovering. Having seen her share of super-heavily-patterned 19th-century interiors, she tended to eschew wallpaper, so this was a less expected choice. Craig notes that the walls (whether fabric-covered or papered) compliment Wharton's Chinese painted-glass lantern.

Wandering

2012-01-15T13:28:00.179-05:00

[Knotted Chair, Marcel Wanders (Dutch, born 1963). 1995. Carbon and epoxy-coated aramid fibers, 28 x 19 3/4 x 24 1/2". Manufactured by Marcel Wanders. Gift of the Peter Norton Family Foundation. MoMA.]

Strolling through the High's courtyard last summer, I spied a miniature version of Marcel Wanders's Knotted Chair in the gift shop window. (It was Gerrie Bremermann's tablescape with the tiny Pedro Friedeberg hand chairs that made me rethink miniatures.) With Wanders's epoxy Crochet Chair up for consideration in the upcoming Collector's Evening battle, I wanted to revisit the macrame-like piece. Again, the intriguing thing about his work is how he makes the impossible possible, creating a chair that is intricate, refined, and lightweight, but at the same time unusually strong.

[17th-century Italian macrame. The Nuttall Collection, Gift of Mrs. Magdalena Nuttall, 1908. The Met.]

[Top left: Frida Kahlo's Portrait of Cristina, My Sister, 1928; image via WikiPaintings -- background here. Top right: John Singer Sargent's Figure in Hammock, Florida, 1917 The Met. Lower right: Fleur Wood Food, Fashion, Friends.]

Depending on how you look at it, the chair can feel feminine -- very out-in-the-garden with a tall iced drink.

[Photo by Chris Court.]

Or rugged. All about durable rope, nets and knots. Above is Sibella Court's interpretation from Nomad, the section featuring her Merchants & Traders color palette with inspiration drawn from travels through Damascus and even aged paper, too. Other materials emphasized here include linen and brick.

Speaking of woven things, check out this great looking Japanese basket in LACMA's collection and these striking African pieces. BTW, on Monday, January 16, LACMA is celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with free admission and family programming.

[Detail view, Marcel Wanders’s Crochet Chair -- a screengrab from the High's related video.]

Happy Birthday Edith

2012-01-13T09:27:00.355-05:00

[First three photos my own.]

With January 24 being Edith Wharton's 150th birthday, I decided to pull some of her books off my shelves.

The 21st-century reprint of Wharton's 1907 Italian Villas and Their Gardens -- the book's design and its text -- could be a great source of inspiration for an event, following designer Matthew Robbins' lead. (If you looked at Monday's post, you saw how he uses visually interesting, meaningful objects as jumping off points in his work.)

[Wharton's copies of her own books. Image via The Mount.]

Personally, I'm so drawn to the old, original editions -- books bound in solid-color cloth or leather during Wharton's own era. But contemporary books typically need to be sold with dust jackets and recent editions of her work published by The Mount Press and Rizzoli have beautiful covers that relate in some way to the earlier copies: an 18th-century Italian brocade reflecting Wharton's passion for design was used for the garden book's reissue jacket while the The Decoration of Houses now has a fab marbled cover based on the 1897 classic's end papers.

[Iron garden urn from Circa Antiques. These napkins from Jayson Home and Garden relate nicely to the cover even if they don't exactly feel Wharton-esque.]

[Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) late 12th century Korean stoneware bottle with reverse-inlaid decoration of peony leaves under celadon glaze. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.]

Using the Italian fabric as a color guide (and taking a lot of poetic license), it would be fun to hit The Cathedral Antiques Show, the NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale, The Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville, or maybe just the neighborhood GW looking for old pots and containers. I'd love to spot some sort of doppleganger for The Met's spectacular little celadon bottle, pictured above, along with big, earthy heavily patinaed urns; stone would be most in keeping with the book. Clipped, blossom-free gardens dominate Wharton's Italian focus but I probably couldn't resist echoing the golds, rusts, and yellow-greens in the fabric with looser fresh leaves and just a few flowers.

[Image via Martha Stewart.]

Although Wharton apparently wasn't wild about Maxfield Parrish's illustrations for Italian Villas and Their Gardens, his scenes of the countryside could still be a source of inspiration.

Below, moving away from Italy and back to the States.

[Clematis and Virginia creeper at The Mount by David Dashiell.]

[Exterior view, near The Mount's forecourt. Image via The Mount.]

The Mount, Wharton's 1901 house and personal design laboratory in the Berkshires is today open to the public as a cultural and literary center. (In case you are wondering, it still can be rented for weddings with proceeds helping to sustain the institution.) Here contemporary personalities ranging from Downton Abbey screenwriter, Julian Fellowes, to actress and writer Mindy Kaling reference the Gilded Age author. And to celebrate Wharton's 150th, The Mount is kicking off a series of festivities with a special birthday open house on Saturday, January 28 from 4 to 7 p.m. This happening is free.

[My copy of the garden book sans dust jacket.]

Before that, on January 26, a marathon reading of The House of Mirth is scheduled to begin with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan at the Center for Fiction, located in New York at 17 East 47th Street. Details here.

Voting Day

2012-01-12T14:15:00.010-05:00

[Details, Marcel Wanders’s Crochet Chair. Below, a screengrab from the High's related video.]

More objects of desire. Again this year, the High is hosting Collectors' Evening. On Friday, January 20th at 6:30 p.m., the public is invited to come out to the W, Midtown, enjoy an evening with curators, and choose four new works for the Museum's permanent collection. It's simple: in a series of videos online now, and during the event, seven High curators present a piece. Guests then vote for their favorites. The works with the most votes will be purchased by the High.

[Stephanie Heydt, Curator of American Art, with Norman Lewis's phenomenal abstract expressionist oil on canvas, Torch, 1960. Video here. Shown below, a detail.]

For 2012, there are great contenders including Torch by Norman Lewis, Untitled (Caballero with Red and Blue Patterns) by Martin Ramirez, Lightning Fields by Hiroshi Sugumoto, Down Time by KAWS, an African Mami Wata figure, and a remarkable portrait of a basset hound by Constant Troyon. On the decorative arts front, I'm jazzed about the ethereal piece proposed by curator Sarah Schleuning -- Marcel Wanders’s Crochet Chair. With epoxy resin and a mold, Wanders transforms a very traditional, seemingly fragile, hand-crocheted open-work textile into a sturdy weight-bearing chair. Schleuning elaborates here.

[Work in Progress, Collar #9 by Elizabeth Turk, 2004. Image via The Mint Museum.]

Objects of Desire

2012-01-09T11:58:00.230-05:00

[Unless otherwise noted, all photos in this post by Thuss + Farrell from Matthew Robbins' Inspired Weddings, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012.]

It could start with a bead.

Or any object you're drawn to. In this case, floral designer and event planner Matthew Robbins thought about something he's held tight for a long time -- an old green-and-white Portuguese bead given to him by his mentor.

Apart from the bead's clean palette, he considered the object's mood (fresh and organic) and its form (a floral-like shape echoed by delicately rendered tendrils that appear to be growing around the tiny piece). From all of this, options for an entire event emerged: a wedding with a decidedly natural, lush, secret-untended-garden feel. I think his use of bentwood Thonet-style chairs in two of the settings above is a brilliant way to softly play with the loose botanical motif. Also, if you look closely at his abundant gathering of Phalaenopsis orchids and green hellebores, you'll notice that Matthew has put them in a really delicious container -- an iridescent 1930s milk glass punch bowl. Details are everything.

In his new book, Inspired Weddings, Matthew talks about avoiding the cookie-cutter event. Not straining to be different just for the sake of being different, but creating something personal and timeless. I like how he uses loose motifs rather than literal themes. His suggestion is to hunt and gather together disparate things that simply captivate you. For Matthew, one less expected source of inspiration was a quirky old paint-by-numbers picture -- it was a still life, a genre he appreciates, and had a terrific muted palette. Above, you can see the assemblage that grew from the vintage painting.

And from that came this. Through the course of the book, Matthew discusses nine different inspiration objects and explains in detail how he used them as spring boards. As a former art student, he sees the world graphically and shows how to maximize the visual impact of the most commonplace items.

We've all heard about using alternatives to flowers as a centerpiece. Sometimes the suggestions are well-intended and imaginative but ultimately kind of silly. However, I find Matthew's approach unforced and actually beautiful.

He's also opened my eyes to foliage that previously I might have overlooked. While the pages are certainly filled with larger, jaw-droppingly gorgeous arrangements (never the stiff, overly-styled variety, though), this ethereal collection of bottles (a riff on seaglass and the old message-in-a-bottle) inspires me to get more plants for cutting and maintain similar little things around the house on a regular basis.

I'm a flower girl, so this post has been heavy on the blooms but I should mention that Matthew also delves into the nuts and bolts of table settings, linens, furniture, rentals, lighting and so on. Whether or not you're planning a big event, there's just a great deal of sumptuous visual fare to savor.

Since Matthew has me thinking about still life, terrific antique containers, and random objects, I wanted to share three related links (museums are definitely on his list of go-to places for ideas).

Still Life at The Met.
Wedgwood at the BMA
Zuzka Vaclavik's Glass

To pull this post together, I had access to a review copy of Inspired Weddings. All images posted with permission from the publisher.

Up Next: Flower Child Matthew Robbins

2012-01-08T09:48:00.002-05:00

[Photo by Thuss + Farrell from Matthew Robbins' Inspired Weddings, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012.]

Years ago when I saw Matthew Robbins creating ivy bouquets on Martha Stewart's show (the original TV program sans audience), I immediately responded to his artful, uncontrived style. There was just something, well...so poetic about his work.

Since then, his floral design and event planning business has grown considerably and he has become a contributing editor for Martha Stewart Weddings. His approach -- informed by his art background and passion for collecting -- and experiences are chronicled in a new book, Matthew Robbins' Inspired Weddings. It's all about personal, object-driven events (and of course flowers!). Photographers Rebecca Thuss and Patrick Farrell bring their talents to the book, too. In the next few days, I'll be sharing a peek inside.

Black Beauty

2012-01-05T18:58:00.090-05:00

[Jenny Henley, black stallion. Image courtesy Mary Laura Philpott, Chair, Spotlight on Art.]

The holidays are over but Spotlight on Art's special sneak peek continues at Saks, Atlanta, throughout the month. Tomorrow, Friday, January 6 from 6 to 8 p.m., the store is hosting a little reception, Saks Night Out, and the public is invited. If you can make it, you may bump into one of the artists.

Atlanta's own critically-acclaimed Jenny Henley has work in this installation. She cites Robert Rauschenberg’s transfers as an important influence on her evolution. Although, what you'll notice seeing her pieces in person is a distinct lacquer-like surface. At the moment, I'm very drawn to her painting above, black stallion. In addition to this work Henley has some much smaller pieces on view in the Spotlight preview too. An image over at her site gives a good sense of the scale.

The preview show is at Saks, Phipps Plaza main level, and includes ceramics and other decorative pieces in addition to fine art. Proceeds benefit Sheltering Arms and Trinity School scholarship funds.

Missing Connections

2012-01-05T17:46:00.001-05:00

[Sherry Williams dissolve Venetian line, 12" x 16", ink on paper, courtesy Emily Amy Gallery.]

I've got Connections withdrawal (The Met's recently ended 100-episode series during which museum staff ranging from Andrew Bolton, fashion and costume curator, to security manager Jose Rivero make connections between diverse works of art). So today I made one of my own: Dissolve.

[Sherry Williams dissolve to bare glowing, 11" x 14.5", ink on paper courtesy Emily Amy Gallery.]

Sherry Williams's fluid inks on paper have a lightness not unlike the surface of a Vietnamese ceramic.

[Jar (Hu) Vietnam, stoneware with traces of natural glaze, Han-Viet period, 1st - 3rd century, 11 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. Diam. (28.6 x 19.1 cm) Birmingham Museum of Art.]

The connection here may be mostly accidental -- the jar above is very, very old with just remnants of natural glaze which creates the illusion of liquid dissolving on the surface -- but in general Vietnamese ceramics are delicate with refined, often airy, decoration. Think ethereal meets earthy.

BTW, we're at day 16 in the countdown to Dragons and Lotus Blossoms. The biggest Vietnamese ceramics show ever mounted in the U.S. open at the BMA in a little over two weeks. Click here for more.

A Swatch Contest

2012-01-04T14:30:00.118-05:00

[The back of a sample of White, a printed, Vanessa Bell-attributed furnishing linen from the Courtald Gallery's 2009 exhibition, Beyond Bloomsbury: Designs of the Omega Workshops 1913–19. Numbers indicate fabric color and production. Image is from the catalogue Beyond Bloomsbury.]

Round two. Selvedge is once again offering illustrators an opportunity to be published. For the 2012 Illustrate Your Point competition, participants are asked to find a remarkable fabric never before featured in the magazine, illustrate it, and submit the piece in a square format with a 4mm bleed and a clear space roomy enough for editors to insert up to 250 words of text. Complete details and the contact address can be found on page six of issue 44. The application deadline is May 31, 2012.

Concurrently, writers are invited to research and describe -- in 300 words -- the history and defining characteristics of a fabric not yet highlighted in the textile mags' regular Fabric Swatch feature. This contest is Word Perfect 2012. Same deadline. Details also in the latest issue.

Vanessa Bell's work has already been highlighted in Selvedge numerous times but I'm combing the back issues to see if her 1913 linen, White, was ever the focus of a Fabric Swatch story. Since we've already looked at the front, I thought today I'd share the back.

Closing Day

2012-01-03T22:22:00.000-05:00

[Screengrab from the related Birmingham Museum of Art video.]

Time flies. Sunday, January 8 is the last day to see Tradition Transformed: Danish Ceramics in the Twentieth Century at the BMA. Again, the exhibition looks at Modernist pieces, with works by artists Jais Nielsen, Arne Bang and Axel Salto, and shows how Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese ceramics inspired Denmark's studio potters.

Milford and Mitford

2012-01-03T17:31:00.000-05:00

I've never won any awards for spelling, so it occurred to me this morning that some readers might be -- very understandably -- thinking I botched an author's name in two recent posts. But that wasn't a mistake; she actually is Milford, the American biographer Nancy Milford, with an L, easy to confuse with the prolific British writer Nancy Mitford.

London-born Mitford, the eldest of the famous Mitford sisters, died in 1973. Milford currently serves on the board of the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center, CUNY. With Gatsby fever going around, I've become engrossed in her 1970 Pulitzer Prize-finalist biography of Zelda Fitzgerald. The NY Times best-seller grew out of her masters thesis and changed public perceptions of Zelda. Sidenote, just in case you're curious: Milford's book was published about four years before Coppola's take on Gatsby hit the big screen. Notice the bold font-centric design of the original book jacket? I'm looking into that too.

Cool Links

2012-01-02T11:39:00.278-05:00

[Unknown artist, Robert T. Jones Winning the British Amateur at St Andrews, 1930, lithograph, 11 1/8 x 16 inches. Courtesy The Yates Family. Image via the High.]

The High is beginning 2012 with something kind of unexpected: an exhibition that looks at golf through the eyes of artists ranging from Rembrandt to Warhol. Back in 2010, LACMA explored a variety of sports with Manly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins but soon-to-open The Art of Golf represents the first time a major American art museum has devoted a show to this royal old game. (With Georgia's strong ties to golf, it seems fitting that this is happening here.)

Ninety works encompassing portraits, landscapes, photographs, Art Deco posters, and sculpture will be on view with a major highlight being Charles Lees' The Golfers, 1847. This very large piece is jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club; today I learned it's seen as the greatest golfing painting in the world.

[Margaret Fitzhugh Browne (American, 1884-1972). Portrait of Bobby Jones, 1928.

Oil on canvas, 37 x 31 inches. High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 28.26.]

But I said Gatsby-era things would be a reoccurring theme here at SC in January. The Roaring Twenties will also feature prominently in the High's exhibition and this portrait of Atlanta's own Bobby Jones grabbed my attention for a couple of reasons. It captures the relaxed glamour of the period and, with Jones seated in the wicker chair, it's a departure from typical sports poses (plus, truth be told, I like the contrast of navy with white). I've read that the artist who painted Jones, Margaret Fitzhugh Browne, so skilled at representational work, did not appreciate the avant-garde art of her own time -- apparently she bristled at Picasso and the exciting movements chronicled in Midnight in Paris.

[Photos above and below my own.]

Of course, I love it all. And I'm very thankful to Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles' editorial director, Clinton Smith and his team for giving me a chance to share one of my favorite Matisses (and even some great lip balm found at Studioplex's Aviary) as part of the magazine's Winter Wonders -- a cozy compendium to stylish cold weather living. A variety of design peops weigh-in -- including the always chic Jennifer Boles -- on traveling, drinking, reading, online surfing, and shopping. The January issue also features the 2012 kitchens of the year, so it's great for some winter brainstorming sessions.

For golf-related design, check out this past post with mentions of Amelia Handegan's project, Old Collier, and Philip Trammell Shutz's 1926 Tudor-style clubhouse for Atlanta's venerable East Lake Golf Club, the home course of Bobby Jones (pictured above in 2011).

The Art of Golf will be on view February 5 through June 24, 2012.

Camera Happy

2012-01-01T22:42:00.000-05:00

[Beaton books from my own library.]

About six weeks remain until the V & A's photography exhibition, Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, opens on February 8 but there is already a lot to explore online. The museum's microsite offers a chance to see the Queen through the eyes of the legendary Vogue photographer during the mid-20th century and to observe Beaton's own artistic evolution from the 40s to the 60s, culminating with his stark-yet-stunning portrait of Elizabeth II sans glittering regalia in the dark Admiral's Boat Cloak. (Admittedly, I have a penchant for Navy coats but I think this portrait is as majestic as the more frequently seen Coronation pictures.)

[The exhibition catalogue, Queen Elizabeth II: Portraits by Cecil Beaton by Susanna Brown, is available now.]

A host of winter workshops and lectures related to photography, craft, and fashion have been organized by the V & A, too. Just a few examples: Portrait Photography with Lucy Williams beginning January 31, Hugo Burnand's evening talk on March 9, and the March 17 study day led by curators -- Cecil Beaton: Photography, Theatre, Fashion & High Society.

[Brianna, 12 years old, New York. Image via Pablove Shutterbugs.]

[Pablove Shutterbug Briana at work with her mentor]

On the other side of the pond, in New York and L.A., it's time to start thinking about budding photogs and Pablove Shutterbugs' winter/spring programs; application deadlines are just around the corner. Regular readers know I frequently mention this innovative eight-week program that offers pediatric cancer patients a chance to find their creative voice. Again, if you're a photographer interested in sharing your knowledge with new students this year, click here to learn about volunteering.

Romantic Readiness II

2011-12-31T19:07:00.082-05:00

I ended 2008 with a nod to Jay Gatsby's romantic readiness. Seems hard to believe that was four years ago, when F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel was Atlanta's choice for The Big Read. Now that we've all been teased by those stills from Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated Gatsby film remake, a lot of us have 20s fever again. For Christmas, I even treated myself to the Zelda-inspired Paris Pairing.

[Book photos my own.]

[Detail view, Ralph Lauren's soft, bohemian take on Roaring 20s style for spring 2012.]

In January, we'll explore Nancy Milford's seminal biography of Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda -- the contents and the wild 1970s peacock feather book jacket -- along with a host of other jazz age things.

[Zelda in 1931 from the back of the book jacket.]

Wishing you a wonderful start to 2012!

Cheers,
Courtney

Storage Trunk with Jollifier

2011-12-30T13:06:00.456-05:00

[Photo via Anthro catalog, January 2012.]

Hoping to spend the first day of the new year lounging, reading, or daydreaming about future projects? In case you're thinking about the latter, I thought I'd share my DIY trunk. Boxes like this are fun because, in terms of design, they can be interpreted in so many different ways. It's another project with endless possibilities.

[My dad got things started by building a pine box strong enough to hold weighty stacks of books.]

[Unless otherwise noted, the following photos are my own.]

Just to recap, I originally wanted an antique dhurrie-covered trunk like the ones I've seen at Guinevere. But with no striped dhurrie remnants stashed away in my closet and a strong desire to keep costs under control, I changed the focus to a simple, readily available solid fabric (fewer yards are needed with solids).

Inspired by classic canvas-covered steamer trunks and Billy Kirk's waxed cotton bags, I gravitated to the rich, dark Australian canvas available over at Mims Maine.

This rugged waxed cotton would've been a really pragmatic -- and beautiful -- way to go. It can be wiped clean and it's meant to have a complex patina. Plus, MM owner Natasha is incredibly helpful. And she has all sorts of terrific textiles. Her super-sturdy gray-green linen canvas caused me to shift course yet again.

Apparently a lot of other people loved this particular linen too; most of the yardage was already sold by the time I stumbled across it. In the end I picked up an ample roll of artist's linen canvas, with the idea of painting stripes on the fabric. Binders (adjacent to Atlanta's disco Kroger) is where I found the unprimed variety available by the roll or by the foot.

The flaxen shade and texture appealed to me, but to keep expenses to a minimum, I'd recommend cotton canvas instead.

Depending on the size of the trunk, three to four yards allows a little breathing room for mishaps.

Speaking of which, the fabric-appropriate spray adhesive typically suggested for projects like this didn't work so well for me. At first it was perfection -- we followed the directions carefully and kept the linen pressed flat to the wood, weighted down for added security with heavy books. The results were initially crisp and seamless but 48 hours later the linen puckered. So, we turned to the backup plan: staples and nailheads.

Boxes are ideal for first-time experiments because, with no pesky curves in the way, it's relatively easy to do the math, wrap fabric around corners and cover raw edges with trim. While leather is my preferred look for trunk edging, I had no prior experience with it and was a bit hesitant. As an alternative, my dad shaved down wood (corner moulding available at lumber supply stores and flat strips generally used for lattice work) to make it much thinner. Sheet metal is another option.

Painted stripes were scrapped in favor of military-esque webbing from Hancock's and twill tape from Paper Source. Glue didn't enter the picture. Again, staples and antiqued brass tacks from the neighborhood hardware store did the trick. More nailhead styles and finishes (like pewter, my next time choice) can be found here.

[Screengrab from The Darjeeling Limited.]

Remember the elephants inside the train cars in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited? And of course the animal motif of the film's ever-present bags and trunks? For my trunk's interior jollifier I was fixated on these.

I wanted to come up with something a seven-year-old could help with.

Stencils were my first thought, but the examples I came across were a bit off -- either in scale, style, or price. Decoupage and rubber stamps were the final choice. (If I get to the VMFA in the summer of 2012 to see the East Coast debut of Maharaja: The Splendors of India’s Great Kings, the Indian painting will be a happy reminder each time I open the trunk.) For something more personal, a child who loves to draw could do a freehand embellishment or you could do an inspiration board-style collage similar to Schuyler Samperton's bathroom wall.

[Image courtesy Schuyler Samperton.]

The other hardware I've covered in previous posts.

To review, I was very drawn to Sibella Court's luggage-inspired pulls (actually intended for drawers not trunk lids) so I'm trying them in lieu of a latch. However, if you're searching for something heavy duty, I spied a selection of vintage locks here. And, again, Horton Brasses offers beautifully crafted hardware. The leather handles I ordered were a breeze (for Dad) to install and are very durable.

Court's nautical pliant rope handles caught my eye also; these are currently in stock at Atlanta's Westside Anthro, BTW.

[Image via Anthropologie.]

Happy brainstorming.

I'm not affiliated with or sponsored by the designers, stylists or businesses referenced in this post.

Happy Birthday Matisse!

2011-12-28T19:17:00.001-05:00

[Francoise Gilot's letters from Matisse as seen in Matisse and Picasso: A Friendship in Art.]

[From TASCHEN's Henri Matisse: Cut-Outs- Drawing With Scissors.]

It's New Year's Eve but Saturday, December 31 is also Matisse's birthday. To celebrate, the High is offering kids and teens age 17 and under free admission on the artist's big day and again on Monday, January 2. (Younger visitors must be accompanied by a paying adult, though.) The museum will be open until 6 p.m. both days. With a handful of Matisse's most iconic works, including Dance (1), currently on view at the High in Picasso to Warhol, it's a great time to pop in. Click here for details.

[Top right: Kate Carr photo of Matisse's monumental La Gerbe (The Sheaf) (1953) commissioned by Sidney and Frances Brody of L.A. for their mid-century A. Quincy Jones-designed (and Billy Haines-decorated) house -- image via Christie's. Lower left: Sidney and Frances on their patio with the piece -- image via LIFE.]

And something to look forward to in 2012: LACMA will exhibit Matisse's enormous, stops-you-in-your-tracks La Gerbe for the first time alongside its full-scale maquette and other materials that tell the story behind it (you may recall that in the early 1950s art patron Frances Lasker Brody and her husband commissioned this ceramic piece for the large patio of their A. Quincy Jones-designed house where it remained, according to the late Mrs. Brody, the heart of her home for more than 50 years).

[Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Matisse à son domicille, Vence, France, 1944 via Christie's.]

On view at LACMA beginning June 2 will be: nineteen of Matisse's original hand-painted color samples cut and sent to the Brodys during the process of the commission; original documents such as letters from Pierre Matisse, son of the artist and his U.S. dealer; Frances Brody's in-depth account of the commission written in the 50s; and again, the enormous maquette plus final piece -- recently given to the museum by Mrs. Brody. A bonus is Jazz; Matisse’s much-loved print portfolio will be included in the exhibit too.

Cheers

2011-12-23T19:05:00.000-05:00

Poinsettia rendered so beautifully that I was inspired to deviate from my usual camellias and share a tiny peek at some lovely cards the mailman brought today. Above (top left corner) is just a snippet of one friend's Rifle Paper Co. choice handpainted for her by the wonderful Anna Bond (don't want to reveal the customized family portraits without the sender's permission but you can see other examples here).

From me to you, it's virtual tidings of joy: again I send you and yours warm wishes for the happiest of holidays!

Cheers,
Courtney

[My little nod to the 'Year of Delaunay.' I thought the paper kind of echoed some of the textile designs seen here. The poinsettia postcard was made by Cavallini & Co.]

The Paris Pairing: A Very Last Minute Gift Idea

2011-12-20T14:20:00.228-05:00

[Clockwise from the left: 'Peacock feather cover' image of Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Milford from WeRead; still from Midnight in Paris -- left to to right: Alison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald and Owen Wilson as Gil. Photo by Roger Arpajou © 2011 Mediapro, Versátil Cinema & Gravier Productions, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics; Zelda's own novel, Save Me the Waltz as pictured at Amazon.]

Granted, this may be more predictable than the I Am Love/Delaunay pairing, but I still think the right book combined with Woody Allen's now-out-on-dvd Midnight in Paris could make an inspired present. If you saw the comedy last spring, you know that the story centers on time traveling Gil (Owen Wilson), the 1920s Paris salon of Getrude Stein, and Lost Generation artists Scott and Zelda along with Hemingway, just to name a few.

Obviously anything by Hemingway or something on Stein, the collector, and her circle would pair well with the movie. Since I've already highlighted so many Picasso-related books, I decided to go in a different direction: painter, dancer and writer Zelda Fitzgerald. Specifically, Nancy Milford's landmark Zelda: A Biography.

Unless you live near a stellar vintage book shop, there's not much time to track down an older edition with the striking peacock feather cover, or the image of Zelda sitting on the stacked trunks, but wherever you are, you can pick up the newest edition, released last month, for around $10 at most major retailers.

[Image via Princeton University Library.]

Interested in the now classic covers of Zelda's husband's books? There's background on Francis Cugat's Art Deco work used for the original 1925 cover of The Great Gatsby here.

[Duncan Grant, The Mantelpiece, 1914, Oil and collage of paper laid on board

support, Tate Collection ©The Estate of Duncan Grant.]

Fast-forwarding to 2012, I do have a bit of fresh Picasso news. Picasso and Modern British Art opens at Tate Britain in February. The exhibition will look at Picasso's major impact on British painters, such as Duncan Grant, with 60 important pieces by the master shown alongside work by seven of his British admirers.

'Tis the Season

2011-12-19T18:06:00.000-05:00

[Unless otherwise noted, photos my own]

The other day I popped in Bella Cucina and came across one of the most appealing things I've seen all season: a row of simple clear jars, each holding a single pink camellia, that ran the length of a rustic farm table.

The display looked incredibly fresh and luxurious (but not ostentatious) and served as a nice counterpoint to the denser clusters of evergreen and magnolia placed around the shop. In season throughout winter, camellias may just be the only thing I love for Christmas and still love in January (excluding hot chocolate and Black Watch scarves).

[Photo via Ann Mashburn.]

That said, a 2008 post about John van Doorn's ornament collection is inspiring me to keep one piece -- maybe Chattanooga-based Christopher Mosey's glass ball -- out after all the others have been packed away. If you've accumulated more ornaments than you care to have, Magnaverde's comment (same 2008 post) and recap of his mother's Twelfth Night party with her many ornament-filled compotes is a must read.

The chic editor I mentioned the other day has been inspiring me too. He's got a virtual greenhouse going in his apartment that makes me want to continue forcing bulbs after New Year's.

Collector and philanthropist, Doris Duke, didn't have to think about how many or how few seasonal things to put out at her Newport house, Rough Point, because during Christmas she always jetted off to Hawaii. A special tour scheduled for December 28, UnDecked Halls: Behind the Scenes at Doris Duke's Mansion in Winter, will give the public a chance to see the home as it was kept throughout the colder months, experience the livelier, decorated staff wing, including the staff dining room, and learn more about Duke's tropical holiday.

[Doris Duke with surfer and musician Sam Kahanamoku at the entrance to Shangri La, circa 1939. Photo copyright The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.]

[Circa 1960 Velzy surf board image via Dressed to Play: The Sporty Style of Doris Duke.]

Warm Wishes

2011-12-18T14:48:00.004-05:00

[Unless otherwise indicated, photos are my own.]

I hope the coming week brings some happy surprises your way.

My special present arrived early: an ultra-sturdy linen-covered trunk built by my dad (with an interior jollifier painted by a second grader).

While it's been essentially finished and functioning as a workhorse table for about a month, a couple of things need to tweaked before it's ready for its close-up.

At the end of December, when we're all thinking about new projects for 2012, I'll review the supplies we used (artist's canvas, webbing and twill tape, leather handles from Horton Brasses, etc.), plus cool things I stumbled upon but ultimately didn't incorporate (waxed canvas from Mims Maine) and post a picture of the completed piece. Earlier, I said that everything except the handles came from a hardware shop or routine craft/fabric/art supply store but in the end I also added Sibella Court's hardware -- her luggage pulls to be exact. After a bit of searching, I finally uncovered a couple tucked away in a bin at Anthro's Lenox Square location.

[Screengrabs from Louis Vuitton's Travel to India video.]

[Billy Reid canvas bag.]

[Billy Kirk carryall.]

[Clockwise from the top left: bag my own; photo by Jonny Valiant as seen in Martha Stewart Living, September 2011; sketchbook page of Edwardian-era Olivia Tonge from The World of Interiors, September, 2008; screengrabs from Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited.

Trunks can be about memories but they also represent the possibility of adventure. Above are more inspiration boards used for the interior and exterior of mine.

[Mary Randolph Carter photographed by her husband, Howard Berg, in their snowy apple orchard in upstate New York. Photo courtesy Carter.]

If you're planning on staying away from the blogosphere for the next couple of weeks, I want to go ahead and send you warmest wishes for a magical holiday. On the other hand, if you've landed here searching for a little last minute inspiration, I recommend Mary Randolph Carter's approach, shared here in 2010. The post is filled with timeless, no-fuss ideas. (And I still like Mary Laura's playlist.)

Cheers!
Courtney

As always, I'm not affiliated with or sponsored by the designers, stylists or businesses referenced in this post.

Dragons in Bama

2011-12-17T16:39:00.038-05:00

[Dragons and Lotus Blossoms published by the University of Washington Press.]

Just as Laura Vinroot Poole's Charlotte boutique, Capitol (the shop with the incredible garden wall designed by Patrick Blanc), delights even jaded New Yorkers, the Birmingham Museum of Arts' Asian ceramics continue to command international attention.

For the past few months I've been sharing my excitement about the Museum's soon-to-open exhibition, Dragons and Lotus Blossoms, the largest Vietnamese ceramics show ever mounted in the U.S. So, I was thrilled to learn that the BMA's Le Dynasty glazed stoneware jar, one of the pieces in the exhibition, was recently ranked by Apollo as the Ninth Most Important Acquisition Worldwide in 2011. Even more reason to head to Alabama this winter. Congrats BMA!

For the Older Kids

2011-12-15T12:49:00.004-05:00

[Photo my own.]

I know that many of my creative readers are pretty handy with scissors and tape, and experienced shoppers as well, so I'm popping in to help spread the word about an important volunteer opportunity that's right up your alley: Atlanta-based CHRIS Kids needs Holiday Helpers to shop (using provided gift cards) for the teens and children served by the organization and/or to wrap presents. Specifically, helpers are needed Monday, December 19 through Wednesday, December 21.

CHRIS serves abused and neglected youth who've typically spent years in the foster care system and don't have a traditional family support system. Older kids and teens often get lost in the shuffle of holiday toy drives so the staff does their best to buy simple items on the youths' wishlists. For details click here.

Similarly, my friend Meg over at Pigtown Design works on behalf of youth served by Maryland-based Woodbourne and she recently explained their current holiday needs (batteries for handheld games, neon shoelaces, Target gift cards and other humble things). Moreover, Toys for Tots distributes presents to tweens and in some cases teens. Click here for deadlines. We're in the final crunch!

Shopping with Benson and Whitaker

2011-12-13T16:48:00.328-05:00

[The Benson-designed café, wine bar and specialty retailer, Reid's Fine Foods, in Charlotte, North Carolina. All photos of Reid's are by Chris Edwards.]

It's been a widespread trend but particularly where I live, in the Southeastern United States, some of the most interesting retail-related design projects of the past decade have involved smaller niche shops. Boutiques seem to be where the creative action is.

[Capitol photographed by Brie Williams. Architecture by Perry Poole with interior design by Barrie Benson.]

If we have a Wearstler-designed restaurant, like venerable Bergdorf's BG, in one of our department stores than I've been asleep on the job and am not aware of it. What we do have are some very chic locally owned boutiques including Laura Vinroot Poole's much buzzed about Capitol and her eponymous Poole Shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. Interior designer Barrie Benson is responsible for the look of both, along with architect Perry Poole.

[Again, Capitol with a view of the amazing vertical garden wall by Patrick Blanc.]

Well known in the design world for her signature mix of modern style with classic Southern elements, Benson is definitely comfortable with glamour. However she sees beauty in straightforward, utilitarian design too. Take for example Reid's Fine Foods, Charlotte's 83-year-old specialty retailer. When Benson was called upon to breathe new life into the place, she brought back the down-to-earth look of an old school green grocery.

Still, this is Charlotte in the 21st century, so Reid's offers an abundant wine department with bar and a café. Apple-green bar stools and a few Thonet chairs with leafy-green floral seats are nods to the region's agrarian roots, softening the shop's more masculine natural materials -- richly stained wood, metal, leather -- without being fussy.

I tend to gravitate to relatively intimate shops like this rather than the big emporiums.

[Harrods, London, dressed in holiday lights as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

That said, Jan Whitaker's book, The World of Department Stores, is giving me a new appreciation for the wonder of the big, multi-level spaces.

[Cover of Nordiska's style magazine, Stockholm, summer 1932. Nordiska Kompaniet archives as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

Months ago, when Vendome asked me if I'd like a sneak peek, I envisioned a book with a brief history of a handful of iconic stores, such as Liberty, accompanied by lovely images. Instead what I found was an incredibly in-depth study and an array of pictures encompassing vintage ads and striking architecture photography.

[An example of national advertising, this Marshall Field ad ran in The New Yorker in 1971. Image from as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

[Glass funnel inside Berlin's Galeries Lafayette, designed by Jean Nouvel, as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

Whitaker makes the case that, long before museums welcomed the masses, department stores introduced the public to unfamiliar ideas and styles -- modern furniture and decor, fine art, monumental architecture, couture and even fine dining.

She explores stores across the globe from France (birthplace of the department store) to Japan to the U.S., explaining why these businesses became the heartbeats of their communities. In their golden era they provided jobs for large segments of a city's population and they were frequented by, well, everyone from the society matron to her housekeeper. For housewives, especially, the hometown department store of yore was a sort of oasis -- according to architect Louis Parnes, the equivalent of the businessman's clubhouse.

[1925 poster by Marcello Dudovich highlighting luggage at La Rinascente as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

With Whitaker's expansive section on architecture (she covers innovative design from the 19th century to present day), I think there is plenty of material here to interest design enthusiasts. In fact, architect Stefan Hurray recently weighed-in here. But I have to add that I really got into the psychology. Whitaker is a sociologist whose area of interest is retailing and restaurants. While business psychology isn't a particular interest of mine, her exploration of marketing -- how the merchants courted children by creating fairyland toy departments, zoos, and more, and how they shaped the way we celebrate Christmas -- held my attention.

And of course stores used to have larger in-house creative teams with graphic designers and other artists. This history (with details including shopping bag design) should interest today's art students.

Gift wrap departments still exist and many people look forward to seeing a store's signature box under the tree. Since Barrie Benson is so creative, though, I did ask her how she wraps her own presents. The Duquette fan said Paper Source's peacock satin ribbon is her go-to choice. "I think it looks great with most red papers," she added.

[Paper and ribbon via Paper Source.]

No over-thinking it. Just the dynamic combination of blue-green against red. Her extra effort goes into food prep: a scratch-made batch of brandied cherries for friends and a copy of her French 75 recipe from a fave cocktail book, The Art of the Bar.

Up Next: Shop Girls

2011-12-12T11:30:00.002-05:00

[The Benson-designed wine bar and café at specialty retailer Reid's Fine Foods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Chris Edwards.]

From designer extraordinaire Barrie Benson's commercial projects including Reid's Fine Foods and Capitol to sociologist Jan Whitaker's exhaustive (and lavishly-illustrated!) study, The World of Department Stores, later this week we'll explore some shops. In the meantime, if you haven't seen it yet, Charlotte-based Benson has a new site beautifully created by multi-talented Atlantan John Lineweaver (he's a graphic designer, art director and product developer). BTW, Lineweaver did all the graphics for Reid's too.

[Detail of turquoise doors at 310 Rosemont boutique on North Highland Ave. in Atlanta. Photo snapped by a seven-year-old and tweaked by me.]

You might also like Beckoning Doors and Windows.

Color and Light

2011-12-11T16:58:00.002-05:00

[Photos directly above and below are my own. Mosey's ornaments, the citrine glass shown here, are currently available in many other colors at Saks as part of the Spotlight sneak peek. $30. The acqua ceramic is just an experiment of mine.]

Chattanooga-based Christopher Mosey's tactile glass work is raw and natural. But when I came across his brilliant ornaments at the Spotlight on Art preview (proceeds benefit Sheltering Arms and Trinity School scholarship funds), I thought of Luca Guadagnino's supremely stylized scenes in I Am Love.

[Screengrabs from Magnolia Pictures I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton.]

While the acid-green shades in the ball I bought did remind me of the shimmering glasses in the film's birthday scene, it was really the sense of dappled sunlight that made me connect the two.

Beautifully diffused light is a major element throughout the movie.

Bars and grids are another visual motif, but truth be told I was so taken with all the jaw-droppingly well-framed shots that I didn't pick up on the cage symbolism until I read set designer Francesca Di Mottola's production notes. The idea was to use the sets to underscore main character Emma's (Tilda Swinton's) sense of isolation and an entire family constrained by tradition. Once you're aware of this, you can't stop noticing vertical bars.

A few months ago I mentioned another sumptuous flick about an old Italian family going through upheaval, The Leopard. Roger Ebert compares the two films here, observing that director Guadagnino "makes the connection inescapable by the use of the name Tancredi [Emma's husband in I Am Love]; in The Leopard, Alain Delon pays the Salina nephew of that name."

I'll interject a visual connection: sunlight streaming through white curtains.

Of course, the best way to watch I Am Love is just to drink it in -- not intellectualize it. Like my December 2010 pick for aesthetic inspiration, Orlando, Love has some dreamy wintry scenes too. But don't forget to lookout for the many appearances of the book Atelier Simultane di Sonia Delaunay, 1923-1934 (explanation in the previous post) and the use of orange. Love is set about thirteen years ago; coincidentally, as everyone has heard by now, Tangerine Tango, a red-orange, is Pantone's color of the year for 2012.

[Image via Pantone]

If you want to celebrate the hue right now, Mosey made some orange spheres as well. Stop by the preview installation, on view through January 31 at Saks (women's shoes adjacent, main level, Phipps Plaza, Atlanta).

And those African beads I like -- the ones sold at Ann Mashburn -- are now available in carnelian (check out the purple too).

Swinton and Delaunay (Another Gift Pairing)

2011-12-09T13:13:00.001-05:00

[Screengrabs from Magnolia Pictures I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton.]

This gift suggestion was originally going to be included at the end of my next post but I decided to go ahead and hastily share it now -- thought it might inspire some weekend holiday shopping.

In I Am Love, Tilda Swinton's character, Emma, ducks into a Sanremo bookshop and, to appear inconspicuous, quickly begins flipping through a random exhibition catalogue. Except the book isn't really random. As far as I can tell, it's Atelier Simultane di Sonia Delaunay, 1923-1934, an Italian publication but a nod to Emma's Russian heritage (Delaunay was born in Russia too).

[A newer edition of the catalogue has been spotted at Worldwide Books .]

The choice is just one example of director Luca Guadagnino's remarkable attention to detail. Apart from the Russian connection and the colorful, electrically-charged images that leap off the pages, the book is significant because Delaunay's Atelier Simultane -- her 1920s Paris workshop where she translated her abstract art into scarves, handbags, textiles, and clothes -- was all about change, freedom and energy: perfect themes for Emma, restless wife of a Milanese textile magnate.

I'm guessing Emma's book is an older 1980s edition but this 2006 book is more widely available and would be fun to pair with the I Am Love DVD.

[National Design Library, Arthur Ross Reading Room. Image courtesy of Cooper-Hewitt.]

You might also like RE: DESIGN at Cooper-Hewitt.

Up Next: Color and Light

2011-12-08T22:21:00.002-05:00

[Mosey's ornaments are currently available at Saks as part of the Spotlight sneak peek. $30.]

A repeat viewing of I Am Love and Chattanooga-based Christopher Mosey's luminous glass ornaments, spied today at the Spotlight on Art preview, have inspired a soon-to-be-published post. Be back soon.

[Screengrabs from Magnolia Pictures I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton.]

Hanukkah: Letterpress Options

2011-12-08T08:15:00.031-05:00

Nine candles are represented in a design from Ohio-based Oddball Press that is reminiscent of old cut paper silhouettes. These cards are offered in black and ochre on a warm grey stock.

This interpretation, available from Just a Jar over at Etsy, is all about light. The abstract pattern conveys myriad flickering points and was printed from a two-color woodcut. Happy Hanukkah, in lowercase, was printed from hand-set lead type with heavy embossment. Based in the U.S., Just a Jar creates all of their wares using a hand-cranked printing press.

L.A.-based Flora and Fauna's cleaned-lined option began with her original hand-drawn illustration. The cards are hand-printed on an antique Vandercook press using shades of cobalt blue and yellow.

BTW, the Bard Graduate Center's fall exhibition, American Christmas Cards 1900-1960, remains on view for just a few more weeks -- through December 31 in the Focus Gallery. And in Atlanta we have an internationally respected paper-related resource: The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum at Georgia Tech. Click here to learn about workshops.

Hanukkah: Arts & Architecture's Style

2011-12-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

Finally. A Hanukkah card. And this crisp menorah interpretation kind of suggests Matisse's later work, at least in my eyes. But it's actually an adaptation of John Follis's design seen on the July 1958 cover of Arts & Architecture. Remember LACMA's Christmas tree cards from this November post? The Charles Kratka for Arts & Architecture designs? Both are now being offered to celebrate California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," on view at the museum through June 3, 2012.

The original covers may be seen over at the Arts & Architecture Collection. Prints of the most popular magazine covers, including Follis Hanukkah, are available. Look for special discounts through Sunday, December 11.

RE: DESIGN: Cooper-Hewitt Renovation Progress

2011-12-07T09:49:00.120-05:00

[National Design Library, Arthur Ross Reading Room. Image courtesy of Cooper-Hewitt.]

Good news for design junkies and students: the Cooper-Hewitt has completed renovations of the museum’s two townhouses on East 90th Street in New York. Along with administrative offices and the graduate program, these buildings contain the now modernized National Design Library. Professionals, students and the general public -- yes, the public -- will be able to access the revamped library's rare-book room, open stacks, reference area and restored historic reading.

[Rendering of the new Textiles Conservation Laboratory. Image courtesy of Aniphase.]

Work just began elsewhere on the museum's campus, at Carnegie Mansion, where exhibition spaces and conservation facilities will be greatly enlarged. See an overview of RE: DESIGN, slated to be finished in 2013, and learn about the architectural team behind the project here.

[The UK cover and interior view via Thames & Hudson.]

One of my best 2011 purchases turned out to be Color Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay. $35 copies are still available at the Cooper-Hewitt gift shop. More on the show here and here.

Voysey Undone

2011-12-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

As a follow up to the Voysey holiday wares, I wanted to highlight several of the late-Victorian/Edwardian era textile designer's drawings and watercolors. The V & A owns examples of his partially colored in designs, and there is something appealing about the denser watercolor strokes contrasted against the spare pencil lines.

Shown above is his design for a cretonne (heavy linen or cotton), The Deer in the Forest, dated 1918. The Museum adapted this one for a Christmas card pictured in the previous post.

Voysey's pencil, black chalk and watercolor on paper -- a design for wallpaper -- dated 1891.

And an incomplete design for a wallpaper or textile featuring a formalized plant with green scalloped foliage and small yellow flowers, 1907. All images above via the V & A.

[Calkin's Ipek Damask via Lewis and Wood.]

If you're drawn to these lines, you might also like the stylized patterns of punk-meets-polish Brit painter and designer, Adam Calkin.

Vogue Week at the V & A

2011-12-06T19:41:00.002-05:00

[Voysey Holly and Deer holiday cards from the V & A. Details on the textile designer follow below.]

[Voysey gift wrap via the V & A. Description follows below.]

[Again, the V & A's double-sided Snow and Stripe paper based in part on a furnishing fabric in the Museum's collection -- the 1938 hand block-printed linen, Pointed Pip, by British designer Phyllis Barron.]

[Just one of the Museum's many fabulous books.]

A quick update for our London friends: Only a few days remain to take advantage of Vogue UK's Online Fashion Week discounts in the V & A gift shop. Click here to learn all about the event.

Also, a word about the Voysey gift wrap shown at top. The Bird and Holly tag/wrap set is an adaptation of a late 19th-century design by C.F.A. Voysey (1857-1941). An influential architect, Voysey began designing -- drawing patterns for woven and printed textiles, wallpaper, and rugs -- around age 30. The V & A says his designs are often characterized by flowing repetitive patterns with pastel-colored birds, animals, flowers and trees in silhouette.

[Voysey Birds and Mistletoe holiday cards.]

Remember the V & A's linen tape from my mid-November post? Recently I caught up with a certain chic editor who'd been in London, shopping at the Museum. He gives the greige his personal seal of approval.

Related past post: The Gift of Beauty.

Gift Week

2011-12-06T15:04:00.038-05:00

[Unless noted otherwise, all images ©Julia Lynn and posted with permission from the photographer. Please keep reading to learn about prints available for purchase.]

Each day this week over at Enfilade, editor Craig Hanson is sharing holiday gift ideas with an 18th-century bent. Aided by Janet Blyberg, I had fun making some modest contributions to the offerings. So, if you're in the mood, please pop over to see everyone's picks.

Janet and her husband, Joel Lefever, are D.C.-based museum professionals with a serious passion for good food and drink, as well as historic architecture. While brainstorming gift ideas, a theme emerged: purchases that benefit museums or historic foundations as well as local workers.

For example, in South Carolina, the Historic Charleston Foundation sells aromatic brown rice -- an authentic 18th-century staple still grown locally.

[Image via the Historic Charleston Foundation.]

On its own, the rice makes a terrific hostess gift but it pairs nicely with this Gullah cookbook or a Charleston rice spoon (essentially an English serving spoon dubbed a ‘rice’ spoon by Charlestonians, this piece can be found in many incarnations ranging from Georgian sterling to the Gibbes Museum of Art's budget-friendly recycled metal version).

[Image via Bell'occhio.]

Or what about tickets to the Charleston Food & Wine Festival or the 9th Annual Charleston International Antiques Show tucked inside Bell'occhio's hand-painted oyster box?

For me, though, the pièce de résistance is Julia Lynn's photography. In a past post, the Sewanee alum told us that when she is on her own she tends to seek out uninhabited, weathered sites.

Drayton Hall, captured in the first two images above, certainly shows the passage of time. Students of architecture and design appreciate Drayton as the oldest surviving intact example of Georgian Palladian architecture in the U.S., but this National Trust property is also an important archeological site.

Signed, professional prints of Julia's Drayton photography may be purchased with fifteen percent of the proceeds going directly to the Preservation of Drayton Hall.

Prices and sizes are as follows (one image is an 8x10 dimension and the other is a 4x6 dimension; they were shot with two different camera formats):

11 x 14 / 10 x 15: $105
16 x 20 / 15 x 22.5: $158
20 x 25 / 18 x 27: $220
25 x 31.25: $280

The pictures are printed on archival, fine art matte paper. Her lowcountry landscape photographs are also available. She ships prints in a tube via UPS for $15.

[Book images via Phaidon.]

My next suggestion only dates back to the Mad Men era -- a book I discovered just this week, What Color is Your World? by illustrator Bob Gill. Originally published in 1962, this children's book was created to get kids and parents thinking about color in their surroundings. According to the Nasher Museum of Art, the reissue is a combined UK/US edition that highlights our different approaches to spelling. I'd pair it with a big box of crayons.

Jumbo triangular crayons via Sam Flax.

Handle It

2011-12-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

[Photos directly above and below are my own]

My completed DIY linen-covered trunk will be posted before Christmas, but in the meantime, here's a peek at the one component I did not purchase from a routine hardware or art supply shop: leather handles from Horton Brasses.

Based in Connecticut, Horton has been around since the 1930s and still produces a wide range of authentic reproduction furniture and cabinet hardware. While I didn't need a specific repro for this project, I'm drawn to the heft of their wares. And Horton employs a small team of craftsmen (actually, craftswomen too). Several metalsmiths live and work in West Virginia and Kentucky. Those of you with a penchant for fine hardware might enjoy learning more about the crew. Prefer wrought iron to brass? Horton makes that also.

Of course, once I tune into a certain design element, I start noticing all sorts of examples. Like the graceful handles on this 18th-century English Sheffield plate cup by John Hoyland and Co. from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Or the older Greek glass wine cooler/bucket with silver handles -- late Classical or Early Hellenistic period, late 4th–early 3rd century B.C. -- also from The Met.

Egyptian horse handle in ivory, garnet and paint, New Kingdom, reign of Amenhotep III, circa 1390–1353 B.C., again The Met.

And disparate but ingenious handles on a circa 460–450 B.C. terracotta Greek cup. According to The Met, the vertical handle was intended for drinking, while the other allowed the cup to be suspended when not in use.

I received no perks from Horton for mentioning their product.

Gift Pairings Continued

2011-12-05T17:08:00.001-05:00

[Circa 1920 printed linen shown top right: Fruits of Africa designed by Raoul Dufy (French, 1877–1953) and manufactured by Bianchini-Férier (French). Below, detail view of La Jungle, silk-wool, 1922, also designed by Dufy and manufactured by Bianchini-Férier. Both from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.]

During the time that's lapsed since my first Dufy textile post, some great related books have come on the scene. Looking for a gift under $40? Raoul Dufy: A Celebration of Beauty, published by the Mississippi Museum of Art in 2009 to accompany an exhibition of the artist's revolutionary early-20th-century fabric designs, is still available through the Museum's gift shop.

For the serious textile enthusiast, Twentieth Century Textiles, by Francesca Galloway and Sue Kerry, paired with the MMoA's volume would be a terrific present. Pricier but cloth-bound with a detail of Dufy's 1920s cotton-linen blockprinted Neptune, this exhibition book may be ordered in the US from various online sellers, or in the UK through the Royal School of Needlework, or directly from Galloway.

Every Year

2011-12-04T17:55:00.043-05:00

[Photograph of Rebecca Vizard walking toward her dad's house, in Louisiana, taken by Emily Hamilton Laux courtesy Rebecca Vizard.]

There are a couple of things I do every December: buy paper whites and unpack my mini B. Viz stockings.

Longtime readers are already familiar with my B. Viz posts. Back in 2008, Louisiana-based globe-trotter Rebecca Vizard, the creative force behind B. Viz, gave us a behind-the-scenes peek into her St. Joseph studio brimming with luxe antique trims and textiles.

[Photos of textiles and trims directly above and below by Emily Hamilton Laux courtesy Rebecca Vizard.]

As Rebecca often says, she has one foot in the door of the very high-end design world (Melissa Rufty and Gerrie Bremermann are fans of B. Viz pillows made from fragments of antique priests' robes, embroidered Turkish caftans, hand-printed Fortuny, suzanis, and other remnants) and one foot in her poverty-touched rural community overlooking Lake Bruin. Hiring only local seamstresses -- creating jobs -- helps to bridge the two.

[I snapped this picture last January at Rebecca's Foxglove Antiques booth in Atlanta.]

Really, sewing, textiles, and a general appreciation for creativity have always been a part of her life. Comfortable with a needle and thread in hand, and possessing a great eye for color, texture, and scale, Rebecca earned a B.A. in Studio Art and Communications from an institution with a history of emphasizing the arts, Newcomb. Today, when she begins a pillow design, she looks at the stitches on the back of her found textile and thinks about the person who created it.

[Photography by Emily Hamilton Laux]

This season, a wider international audience has seen the B. Viz team's work via Neiman's Christmas catalog. For the famous book, Rebecca was commissioned to design an over-the-top fantasy yurt inspired by I Dream of Jeannie. (Learn about New Orleans-based lighting designer Julie Neill's contribution here.)

But the stockings are still the most attainable pieces in the B. Viz collection. Since I'm partial to Central Asian embroidery, I've emphasized those examples here. However, I also treasure a few made with opulent European fragments and metallic trims. Rebecca takes care with the fine details -- the linings, the loops for hanging -- just as she does with her big ticket pillows, and knows how to keep the most lush textiles from appearing too precious or fussy. As I've mentioned in the past, I love how functional the ornaments are: perfect size for holding candy, notes, treasure hunt clues, or gift cards, but also great left empty, simply hanging on a door knob or tree.

[Screengrab from ABC Louisiana affiliate news video.]

Another reason for today's B. Viz recap (peppered with new images) is that I wanted to work in a random tidbit -- something that may only interest me and the illustrator behind my blog logo, Anne Harwell. Years ago, Anne painted a vintage Louis XV-style chair that I actually owned; in 2009, I asked her to 'reupholster' it to resemble a time-worn leather example photographed by New Orleans artist, Amanda Talley, at Gerrie Bremermann's. Fast forward to 2011 and news coverage of Neiman's catalog -- Gerrie's antique chair, or its doppleganger, can be seen behind Rebecca as she is interviewed.

To see Rebecca in the field sourcing textiles check out her FB page. (BTW, I've been collecting the ornaments little by little, on a very modest scale, since before I started blogging.) We've already talked about the sumptuous embroideries currently on view in San Francisco in Maharaja, but the related film series continues; on Sunday, December 11 at 1 p.m., the Asian Art Museum will screen Chandani: Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer, a subtitled documentary suitable for kids.

[Image courtesy Daniela Kamiliotis.]

Like Rebecca, Ralph Lauren VP Daniela Kamiliotis has a gift for mixing the luxe with the rustic. Past post on her holiday wrapping here.

Tanov, Klimt and Smith

2011-12-01T19:57:00.069-05:00

[Screengrabs from Jona Frank's mini film about the making of Erica Tanov's fall 2011 collection.]

Back in August, I mentioned that Erica Tanov's fall 2011 collection was beautifully shot by Erica Shires on location at The Spring in Berkeley, California. (Clothes modeled by Coralie Langston-Jones.) Now Jona Frank's brief yet very memorable video about Tanov's inspiration is available. Influences ranged from the shimmering paintings of Gustov Klimt to Patti Smith's Rock-infused mémoire. It's a poetic two and a half minutes. Well worth a look.

Up Next: B. Viz Holiday

2011-12-01T10:46:00.004-05:00

[Photography by Emily Hamilton Laux]

December is here and that means I'll be unpacking my antique textile ornaments over the weekend (intricate pieces handmade in St. Joseph, Louisiana by the B. Viz team). A related post is in the works but in the meantime I wanted to leave you with this image -- proof that museum stores really are great places to shop. Here, Rebecca Vizard, the designer and textile collector a.k.a. B. Viz, wears her Uzbek suzani coat purchased at D.C.'s Textile Museum. A hidden surprise is the vintage Russian cotton paisley lining. I love the contrast of the vibrantly colored embroidered threads with the muted, rural Louisiana tones.

The Textile Museum currently sells this postcard with a detail of 16th-century Turkish Ottoman silk from its collection. One year I'd love to see it interpreted as a holiday card; the motifs seem ornament-esque. For more on museums and cards, click here.

For Emma Rae (Sort of)

2011-11-30T10:54:00.321-05:00

[1920s full articulated French painter's dummy from l Segno Del Tempo Srl.]

[Clockwise from the left: Selected Letters of Anna Heyward Taylor: South Carolina Artist and World Traveler; circa 1920s Peal & Co of London equestrian trunk from Essex Antiquarians; New Orleans potter Mark Derby's Victorian tile-inspired tray from the Ogden Museum's Center for Southern Craft and Design.]

[Lynda Katz platter also from The Center for Southern Craft and Design.]

[Bedside decanter set from High Street Market.]

[1960s indigo-dyed embroidered African boslter from Nickey Kehoe.]

[FEED Projects natural burlap stocking.]

[Lori Vrba Braids 2010, selenium and sepia toned silver gelatin print - 16x16 print is an edition of 20 and starts at $700 unframed. Posted with permission from Jennifer Schwartz Gallery.]

[Books at top from the Ogden, Who Shot Rock & Roll is from the Birmingham Museum of Art or Knopf and my Gili review was posted in October.]

It's a little early for year-end reviews but I've pulled some favorite pieces from past posts and combined them with new items for the fictional Emma Rae King (backstory here). The mix could be interpreted as a fanciful gift guide or a list of things to outfit a showhouse inspired by her rustic cabin.

Like I said the other day, her home has a very tied-to-the-land, traditional feel and the only nods to her independent streak are the photography and accessories. Set decorator Roberta Holinko deftly avoided equestrian cliches and theme design. So, I've probably crossed the line with a couple of choices but nonetheless wanted to include them. For example, the 1920s horse -- an artist's mannequin from l Segno Del Tempo Srl. Newer, less precious versions can still be found at art supply stores. I saw a terrific articulated dog the other day at Sam Flax. And Binders usually has these too. ( Deborah Needleman does say that a well chosen inanimate pet in the house is a great jollifier!)

Lori Vrba's work came back to me because a new exhibition of her photography, Southern Comfort, opens this Friday, December 2 at Jennifer Schwartz Gallery in Atlanta. Similarly, the Southern pottery shown above relates to a special December 2 Ogden Museum shopping event open to both members and the public: The Art of Giving. New Orleans ceramicist Mark Derby, represented in the Ogden's Center for Southern Craft, caught my attention because he is influenced by Victorian tiles and historic Studio Art potteries.

Nickey Kehoe's vintage African pillow would fit well on Emma Rae's cozy sofa, and FEED's natural burlap stocking is double goodness: it happens to suit the cabin's aesthetic perfectly but more importantly the $20 purchase provides a child with half a year's worth of micronutrients through the FEED Foundation's Nutrients Fund. I'd tuck in tickets to an out of town concert as well as Breaking Down Barriers: 300 Years of Women in Art (again, included artists are abstract expressionist Corrie Parker McCallum, photographer Margaret Bourke-White, MacArthur Fellow and fiber artist Mary Jackson, and adventurous printmaker Anna Heyward Taylor) and Global Patterns.

With the exception of this title, the books and other items kind of speak for themselves. However, if you're not familiar with Eudora Welty's photography, click here to learn more.

I am not affiliated with or sponsored by the galleries/museums, shops, publishers, authors, or artists included in this post.

Sally King Benedict Alert

2011-11-28T20:10:00.001-05:00

Shifting from the fictional Grace King Bichon to the very real, Charleston-based artist Sally King Benedict, here's a quick update: one of Sally's works will be included in the upcoming special preview installation of Spotlight on Art at Saks, Atlanta, starting Thursday, December 1.

Pictured here are past examples (sold pieces actually) of her work. You'll have to stop by Phipps (main level, Saks' i~~nterior mall~~ women's shoes entrance) to see what is in the installation. Look for paintings, pottery, and ornaments from thirty other artists on view, too, through January 31, 2012. I'll be on the scene to survey it all, so please stay tuned. The big event -- the 31st Annual Artists Market -- takes place in February at Trinity School. (Did you know Radcliffe Bailey was a past participant?)

Also, a reminder: Hope for the Holidays opens at The Art House this weekend. Beneficiaries include CHRIS Kids and four other organizations that serve children. Click here for links to all.

Something to Talk About

2011-11-27T19:26:00.001-05:00

[All screengrabs from 1995's Something to Talk About written by Callie Khouri; set decoration by Roberta J. Holinko and production design by Mel Bourne. Pictured above, Kyra Sedgwick.]

Maybe you'd like a little break from anything remotely related to food preparation and family meals, but I have a few tidbits worth sharing.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I found myself glimpsing at Callie Khouri's mid-90s Something to Talk About as it played in the background.

While her earlier picture is my personal favorite, StTA was filmed in familiar territory -- the South Carolina and Georgia lowcountry -- and the production design conveys a really strong, authentic sense of place.

In parts of the blogosphere we've been keeping an unofficial, ever-expanding tally of iconic chinoiserie wallpaper spotted in film and throughout history. Today, I add to the list the fictional King family dining room paper. It only appears on screen for a couple of minutes but is nonetheless memorable. We're given the sense that the classic dining room has been decorated this way for decades, if not centuries.
For me, what feels authentically Southern is how the family is using the room in the middle of the day for a casual lunch. And I like how the bare windows and slightly rumpled rug counterbalance the lush, feminine wallpaper.

[Photo my own.]

Of course, about ten years after the movie was in theaters we saw this traditional 18th-century-inspired paper explode on the contemporary design scene, in all sorts of incarnations. (Emile de Bruijn offers a terrific look at Fromental's current mix of tradition and modernity within the realm of Chinese wallpaper.)

Another memorable dwelling in StTA is Kyra Sedgwick's chacter, Emma Rae's, rustic cabin.

Movie stills don't capture the essence of this place. The idea is that Emma Rae has commandeered an outbuilding on her parent's farm. She has hung some contemporary photography and has a few graphic textiles thrown here and there, but the integrity of the old structure -- rough walls included -- remains intact. Interesting to look at now that rustic style is back, following on the heels of the ultra glam years. When I see Emma Rae's walls, I'm reminded of Angie Hranowsky's Enoteca.

These hand-block-printed kitchen towels -- some new patterns, some old favorites -- from Pacific & Rose would probably appeal to Emma Rae. (I'm slipping them in as a very budget-friendly holiday gift idea.)

And if you've seen the movie, you know that cookbooks and recipes are part of the story. Chef Sonya Jones, the Edna Lewis-trained author of Sweet Auburn Desserts and founder of Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Bread Company, will be at the independent Eagle Eye Book Shop on Saturday, December 10 at 2:30 p.m.

Beckoning Doors and Windows

2011-11-22T12:33:00.134-05:00

[Unless otherwise noted, photos snapped by a seven-year-old and tweaked by me.]

I don't need special incentives to visit my local shops and eateries.

[Sparkle and turquoise doors at 310 Rosemont boutique on North Highland Ave. in Atlanta.]

The painted doors and creative window displays always lure me in, especially this time of year.

[Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Co.]

Many of these places are stocked with big-city-league goods and fare but the vibe is small -- in the best sense of the word.

[Below, sign-maker Doris Lindholm working on a job for Stockholm's Nordiska Kompaniet. Midcentury photo from the store's archives as seen in The World of Department Stores,Vendome Press 2011.]

Of course, I can still appreciate the grandeur of an old school (or new school) department store. That's why I'll be reading Jan Whitaker's well-illustrated survey, The World of Department Stores, over the holiday weekend. We'll delve into it during the next few weeks.

[Nathan, age seven, Swirls 2011, Archival Pigment Print, 8.5″ x 11″ unframed. Edition of 5. Pablove Shutterbugs.]

In terms of online shopping, Pablove Shutterbugs -- a very creative group of pediatric cancer patients mentioned here throughout the year -- will be selling limited edition photography prints this Friday. And BTW, if you're a photographer interested in mentoring new students in 2012 (or know a child aged seven to twelve, living with cancer, who is curious about the eight-week course), click here.

Combo Packs: Navajo

2011-11-21T09:25:00.002-05:00

[Photo my own]

The graphic Navajo-inspired Beacon print literally blankets Ralph Lauren's 2011 Atlanta holiday window. Watching the stylists at work, I couldn't help thinking of a few more seasonal gift pairings.

All of the textile books pictured above are from the Heard Museum. One little edition, A Guide to Navajo Rugs, is priced just under $6 so it would be a terrific stocking stuffer or pair nicely with a tribal patterned scarf or bag. It's essentially a primer that covers the major Navajo weavings with color illustrations of each style plus a handy glossary.

The other titles range between $25 and $35. Three bundled together would make a special "curated" present for a textile enthusiast, but obviously a single copy would also be great on its own.

Clockwise from the top left:

Spider Woman's Gift

Woven by the Grandmothers

Navajo Saddle Blankets

Navajo Weaving Tradition

A Guide to Navajo Rugs

Picasso and Pendleton

2011-11-20T09:03:00.153-05:00

[Image via Pendleton]

Shifting from English Dandies (see the V & A's Head of Research, Christopher Breward, midway through a video here) to Picasso wearing Pendleton, I came across this picture recently posted by the century-old American wool company. The riot of found objects and African s culpture in the background is very familiar but the artist's plaid shirt is less expected than his signature stripes. I love it, though. In fact, in December I'll probably be asking Santa for something by Pendleton, The Portland Collection, that new much-buzzed about label offering contemporary made-in-the-U.S. goods inspired by pieces from the woolen mills archives.

You've seen the wares all around this fall. Some favorite Pendleton pics, clockwise from the top left: 2009 centennial celebration ad by Bob Smith featuring the National Parks Blankets; virgin wool and cotton jacquard blanket currently at Atlanta's Lenox Square Anthro; Canyon De Chelly scarf and Sullana mini dress based on Pendleton's iconic Harding pattern, also from Anthro; the Pendleton Sunset Stripe Blanket is an Urban Outfitters exclusive favored by Betsy Burnham.

But back to Picasso, 2011 has been a great year to see the artist's major works in the Southeast with Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris on view at the VMFA this past spring, Modern Masters from the Ferguson Collection shown at the Gibbes over the summer, and now Picasso to Warhol at the High through April 29, 2012. For related art books under $20, check out the VMFA gift shop -- the softcover Picasso exhibition catalogue is on sale -- and this title at the High.

Related past posts: Oprah, Ralph, and Some Stripes (Navajo Blan kets) and A Self-Portrait.

Update 8:04 p.m.
Scout Books has a bit of background on the 40s-inspired Pendleton poster. And the company recommends books on trade blankets here.

The Gift of Beauty

2011-11-19T18:09:00.203-05:00

[Grainy photo mine; Vogue is open to Whistler's Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl ; peacock paper via Paper Source.]

Last week I announced that another V & A organized exhibition is coming to San Francisco: The Cult of Beauty: The Vi ctorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 will be on view at the Legion of Honor beginning February 18, 2012. And today, when I opened the December Vogue, I spied an Aesthetic-inspired spread with Hamish Bowles's commentary on the 19th-century artistic movement. So, predictably I'm afraid, here are my three related gift suggestions.

Ultimate: Tuck two tickets to San Francisco along with Museum passes inside Bowles's Vogue story. Wrap with symbolic peacock paper. (Well over a century ago, the stylized feather became an emblem of Aestheticism. As the V & A points out, because of Liberty's strong ties to the Aesthetic Movement, most of us today associate peacock feathers with Arthur Silver's iconic fabric for the London store but to early Victorians the motif screamed Aestheticism.)

Very Nice: Bundle the December Vogue with a copy of the exhibition catalogue.

Budget-Friendly, Fun, and Inspired: The December Vogue with an iTunes gift card for the The Cult of Beauty App for iPad. I bought it. Totally worth the $3.99. For me, highlights include: a video with curator Stephen Calloway and Financial Times style editor Damian Foxe supervising a fashion shoot in the Morris Room; the Exhibition Audioguide narrated by Rupert Everett; and the Audiographs of three pivotal Aesthetic Women -- model Jane Morris, poet Elizabeth Siddal, and actress Ellen Terry.

Hopefully many of the V & A's Aesthetic-inspired gift shop wares, like the feathers portfolio or sketch pen with designs adapted from Aubrey Beardsley drawings, will be available at the Legion of Honor winter 2012.

Giving Again

2011-11-17T09:24:00.118-05:00

[Photo my own]

I'm kind of jazzed because the snowy white camellias on my patio are actually blooming.

[Tarlow vase images via LACMA]

At eight-inches tall, Rose Tarlow's ivory ceramic vase with crackle finish would mostly likely work with a longer branch -- not a single camellia stem -- but I wanted to highlight it today since it's such a great museum gift shop find.

In conjunction with the award she was given by LACMA's Decorative Arts and Design Council (DADC), Tarlow created this classic little vessel; only 350 will be made and a portion of its proceeds will be donated by Tarlow's Melrose House to the DADC. (Last year, Tarlow was recognized by DADC for her accomplishments as a designer, educator, fine furnishings maker and author.) It costs just under $90.

And more gift ideas: if you find yourself in Atlanta the first weekend in December, check out Hope for the Holidays at The Art House. Proceeds from sales of ceramics, glass, fine art and other works by more than 100 Georgia artists will benefit five non-profits that serve abused, neglected and homeless children: The Atlanta Mission, Children's Restoration Network, CHRIS Kids, Jerusalem House, and Sheltering Arms Early Education & Family Centers.

Wrappers

2011-11-16T19:17:00.007-05:00

[Detail, Trade Textile (Tapih Sarasa), 1750-1800, Mordant- and wax resist-dyed cotton, Costume Council Fund (AC1996.60.1) LACMA's Costume and Textiles Department. Although not currently on view, this textile is included in Fabric of Enchantment: Batik from the North Coast of Java. LACMA and Weatherhill, Inc. 1996]

For the batik lover, I've pulled two books from past posts and one new addition from my personal wishlist.

A luxe present would be all three:

LACMA's Fabric of Enchantment: Batik from the North Coast of Java;

Sari to Sarong: 500 years of Indian and Indonesian textile exchange (in paperback here)

and Batik: 75 Selected Masterpieces.

An alternative could be one book plus a date to visit a museum with a strong costume and textiles department, like LACMA, the Mint, the de Young, or of course the V & A.

[Paper images via the V & A]

Moving from women’s hip wrappers (another description for sarong seen throughout these books) to holiday wrap, the V & A is offering this terrific double-sided Snow and Stripe paper based in part on a furnishing fabric in the Museum's collection -- the 1938 hand block-printed linen, Pointed Pip, by British designer Phyllis Barron. Rhythmic geometrics are typical of her work, and considering her interest in craft (in fact, Barron designed paper too), I think this is one of the most inspired Museum gift shop wares I've seen in a while.

The V & A also sells linen ribbon.

2011 Pairings Continued

2011-11-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

[Photo of vines on the High my own. Book image via MoMA.]

Thanks to the recent acquisition of 56 Kiki Smith prints, the High is now a major holder of her work. Smith will visit the Museum on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 7 p.m. for a conversation about her techniques and the extensive range of imagery incorporated into her pieces. She'll be joined by Robert Brown, Printmaking Chair, SCAD Atlanta, along with the High's Director of Collections and Exhibitions, David Brenneman (always a terrific speaker) and Michael Rooks, the High's Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Tickets are $15 for non-members and $5 for students with ID.

I was thinking that a couple of tickets paired with a past exhibition catalog would be a great holiday present for a Smith fan. BTW, the High's acquisition is currently on view in Kiki Smith: Rituals, continuing through January 22, 2012.

[Image top left: Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1944, Henri Matisse, Vence, France

from the exhibition, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century. Image top right from Picasso: The Mediterranean Years 1945-1962 via Anthro.]

Rosamond Bernier's new book, Some of My Lives: A Scrapbook Memoir, turned out to be one of my favorite 2011 reads. It's brisk, funny, informative, and even a bit inspirational. Because of Bernier's close ties to all the 20th century art world giants, her collection of essays would also pair well with tickets to the High, specifically the exhibition Picasso to Warhol. Alternate pairings include anything Matisse or Picasso related -- maybe a DVD of one of her Met lectures. In the past, we've gone over two classic titles filled with photos of the artists at home: David Douglas Duncan's Goodbye Picasso and Matisse, His Art and His Textiles: The Fabric of Dreams. But there's also Picasso: The Mediterranean Years 1945-1962, from Gagosian's 2010 show.

Something About Mary

2011-11-15T20:11:00.000-05:00

[Above, Mary Delany's Christmas Rose reproduced as a holiday card by the British Museum. Below, her Holly with Berries. Both are boxed together. Message inside reads 'Season's Greetings'.]

These cards should have been included in one of the previous two posts.

Talk about second acts. At age 72, the fashionable and terribly creative 18th-century craftswoman, Mary Delany, delved into hand-cut botanical collages (she called them “paper mosaics”), ultimately completing about 1,000 works. The Yale Center for British Art describes these pieces as "the crowning achievement of her rich creative life." And across the pond, the British Museum has reproduced a couple of them as holiday cards.

[MFA boxed cards, reproduction of 1967 (Rothko Number 1268.67), 1967 Mark Rothko (1903-1970).

Acrylic on paper mounted on hardboard panel, Gift of the Mark Rothko foundation 1986.43.260

If you're on the lookout for something less feminine or more 20th-century, the MFA, Boston, sells a number of holiday cards based on masterworks. Many have a simple, universal seasonal greeting inside but the Rothko above is sans message.

Running with Scissors: Beatrice Coron et al.

2011-11-14T09:32:00.084-05:00

[Laser-cut ornaments by Beatrice Coron]

Shannon Morris, curator of the Georgia College Museum in Milledgeville, is once again drawing upon the school's strong literary roots for an upcoming book arts exhibition, Apocryphal, Traditional et al. One of the included artists, Beatrice Coron, is well known for her contemporary paper cutwork, and I noticed that she currently has for sale a set of a dozen laser-cut archival cardboard ornaments. Check them out here.

[Image via Hollyhock]

Back in 2007, Hollyhock had a stunning 19th-century piece created with colorful cut-paper and tinsel. This past post offers links to related artists, past and present, such as Emma van Leest, Kara Walker and Mary Delany.

Shopping the Museums: Holiday Cards

2011-11-13T15:47:00.000-05:00

Following up on this post about the Bard Graduate Center's fall exhibition, American Christmas Cards 1900-1960, on view through December 31, 2011 in the Focus Gallery, I'm highlighting a few contemporary examples from museums around the world. Shown above, Tate offers artist Nigel Peake's Robin.

And here, Tate's own Miguel Cunha created a stylized gold holiday scene that can be cut-out to stand up on its own.

Mar Mar Co, based in Cheshire Street, London, designed the crisp, graphic Love Giving card specifically for Tate.

The Courtauld Gallery sells Branch of Holly circa 1430-40, from the workshop of Rogier Van De Weyden.

In case you missed it the first time, here's the V & A's square card, Reindeer Embroidery, a detail of the 17th-century Abigail Pett Bed Hanging embroidered in crewel wool on a linen and cotton ground.

From the de Young, I like the Pheasant on a Snowy Bank set.

Inspired by the December 1957 cover of Arts & Architecture magazine designed by Charles Kratka, these cards are exclusive to LACMA and offered in conjunction with California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way."

LACMA's boxed lace cards aren't holiday-specific, but they caught my eye. The four designs are drawn from a shawl in the Museum’s Costume & Textile Department collections.

Haven't forgotten Hanukkah, but so far the most beautiful card I've spotted wasn't at a museum gift shop. Above, some goodies from the Asian that I had to sneak in.