Monday Cocktails

My first ever Cocktail Table is complete.

I got it back yesterday from the sandblaster. I am putting the prototype up for auction in the 2011 Design Trust Art + Design Benefit Auction that Cindy Allen, the Editor of Interior Design magazine, organizes every year. This small table (14" x 14" x 17") will complete any room. Look for it on their website soon (I'm a little bit late with my entry), and bid on it there, or you can attend the event and bid live. It is a fun evening.

There will be more Cocktail Tables to come, they are part of my REALITY work. In this series, instead of casting from life, I re-use the vestiges of our lives. The Can Clusters I created a few years ago are a similar idea. Waste transformed through order and finishing.

To me, these liquor bottles connote good times, some may see danger and sadness in them, others may relate to the particular brands, or just to the iconic nature of bottles in general. Whatever the association, meaning is latent decoration. The beauty, however, is not fully tapped until the artifacts are ordered and finished. In a batch of random bottles there are many sizes and shapes so each one of these pieces will be unique. This table for example employs all rectilinear bottles and I was amazed at how this selection went together as a perfect square. I had them sandblasted to get them one step away from reality.

There is much potential in trash. These bottles are extremely structural, reuse redeems the energy that went into making them, and prevents the energy needed to recycle them. However, reusing waste is not as easy as it sounds. Production is much more difficult than I had imagined. For the moment, my cocktail tables will all be unique creations. Of course, not every bottle will do, so I dumpster dive at our local recycling center selecting only clear liquor bottles, clean them, and arrange them. They are
sandblasted and UV glued together. The tops and bases are solid virgin glass. I have always been a proponent of mixing reused and new. Silicone stoppers and bumpers complete the table.

National Design Awards 2011

I Attended the National Design Awards last night and it was feeling very "establishment."                                                                                                                                   

The room was fun, designed by David Stark (again), and I sat at a cool table. Chris Hacker (L below) hosted. He is a friend and one of the best art directors I have ever worked with (Aveda, J&J, Steuben, Warner Bros). In addition to friends and colleagues he invited his 95 year old father, who was the star of the evening. 

Congratulations to all of the winners, but the ceremony was long-winded and it seemed like the big guys took over this year. I know, where would we be without the big guys, but some years there are a few underdog winners too. Natalie Morales hosted and Sigourney Weaver presented an award, so there was some star power in the room. Mathew Modine presented one of the last awards and commented on how dry the room was. 

One cannot be too judgmental, it is a charity event and there are probably a whole host of forces at work that I will never understand, but it is the National Design Awards! Where was the design? Where were all of the designers? We need to shake this party up.

I did run into my friends from the Corning Museum of Glass. They had made the award. It is pretty beautiful, check it out here.

I love this sh*t

I discovered an amazing new product. Gorilla makes a super glue that delivers on the promise. Incredible strength and speed. 

And the cap really works to keep it unclogged. 

Pig Safety

Got this email the other day from my friend Lisa Roberts of My Design Life:

"Hi Harry, I gave my TV producer Sara Baxter your pig as a thank you for the end of the TV series. She sent me this photo on her way to work. Thought you might like to see it. xo Lisa"

So I just wanted to shout out to Sara and thank her for putting safety first.

Foodie NYC

Last night was a beautiful night and my friend Cathy suggested we visit Madison Square Eats, the food trucks at Madison Square Park.

The moonlit ambiance was great, as was the lobster roll, but before we could decide on a second course all of the trucks shut down. So we headed over to Eataly and ended up getting a table at Birreria, their open-air, roof-top sensation. It has been packed all summer with tourists, but it only took a few minutes to get a table at 9pm on a Tuesday in October. The design is very European beer hall, but it makes good use of red, one of my all-time favorite colors. Unfortunately they had the retractable roof closed.

My food was perfect. I had two salads including this one that is composed of cooked and raw vegetables. It was a feast for the eyes until I dug in, and then it became a complex mix of flavor and texture. Yum.

Thank You Mr. Jobs ...

                                                                                                                                                                         

Found this pic of a very swarthy Steve Jobs standing on the moon with my first computer. My Apple II and my Epson computer (zipping away in the early morning) got me through my Poly-Sci degree at Alfred University.

PIG LOVE / PIG HATE

Another pig spotting ...                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Our friend Mari Balestrazzi at Morgans Hotel group was visiting a factory and the CEO has a collection of 1500 pigs, including ours in gold. Unfortunately right next to our Bank in the Form of a Pig is one of the most offensive ripp-offs I have seen on the market to date - the silver boar. I first saw it in Paris a couple of years ago. Yes, it is a boar, with teats, and I don't think it is a bank, but come on, it  looks like they modified ours. I hate it. 

Pentawards

I attended the Pentawards ceremony last night at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square.                                                                                                                                         

The Pentawards is an award program for packaging design. We already knew we had won a Platinum Award, the best in the luxury packaging category, for our BANG bottle, but this was the actual ceremony where they hand out the awards. The reception featured a coffee service in the lobby. What, no bar? 

I had forgotten how cool the inside of the Marriot is with the elevators shooting up and down, and the lit hallways lining the atrium. After a coffee, the 200 or so winners filed into the conference room where awards were to be given. 

 

It wasn't the Oscars, but it was interesting. Lots of good work honored, and people had travelled far and wide to attend, 21 countries were represented. Afterwards they served drinks and food, and I hung out at a table full of Greeks. They were all feeling pretty bad about the economic situation back home, but happy to be recognized on the international stage by the Pentawards. From left to right below: Marina won an award and her husband Kostas is a TV star in Greece. Apparently he created quite a stir on the flight over. Andreas Kioroglou is also a designer, and his client Konstantinos Verdes, who makes a rubics-cube-like toy, wanted to know where to party in NYC. 

 The very trippy rug ...

And our Platinum award for the design of the Mark Jacobs BANG bottle ...

In addition to the award, we won a free booth at the Luxepack show in Shanghai in March 2012. Nice. Now we have to figure that one out.

Color Report: Chartreuse

Much of my color inspiration comes from John's garden. This chartreuse Kniphofia is having a second flush of blooms (because John is such an amazing dead header!) and it made me stop and contemplate its yellowish-green hue. Colors from nature are hard to incorporate into our lives, but Shirley's recent report on the colorful work of Luis Barragan made me realize that color can be a powerful tool. I'm growing bored of neutrals. Chartreuse bathroom anyone?

Wave Hill

First, I'd like to thank Shirley for her last two posts on Mexico. I am encouraging the HAD team to weigh in with interesting things they see and do, and it looks like Shirley had an amazing trip to Mexico. I am jealous that she got to see all of the Luis Barragán architecture - that is something that has been on my list for a long time.

I've had blogging fatigue for the last few weeks, but I'm officially back at it. Fortunately the Wave Hill Gardener's Party supplied some great material last Thursday night. Wave Hill is a beautiful old estate in Riverdale, just north of NYC on the Hudson River, that has been preserved as a public garden.  The Gardener's party is their annual fundraiser that starts with cocktails and a plant sale.

The sun was going down, but I managed to explore the green house and the trough garden (with a vodka and tonic in hand). Trough gardening is a beautiful old tradition whereby alpine miniature plants are grown in cement troughs. I love the intersection of the geometric troughs and the organic plant material. In the picture below you can see the party underway in the background.

Dinner in the tent features a very generous auction to benefit the garden. Heavy hitters bid on unique plant specimens and boat cruises to benefit the garden. The rest of us bask in the glow of the philanthropy. Adam Rose and Peter McQuillen were our hosts, and our very-fun table table included from left to right: Peter McQuillan, myself, Colleen McQuillen, Jeff Waeschle, John Holm, Adam Rose, Cathy Deutsch (a graduate of the Wave Hill intern program that was being honored), Matt and Carleigh Farley, and Joanne Guzman.

Mexico City: Food

Mexicans love to eat and drink, and they do it pretty well. I was surprised by the number of restaurants and food stands, way more than in New York City. Food is a big part of the culture and you see it everywhere. It's hard to walk by and not have a taste, especially when the smell and vibrant colors makes you hungry for more.

Making cotton candy on the streets

Flautas (taquitos) before you order

Flautas after

Candy stand (they love their sweets)

Poblanos for Chiles en Nogada (seasonal dish)

Tacos al Pastor

Churros in the making

$2 Torta

Mexico: Casa Luis Barragán

Harry recommended that I see Luis Barragán's work in Mexico. For those that don't know about Luis Barragán, he is considered the most important Mexican architect in the 20th century. His work was influenced by European modernism and often is quoted in reference to minimalist architecture.

So, I visited one of his important/personal works, Casa Luis Barragán. His house is really impressive and the tour was worthwhile. A must see when in Mexico City.

Facade

Entrance Hall

Vestibule

Vestibule

Living Room

Living Room

Guest Bedroom

Terrace

This was the house that he built for himself towards the third decade of his life. He was influenced by the rural landscapes, towns, haciendas, and the heritage of Mexico's religious colonial architecture. The house proposes a new relation between interior space and landscape architecture, where house and garden are seen as one.

Mexico: Pig Spotting

Harry Allen Design studio manager, Shirley Hong, went to Mexico City last week and spotted a few REALITY products. The store manager of Mob mentioned that the Mexican people love our little Cerdito!

Look froward to posts by Shirley this week. She ate and saw some amazing things!

R.I.P. Steuben

Steuben, the beloved U.S. glassmaker and Harry Allen Design client will be closing down it's 108-year-old factory and all of its retail stores. A sad day for glassmaking in the USA.

"Steuben Glass Factory and Store to Close"
by Patrick Mcgeehan

A Penny Saved

Our new coin jar for Steuben featured in David Report.

Barney Brown

When I stumbled upon these pics they brightened a very rainy Monday.                                         

                 

I met up with my friend Tanja Solci in LA a few weeks ago. She has a great eye, and I was happy she could meet my friend Edward James (aka Barney) Brown. One of the first things we did was join Barney at a show he was having at Ed's Coffee Shop on Robertson.

At 88, and despite more than a few ailments, he is still painting. I love his easy style. He started his career in the commercial arts doing illustration work for a company called "Timely Service," and spent many years working as an art restorer, and now he just speaks with his paintbrushes. When I visited a few days later he was capturing the sunflowers outside his window . 

I bought a few of his paintings - a blue elephant for my niece and a tall sunflower diptych that will go into my bedroom here in the City. Barney provides a lesson for all artists: if one immerses oneself in one's craft it will provide joy forever. He is a source of inspiration for everyone around him. Check out more of his work here:

http://www.edwardjamesbrown.com/Artist.html

Robert Lewis

I was in LA last week, and spent some time with lighting designer, Robert Lewis.                                     

                                                                     

Robert and I go way back. He lived in NY for many years and we shared a studio for a short time. In 2001 we worked together on a lighting project for Ikea (for which I designed the Kila lamp). He is thriving in LA, working on a variety of projects. I brought Tanja Solci, a friend in from Milano, with me to visit Robert's home/studio in West Hollywood. She took all of these pictures. 

Robert works in many mediums, and makes much of what he designs. I have always admired his work with Mica. One of his Mica boxes hangs in my living room in Bedford, but he takes Mica to a whole new level with this soccer ball shape ...

... and this asymetrical construction.

His home and workspace are a feast for the eyes.

He says his work is "not pretty," but I find it beautiful on many levels. He promised me this raw little bulb construction.

His web site is being developed as we speak, look for it in a few weeks at: www.robertlewisstudio.com

My Design Life: What can I Say It's a Gift

See Harry's interview with Lisa Roberts of "My Design Life" tonight on Ovation at 8pm!