Green Walls

Sorry, it's been a while... I've been to China and am working hard in the studio getting ready for the Salone Del Mobile and the ICFF. 

However, on Easter Sunday we snuck in a visit to the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden to see Patrick Blanc's vertical installations. It was a crazy idea to visit on Easter, one of the biggest days of the year at NYBG, but we got in and out early and it was a gorgeous day!

The Orchid show is well worth a visit, and it is up until April 22. 

My only complaint is that the conservatory is so stuffed with plants already that it is hard to see the "green walls" from the rest of the place. I would have preferred a gallery setting to isolate and accentuate, but the orchids are amazing. 

The Orchid Show used to fill the void before spring started in the Garden, gloomy March, but this year global climate change has the entire garden in bloom at least a month early. If this weekend was any indication, the end of the world will certainly be spectacular. 

Design Chicago

I spent last weekend in Chicago judging two competitions for the IIDA.

It was a very distinguished and fun panel of judges:

Around the table from left to right are Architect Michael Green (juror) of Vancouver, Interior Designer Gino Castano (juror) of San Francisco, Dennis Krause and Cheryl Durst who run the IIDA, smiley Me (juror), and Architect Dina Griffin (juror) from Chicago.

A couple of us had drinks at Ian Schragger's latest venture in Chicago, the Public Hotel, which sports a very restrained, elegant, Yabu Pushelberg interior. The leafed vault behind the bar in the Pump Room is amazing ...

as are the raw fiberglass globes over the tables. Sorry, this pic was taken in the dark after a few drinks ... sort of atmospheric, no?

 The results of the competition can be seen here: http://www.iida.org/content.cfm/competition-news

Knotty Love

On the top of my reading list:

3900 knots for my design pleasure.

Harry's Travels: India #1

I am in India on my way to Bhutan. Nothing humbles your design sense as much as a trip to India. Design is all about control, India is all about letting go.

As much as any designer, maybe even more, I am comfortable embracing the reality of things. Life is random and sometimes going with the flow enables some incredible results. No country does random as well as India. Our first stop was the Hanuman temple in Delhi. Out front they sell flower garlands. The garlands are used to adorn everything from stores, to cars, to temples. The world needs more flower garlands, it is such a beautiful gesture. And to my Western eyes it seems so decadent; they will after all, just decay; but herein lies the beauty.

India offers many examples of random embellishment. Note the tassels on this banana truck.

There are many lessons to be learned here. One of the things I noticed today is how many components go into an experience. The atmosphere, the smells, the sounds. We visited Agra today and the Taj Mahal was splendid. White on white marble, in a smoky haze, lit by a setting sun, and hoards of visitors, a sea of humanity, paying their respects.

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. 

PROJECT WAFFLES

On August 18 I will work with the Corning Museum of Glass glassblowing team on a new project.                                                                                                                                                                       

I do not normally blog about ongoing design projects, but since this one if self-instigated, based on a fun premise, and involves some skillful glassmakers, I thought it might be fun to share. If you are in Corning area on August 18th, 8:30 -11:30 am, you are welcome to come watch. We will be making glass waffles!

REALITY is my line of goods that are cast from existing objects; most of the products are made by Areaware, but recently because of my work with Steuben and Glasslab, I have been thinking about how to make REALITY products out of glass. It is difficult to give glass a truly realistic form. There is a very labor-intesive process called Sag casting, which is how I made my Sticks and Stones decanter set for Steuben. The other way is to make a metal mold - which is very expensive. The difficulty forced a search for a pre-made mold, anything made of steel that could be used to give a realistic form, and lead me to the waffle iron. It was just there for the taking - a waffle iron is basically a two part mold.

I have a love of waffles that goes back to my childhood. It was the breakfast that my Dad made, I love their texture and taste, and it is associations like this that make for good REALITY products; they are more about ideas and less about just being pretty. Ultimately, however, they need to function too, and it seems to me that a glass waffle will make a very useful trivet. In addition, I am hopeful that glass waffles will look amazing, like a reflector, or cut glass. So I brought the idea to my friends at the Corning Museum of Glass and they invited me up for a waffle making session as part of their Hot Glass Show on August 18th. 

Making a REALITY product is not traditional product design, and it is never a sure thing, it is more about finding the right thing to cast and coaxing it to be a new product. Making glass waffles trivets will be a fun experiment, and you can follow the process here. Look forward to a few more postings before the big day, and of course a full report on the glass fabrication  - maybe even a movie or two. 

Color Report

I love this image for a few reasons.

1) It demonstrates how well our platinum grey kitchen sets off other colors.

2) I believe in design dialogues and I love when two inanimate things in my life start communicating. Our rosé was definitely talking with our snapdragons this evening.

3) In order to really appreciate a color you need to dance around it. On first glance these snapdragons are orange, but when you get into it they are yellow, orange, and light pink. The wine's subtle blush color and transparency compliments the flowers beautifully. Sometimes it is nice to experience a color in all of its variations.

Color Report

It's a roadside weed, but what a beauty.

The pale blue violet  flowers of wild Chicory (Cichorium intybus) line the roads near my home in Bedford NY at this point in the summer. It is a color sure to induce nostalgia.

When I was kid, we called this plant Flax. I only just now learned via a web search that it is in fact Chicory. This explains the murky results I got from an attempt to make linen. Somewhere I learned that linen was made from Flax plants. Further research revealed the manufacturing process that involves soaking the dried stems in water. Apparently if Flax plants are used, the process dissolves the pithy part of the plant and leaves the linen fibers. If one uses Chicory it just makes a smelly bucket of goo.

My childhood disaster notwithstanding, it is a color I would love to use on an interior project at some point. I see it paired with dark woods like Walnut, or a dark steely gray.

McGenius

Alexander McQueen @ the Met blew my mind.

Color Report

I was inspired by the mounds of fresh strawberries at the farmers market yesterday. Red is delicious.

Suite Friday

I have been working on a few residential projects - I know, yikes - it involves a lot of specifying and shopping, but I am enjoying the research. Last Friday, late in the afternoon I swung by Suite NY to see what they have. They carry some of the best European furniture brands, from Alper to Foscarini to dePadova, and the new showroom at 419 Park Ave is incredible, up on the 17th Floor with views of the Empire State Building.

Kris Fuchs and Maria Sepulveda who own the place are friends and since it was the most amazing Friday, after I saw all I needed to see, we hung out on their balcony for a bit. Right across from them is this amazing new glass-balcony bar in the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel. Looks like a great place to visit.

I have the greatest respect for anyone in the front trenches selling design, and Kris and Maria are two of the hardest working gals in the business, but we were not working very hard on Friday afternoon.

Day 5 Salone

Sorry, missed a beat. Getting out of Milano was exhausting. My first stop on my last day was Artek, showing at the Gio Marconi Gallery. I had an I-wish-I-had-thought-of-that moment with this simple roof-shaped fixture by Ville Kokkonen.

Then I hooked up with my partner in crime Tanja Solci to tour around the Tortona Area. Tanja bought one of these cute little tables, with a Lego block design on the top.

The Nendo black-line furniture looked great at Capellini.

I spotted our Metropolitan vases used as accessories in Cassina.

Tried to buy these etch votive holders at the Tom Dixon store, but they were sold out.

We then headed over to Rossana Orlandi Gallery for a second look. The place had a festive vibe on Saturday afternoon. Rossana serves food in the courtyard and it is a gathering place for designers. Tanja and Rossana had a lot to talk about. I just stood and nodded in agreement.

To close the deal, a group of friends and I attended Barnaba Fornasetti's party in his family home and studio. It is a legendary party that takes place in and around the courtyard. And for those of you who do not know about Fornasetti, take a look at the web site http://www.fornasetti.com/en/.

Here Barnaba makes and appearance (in hat), before he went upstairs to DJ.

Theo Williams, the design director at Habitat and an old friend, his lovely partner Ingrid, and Nigel Coates in the yellow hallway.

The house is incredible. Every surface is decorated in classic Fornasetti prints and patterns. And it is a real testament to the power of design to enrich one's life. My pictures do not do it justice. Here is the studio...

... a hand-painted door ...

... a vignette tiles and glassware in the bathroom ...

... and the wall of mirrors in the living room ...

In addition to being a magical and inspiring house, it is well-lived in. There is no better way to enjoy a home than to invite others into it. And Barnaba is a great host, he started DJing and the guests moved upstairs into the library and really got their groove on.

On the dance floor I kept getting messages from Continental about my plane delay the next day. With every text, 10:20, 10:54, 11:34, 12:52, to 2:44, I had another drink and danced some more.

Day 4 Salone

Things are calming down in Milano. I cannot wait to go home on Sunday. Here are some of my favorite things from today.

MGX lighting, made by 3D printing, which allows for some otherwise un-manufacturable forms.



The full on commitment companies make to their booths.




Emeco's timeless Navy chair now made recycled plastic - even though I might rather see a new design represent the new technology.



These beauties at Casamania - made from old clothes.



Our own "Birds on Wire" coat rack.



This furry Campana Brothers chair - it made me realize how much I like their work, and how much I miss Ben, my Basset Hound.



Konstantine Grcic's smart new chair for Vitra.



Zaha Hadid's shelving system for Magis.



The artist as art - Bethan Laura Wood with her glass lamps.



Martino Gamper's shelving unit.



The puntarella that made our salad at dinner.



The Porcini that went into our pasta.

Day 3 Salone

I stayed in town, had a few meetings in the morning, and then headed out in the afternoon with my friends Fabio and Luigi from Dovetusai to see the Interni Magazine coordinated show at the University. It is a classic Milano setting in the courtyards of a very old building. Interni pairs designers with manufacturers to produce large scale installations. This year it centers around the theme of Mutant Architecture and Design.

Lighting designer, Ingo Maurer, presented Ablaze, a house on fire. It was a mind-blower. Outside it was tarred black, and inside it featured a mirrored pendulum swinging in a brightly lit, colored environment. The effect was surreal. From time to time it spewed smoke and I am not sure what it all meant, but it was amazing.





In the next courtyard was this construction by Gwenael Nicolas. It surrounded an old ruin and the large plastic whips swayed in the breeze. It was very striking this afternoon, but I think all of the installations would have been nicer lit up at night, so I might try to go back.



Then I joined my friend Gaye Cevikel, owner of Gaia & Gino, for a couple of events in the center of town. The Wallpaper installation, Handmade, was remarkable but not so photogenic. Then Gaye and I went to another Wallpaper reception at the Alexander McQueen store for a presentation of his rugs - apparently the last project he worked on. The textiles on display were beautiful, and we ran into famous Memphis (the design movement, not the town) architect and designer, Mateo Thun.



After a cocktail at the Four Seasons I left Gaye to meet up with my friend Melissa Feldman to Rossana Orlandi Gallery where we saw this amazing installation of ceramic Scarabs by RaR for Thomas Eyck.



At Salone you bump into the rest of the design world. While at the gallery I met Nasir Kassamali, one of the great retailers of design in the USA, Teruro Kurosaki, one of the legends of Japanese design and culture, and Tanja Solci, the Italian PR empress. Tanja's the one with the pink nails.



This amazing pipe bench by Piet Hein Eck makes it onto my top ten list.



These are not new, but I love them. Cast doll part bowls by the Campana brothers for French ceramic manufacturer, Bernardaud.



The last show of the day was the second half of Li Edelkoorts Talking Textiles. The whole thing was great, by far the best curated show of the Salone. I particularly loved this tablecloth (sorry didn't get the designer's name) ...



... this Campana brother's rug featuring little dolls sunbathing on the grass ...



... and these strapped together chairs ...



After dinner with the women from the Cooper Hewitt Museum. It is a design marathon. I closed the night at Bar Basso, the late night destination of all designers.



Below Brazilian designer, Brunno Jahara, who will be showing with me during the ICFF, chats with David Weeks, NYC designer extraordinaire. I don't often go out drinking anymore, but this is like old home week, and the jetlag helps. I ran into designers Marre Morel, Ian Stallard and Patrik Fredrikson, and Joe Doucet. The journalists Sam Grawe and Hanna Nova Beatrice were also in attendance, and the list of boldface design names goes on and on. You cant swing a bat at this place without hitting someone incredibly talented, proving once again that the design community really knows how to party. I didn't stay long.