I Heart BDDW

I might be the last to jump on this ship, but I recently discovered BDDW at the Architectural Digest show, and fell in love. The pieces are lovely — lovely in the most thoughtful, simple, quirky way.

In a nutshell, BDDW is everything I adore — heirloom-quality solid wood furniture, traditionally joined, and handmade in America. The hardwoods are sourced domestically, and finishes are hand rubbed with natural oils and lacquers.

 Ahh. This one reminds me of a precious velvet something I used to sit on.

 Unique details.

Also brilliant.

 These shelves are held by the tension of leather straps.

The table legs remind me of a little creature. Leather tabs and metal rods make for simple yet clever drawer pulls.

Marni + Chairs = Love

Be still my heart. 

Marni has created a 100-chair collection for this month's Salone del Mobile in Milan. The geometric metal seats are covered in colorful hand-woven plastic and cost around €300. In addition to providing the world with some upbeat, innovative design, the Italian fashion house also did some good for mankind; they hired a group of former Colombian prison inmates to produce the pieces as a way to help them readjust to social and working life.

(images courtesy of Fashionologie)

Offerman Woodshop

In honor of my favorite show, Parks and Rec, returning this evening, I would like to share with you a real live furniture company by Nick Offerman, a.k.a. Ron Swanson. The Offerman Woodshop specializes in pieces created from reclaimed wood slabs, and the site design is really cool.

The designs are simple, but gain interest from interesting texture combinations, like plexi with wood, and unexpected details, like a globe floating in the center of a table.

Floated Globe Table

 Claro Walnut Table

Buckeye Burlwood Table

Thank You

Thank you for decorating my front door. I like it much better now.

Too Lazy

My evil fashion twin has gone into hibernation until September, and now I can finally return to the studio and dirty clothes. The only problem is...

I Heart Filip Dujardin

By combining images of existing buildings, Belgian photographer Filip Dujardin creates photographs of eerily familiar, often abandoned, somewhat post-apocalyptic structures.

To read more about the photographer, visit BLDG BLOG (one of my favorites).

(images courtesy of Filip Dujardin)

Thank You For The Memories, Yunhee Min

I recently came across the paintings of Korean artist Yunhee Min while researching for a trend based on crystal gardens. I love the sheer, layered color and they remind me of growing up in Florida in the 80s.

 "Attraction #10", 2009

 "Attraction #14", 2010

 "Attraction #17", 2010

 "Attraction #20", 2010

"Attraction #15", 2010

(all images courtesy of Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects)

Fire In The Sky

This is what greeted me as I left the studio this evening...

 Utterly beautiful.

A Good Idea

This is a good idea. I like it.

Well Said

Jenny Holzer, 1989

I never noticed this before at MOMA

Some Very Special Mail

I wanted to share some very special mail I received from Miss. Jess's class at Harlem Children Zone's Countee Cullen Community Center.

I usually find bills in my mailbox, so imagine my delight finding find this large silver envelope!

I am so glad Miss Jess's art class gets to have fun with the materials I donated. What a talented bunch of kiddos.

THE END

A Fashion Break

I am still working full-time fashion reporting, but I dream about working in the studio. Oh, and the "suntanned" models at the Michael Kors show gave me a nightmare that my nose got sunburned and then fell off. In the midst of the crazy I found these images of some lovely tree branch chairs.

These came from a mess of files on my desktop, so I have no info on them.