There is a new "invitation only" shopping site with which I have a love/hate relationship.
One King's Lane is a sale site not unlike Gilt Groupe, that "partners" with various design companies and sells at substantial discounts. The pillow above is John Robshaw. They have shown Ann Gish and others in the past. It certainly shares many of the glitches that GG had in the beginning such as the outrageous shipping charges. One pillow $16.00. Two pillows twenty plus dollars. Crazy. Their returns policy is not user friendly either. GG slowly overcame many of their weaknesses, so I hope the same occurs with One King's Lane.
That said, if you want an invitation, put your email address in the comments area and I'll send you one. The John Robshaw sale is fabulous. And Gilt Groupe -- which bills itself as having "sample sales" has a fab Bric's luggage sale today. And there is a Caroline Herrara (!) sale later this week.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
New Shopping Site -- One King's Lane
Thursday, April 9, 2009
River's got High Hopes
River in Essex CT and High Hopes Theraputic Riding Center are partnering in a creative fundraising endeavor.
My friend Joe Marini has been consulting with High Hopes this year for their annual fundraiser which is Symphony in the Barns (every other year it's Symphony in the Meadows, which I love) but as everyone knows the economy having an unfortunate impact on all of our non-profits. So everyone is getting creative out of necessity. The plan, devised by Joe and his partner John Simoudis, along with the folks at High Hopes goes like this; River will host a 2 day event (there will be food!) where shoppers can purchase items and see precisely how the purchase will benefit the people and horses at High Hopes. Below I've included an example. If you purchase the urns, the cost will cover replacement post rails for High Hopes fences. Other businesses are welcome to participate.
Update 4/10. Corrections. Other businesses are welcome to participate, although there is nothing to stop them. The important thing I failed to explain is that local businesses will also benefit because for each purchase made River will by the needed items from a local business. For example, hay or fencing might be bought from nearby Shagbark Lumber.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Christian Faur -- Just Paper
The entire work is made from shredded versions of the United States Constitution rendered in different font sizes and “kernings” to appear darker or lighter."
I wrote about artist Christian Faur recently alluding to the fact that I was saving the best for another post.
I was blown away by his series titled "Just Paper". He has taken an iconic photograph of Guantanamo Bay and made a powerful piece of art. As Christian describes on his website:"made from 12,000 strips of shredded paper. The strips are glued onto a light weight foam backing and assembled in such a way as to make an image that is know in the media to represent the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Wonderfully powerful. The image below illustrates the scale of the work. Faur is Director of Collaborative Technologies in the Arts at Denison in Granville, OH. His website can be found here and he is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie.
I would love to see an exhibit of his work at, perhaps, Wesleyan or a gallery in NYC. Here's a close up of the project.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Beautiful Eye Indeed -- Bell'occhio
I should be outdoors gardening today and here I am feeling guilty about not blogging for such a long time. My, how working gets in the way of things. Oh well, Happy Spring.
In today's T section of the NYTimes there is a one page spread on the store Bell'occhio in San Francisco. Meaning "beautiful eye" in Italian, it's a concept store with items ranging from a few dollars to thousands. Wonderful housewares, paper, ribbon. All sorts of goodies. And a rather whimsically written online store. Lots of clever boxes in an array of dreamy colors like the one above $24). The "Lavandiere Chapeaux, below, is so cool because it ties around your head and eliminates the inevitable falling off problem. ($48-$64)
I would gladly add this leafy ribbon to my ever-expanding ribbon collection. Great for wrapping gifts for gardeners. ($3 per yard)
This long handled goat hair duster would certainly encourage cleanliness. But I might not want to get it dirty. ($48)
Friday, March 6, 2009
Christian Faur -- Crayon Series -- Encaustic Crayons
My friend John Simoudis (who designed my blog) recently told me about the artist Christian Faur.
I'm featuring the Crayon Series here, but his other work is quite -- if not more -- amazing. Certainly worth of another post. Stay tuned. He makes thousands of encaustic crayons and arrangers these pixels in wooden frames. Because the wax would otherwise render the pieces too heavy, his fbricated crayons are about half size. They are amazing. I would love to see one up close. Take a look at his Crayonettes. Faur is Director of Collaborative Technologies in the Arts at Denison in Granville, OH. His website can be found here and he is represented by the Sherrie Gallerie. You can see a close up below.
Umbilical Sky
The Dance 1
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Your Thoughts?
I'm asking you for your ideas.
You guys come from all over the world. What's interesting or cool where you live? Design. Architecture. Textiles. (You know what turns me on). Ceramics. Give me a nudge.
Slowalker -- Photography + Writing of Chris Rorrer
I am loving the new blog written by Twitter pal Chris Rorrer (@rorrer) .
It's safe to say that I'm drawn to his photography and the way it makes me question where exactly he took the shots and from what odd angle. Some look like he was lying on his stomach. I feel quite upside-down.
Even without the wonderful photography I would return to this blog. Professionally Chris writes corporate stuff that would probably put me to sleep (sorry, old guy). But Slowalker is written in a quiet, beautifully cadenced style. There's some pretty serious stuff going on and since we are only Twitter friends I am not comfortable enough to inquire, but I appreciate that we all have -- for lack of a better word -- stuff going on in our lives. I can but wish to find such a honest and harmonious voice. Maybe I ought to leave this darn machine and go for a walk and recall what it is like to be untethered to technology.
Whereas I am content to say I make up stories in my own little way, here Chris puts the same thing into a coherent and charming paragraph:
"I’m in the hills today in the town of Independence, population 971 or so. Independence is beautiful, rolling country in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia; not an easy place to get to, and not many people would every have reason to try. I’m stuck on what a crisply narrative name that someone, a long time ago, bestowed upon this place. The rustic fairy tale in my head is no doubt more interesting (at least to me) than whatever bygone truth is connected to this thickly emotive place-name, but I don’t know the reality and I tend to make my way best through the world by imposing my own mythology on it anyway."
walk slowly, breathe deeply … Write on.
