Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ever Popular Silk Road Show

Today, the British design and home furnishings troika of Sir Peter Osborne, Tricia Guild and William Yeoward discussed their personal connection to the Silk Road and how it has influenced their products. All three make annual pilgrimages to India both for inspiration and manufacturing. They certainly inspired the room full of designers who came to look and listen at the Boston Design Center. A historical perspective was also offered by moderator Pamela Parmal, David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Know for brilliant saturated color,Tricia Guild based her first collection, created almost 40 years ago, on the recoloring of hand-blocked Indian textiles. (In the 9/11 post below you can see one of the printing blocks that I found at Brimfield.) Her showroom is a must-visit on every trip to London, one can always expect to see trends being developed there.

Although Osbourne and Little prints are softer in color, all three spoke of floral inspiration (particularly the rose) as well as the ever important paisley decorative element. Also expect to see more pomegranate designs. (Above from Osbourne & Little) The hundreds of years of continuity of these designs are comfortable and familiar, and have been a part of our design heritage since the first link was created from Asia to Europe - the Silk Road. All three designers have updated the various Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern influences to fit today's lifestyle. We never grow tired of worn classic cabbage rose patterns and embrace every new version of Silk Road interpretations that are introduced, particularly on the East Coast.

Red, Black and Fuzzy is Baaack!

If, as they say, skirt lengths predict the economy, can the same be said for home furnishings? Red and fuzzy furniture was popular during the 70's with the "bachelor" set. Then does this crib for adults that comes with a built-in TV and champagne bucket from Hollandia International mean that our economy is due to repeat the stagnant 70's? What is most surprising is that this monstrosity is "designed" by Karim Rashid. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when I saw the flocked pink chairs at Umbra several years ago, thinking he couldn't possibly have designed them. Seriously???

Friday, September 18, 2009

Functional art that I "get"

The futuristic tableware by dutch designer Jochem de Wit takes inspiration from the urban environment. He believes a scratch on an object is a signal of life, not a blemish.

His gritty aesthetic of recycled glass, clay and concrete pieces evokes the raw urban environment. The aesthetic is new, while the shapes remain familiar and functional
.

OK, so I don't get it!

Committee has covered the walls of their Gallop Gallery in what they call "extreme tiling." It looks as if they cleaned out someone's warehouse, and while that is certainly better than having it go to the landfill, I just don't understand this installation as an aesthetic statement. While ceramic tile is my favorite functional finish, I suppose this falls into the category described by Ambrose Bierce as: "the art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic."

Clueless, Cluttered and Boring

Four, yes four of the 7 reasons "Why your Advertising isn't Working" are listed in this title. The Business Week article tells us why messages are not getting through to consumers.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Rearranging the Deck Chairs

Despite the downturn, and the bloated unemployment roles, some corporations still have too many managers making gratuitous decisions as make work - obviously to justify their own existence. As is typical of corporations, all the other managers fall in line and blow in each other's ears.

All that is well and good, if it makes sense for the customers in the long run. I have almost stopped going to my nearest grocery story because every time that I go in, the center aisles have been rearranged. I don't enjoy the grocery shopping process except when I am at Trader Joe's, so a trip to my Shaw's is under duress anyway, and only my way home from somewhere else.


The employees were all in agreement that the changes were gratuitous and unnecessary, the corporate management obviously didn't ask either the customer or the store employees for input. I asked to speak to the manager to voice my concern, and a pathetic indignant soul stood in front of me and justified it all instead of politely taking note of a customer's concern. Terrible business relations! Bad for the bottom line and it always shows there. I'm thinkin' there should be more concern for the customer rather than attitude during times like these
. CVS and Trader Joe's offer both an excellent shopping experience and treat their customers with respect and it is no surprise that their bottom lines reflect this.

When do you know there are too many managers? Sometimes it makes sense to "rearrange the deck chairs" - if things are looking worn, outdated or you facility simple needs refreshing for a new season. But this requires more than rearranging the furniture and driving customers nuts in the process. Without true updating, it simply becomes an exercise that justifies management's existence.

Is 25 the new 5?

Judging by the red carpet photographs of the recent VMA awards in Rolling Stone, the attendees were dressed like characters in my childhood comic books. Not only are R-rated movies based on comic book super heroes and villains, but ostensible adults now dress like comic characters at public events. It used to be that kids donned their Mikey Mouse ears on the flight home from their vacation. I am having trouble imagining how this trend will translate out of children's bedrooms into adults public spaces. But it is definitely a sign of the times.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Conundrum of Influences

As you can see, yesterday's visit to Brimfield and today's WSJ The Magazine from the Wall Street Journal confirm for me the direct influence that art has on commerce. Who could miss how the Rodarte sweater dress channels the Native American spirit of the art dolls created by Cher Shaffer of Creston, NC. Besides the dolls that appear to have influenced Rodarte, her booth of folk art was, without question, the most magical of all that I saw at Brimfield.

WSJ calls this look the Rough Luxe Movement, which " juxtaposes fur, feathers and fine fabrics with utilitarian leather, cashmere and wool." The doll that influences the look is personal, precious, charming - anything but luxe... and therein lies the conundrum
of our age.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Color at Brimfield

The "Lampshade Lady" (image on left) uses classic Marimekko and other vintage fabrics and postcards from the distant past when people still sent them to friends and family from their vacation. I wonder whether the greetings sent by way of cell phone photos will have such staying power. This master of remixing teaches her craft in a just-published book: The Lampshade Lady's Guide to Lighting Up Your Life: 50 Custom Lampshades and Lamps and the fresh, though classic, bright colors in her booth made it stand out from all the rest. Find her online at Lake's Lampshades.

The other brightly colored booth (shown on the right) that commanded attention had a hint of deco feel to it, but the bright colors of the frames were strictly contemporary. The reds and purples shown here are fashion-forward for the world of home furnishing, but parallel those of haute couture. The frames add the spice and are the perfect dose of color for the moment. Color is the ultimate "legal" mood enhancer, I see more of it to come.

And then there was the booth of tie-dyed clothing, (in honor of the anniversary of Woodstock - no doubt) I doubt we will be seeing that fashion in the home furnishings arena any time soon. But it was still fun to see.

The Remix of Brimfield

Yesterday was my first visit back to the Brimfield Antique Shows since the beginning of the current recession. Somehow, it all seemed fresh and reinvigorating to me, maybe it was because I skipped a few years - but now my interest has been rekindled. Forgive me for use of these cliche RE words, but this is a venue where they truly apply. Reuse and recycle truly mean something where everything that is offered has a past. Frank Luntz says in his book Words that Work: "…The so-called “re” words… are incredibly powerful because they take the best elements or ideas from the past and apply them to the present and the future.”

This applies to the wonderful world of Brimfield and the antiques and collectibles that have past lives - from parts of farming machinery that become enormous outdoor sculptures, to vintage fabrics applied to create charming lampshades to tin ceilings made into mirror frames along with the expected antiques that are looking for another home.


I have always looked to Brimfield to supply some of the ingredients that go into the stew that I consider as sources for home furnishing trends. The shelter magazine editors are always there, so expect to see many of the things that they find at Brimfield incorporated into future stories.


Trend-wise, of course antique shows are tradition, but more recent decorative objects, such as the recycled metal sculptures, could also be found. Although a constant throughout the decorative arts, there is a renewed interest in the influences and trade objects of the Silk Road as large selections from Pakistan could be found at various booths.
After a decade of neutrals, the bold colors seen in the fall couture could be found here and there and I will address that in a separate post.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Missing Color/ Fond Memories

After years of creating beige on beige products, I have come to realize that I miss the joy of color. The point to me of creating neutral building materials is that they were merely the canvas or at most a foil to other personal expressions. The color and personality was to be supplied with other materials and art, but somehow the late 90's and 00's were almost devoid of the balance that color could bring to wall board and concrete. Sometimes texture loaded on texture just isn't enough to feed the soul. Color can do that in the most personal way.

Today, I was given quite a jolt of a reminder in Harvard Square. I had been reading that the place that I always had thought of as quaint and interesting was now as interesting as your local mall - nearly devoid of personality. I should have know that the writers lamenting the demise of the square had it right, when I immediately found a parking space. I shed many a tear and got many a parking ticket in the years that I was calling on architects in the Square because parking spaces were so hard to come by.

I had heard that Crate and Barrel which was in the old "Design Research" building was closed but was presently surprised that the owner of the building had used the famous frameless windows wisely
and had installed a striking presentation of classic Marimekko fabrics and clothing in all the colorful glory of an era past.