Oh Goodness.

Something that's inspiring me for the latest project

And I've also made some new aquisitions:
1. An LCD monitor, for color clarity when editing.
2. A subscription to NY Mag, for cultural clarity when conversing.

So, henceforth on a budget.  Especially considering future aquisitions:
Marimekko's store (inside Crate & Barrel) on Broadway & Houston opens in nine days!

[UPDATE 10/6: I love my new monitor so bad. Vivid! Color! Giant! Screen! No more squinting!]

Bamboo Banga

The latest rooftop sculpture at the Met is really awesome.  It's called Big Bambu, and was created entirely out of (you guessed it) bamboo by Doug and Mike Starn.  It's continually changing, an organic-yet-linear work of architecture.  The structure has been growing throughout the summer, and now, as September hits, it's almost 40 feet high.  It's like the house from Blue Lagoon got transported to high above Manhattan, with a five-star view of the park.  There's walkways that swirl and meander their way through the temporary forest that you can actually walk through on a guided tour.  (You've got to get there when the museum first opens to reserve your time).

It's only there till Halloween, also, so you'd better skedaddle uptown asap if you want to catch it. 

This Side of Paradise

OVH

I'm really getting a kick out of these dramatic shots for Old Village Hall, a furniture and home good store with a quirky Americana vibe.  Colonial screen printing anyone?  And also, apparently on Thursdays the East Village store gives you 20% off if you mention "Fitzgerald" and serves complimentary mint juleps.  Mmm.

Subterranean

Some of my favorite underground art- literally. The roots of Bryant Park trees plated in gold... Jurassic on the UWS... words to live by in the Burg.

(Happy Saturday!)

GOOOAAAALLLL

In the World Cup spirit, Puma created a pop up store and lounge in South St. Seaport. Designed by architects LOT-EK, the space held events, performances, and game viewings during the frenzy. It launched in June, but I only went last week for a dj I wanted to see.

I'm a big fan of pop-ups.  They're a chance for a company to do something creative with a low budg.  Most times it's a little more daring than the stores a brand usually has.  Picture lots of MDF, neon lights in kitchy sports themes, foosball, ping ping, etc.  I liked the big chalkboard wall- entertaining. 

Also, might I add, Puma has recently created a non-shoe box using 65% less material than their previous boxes.  These are more of a sleeve over a cardbord frame.  I don't have any Pumas, but I'll consider it after this.

Oh, That Nutty New Museum

The giant rainbow "Hell Yes!" sign on the New Museum's facade has intrigued me for a few months, and I finally made time to go in there.  The stacked boxes remind me of a conceptual model, rather than an actual building.  I get a kick out of the fourth floor, cantilevering out like that.  Some initial thoughts:
1. I'm a fan of the DIY bookstore- corrugated metal, curved, with plywood shelves screwed in.  I wonder if they did this for aesthetic purposes, budgetary, or for flexibility in case they need the space.
2. It's odd at first to get used to a vertical museum. The square footage isn't that large on each floor, and reduces as you climb. (This is also a city-specific thing to get used to.)
3. Elevator is neon green and also freight.  On one hand I loved it, on another, the color made me kind of nauseous.
4. The stacking makes for really unique circulation in the building.  If you don't take the elevator, there are narrow stairs tucked all the way on the north side- we're talking 36" narrow.  It's a odd feeling of intimacy juxtaposed with the huge gallery spaces, but it works.
5. Urs Fischer's exhibit, Marguerite de Ponty, where he's taken over several entire floors.  On one he created this abstracted view of the city, using digital photographs and chrome boxes, that seems at once to capture the essence of an experience walking through.  It's engaging, humorous, intricate, and distinctly in your face.  Another floor has incredible aluminum sculptures that will leave you puzzled on their construction.  Also the tongue was surreal.  Or was it too real?  Or is that the point?  Either way, go see it.  But hurry, it's only there until February 7.
Also- bathrooms- color, placement, scale... spot on.

A Little Residential Design on a Thursday Morning

I just started helping my dear friend configure the space of her UES studio.  Where to begin certain rooms when there are no walls, and how to create delineations yet a cohesiveness.  I definitely deal with the same issues in my own house, and I feel like it's a common conundrum in this city.  (Real estate in general is a class of its own here... 1.5 bedrooms anyone? 4th floor walk up?)  I suppose location really is the main driving factor of where people choose to live here, which makes for more people settling for interior spaces that they do not love!  Is this the key to being a successful designer here- knowing that fact?? For that reason, I'm very excited to help turn the space into a place my friend will enjoy both visually and functionally.
Schematic design to kick things off- our first ideas:

Greetings from Snowless Land

Just arrived back home.  My childhood dog looks larger than life with her winter fur. 
Before I delve into Christmas baking, I just wanted to say that I was stuck in a long line in Terminal 5 of JFK, and didn't even care because I was across from Eero Saarinen's former TWA Terminal.  It's a swooping concrete delight, a celebration of aviation.  It makes me wish that flying was still as glamorous as it used to be.  Don't worry, it's still just as good even if you've got screaming kids in your ear while you look at it.

OM

In the days of glory:

NYC A

Moooi. Wow. Yes.

I was in the B&B Italia showroom the other day, and decided to check out the Moooi showroom downstairs.
Ok. I was kind of perplexed by the name, but as soon as I saw what was down there, I just nodded knowingly... even though I was the only one in there.
Think giant horse + lamp = living room lighting; couch + fur = polar bear seating; checkerboard + table = playing field from every side... etc.
Everything is bold and eccentric, yet has totally sleek functionality (like the Naked Seater's line, where you can customize any couch).
The capstone of the wonderful, modern freakdom is the catalog. No wonder, art direction was by Marcel Wanders. (Styling by Tatjana Quax and Studio Aandacht, which has a cool website).  A startingly realistic mannequin couple acts out a silent melodrama amist the sleek pieces. A bizarre meringue-like pouf melts into a weepy/scary face against a sharp black background. Women lounge on couches, while their dresses twist into the upholstery.
It's completely nutty and totally refreshing.
One question- since they have a giant horse, a pig, and a rabbit... where's the cow?

(Pardon some of the quality of these pics. But I'm sure you get the idea.)

P.S. Happy December!  One of my favorite months.

Fun @ Moss

I decided to check out this gallery, Moss, in SoHo.  One of my professors in London used to have some stuff there a few years ago, and that was credibility enough.  (Okay also Tom Dixon and Marcel Wanders have had work there).  It's an art and design gallery, with a lot of actually functional pieces.  I love seeing that, cause it reminds me of the V&A.  That museum was started to bridge the gap between artists/designers and the average person- by means of showing thoughtful things that people could actually use.  Moss is like a contemporary version of that. 
A cool thing that's going on right now is an exhibition of Maarten Baas, who was just named Designer of the year by Design Miami (by the way I wish I could go... it's next month). He has a wide range of things there, from furniture to electronics.  My favorite was the Clay Furniture line, which made me double take at first.  They have metal frames that Baas designed, and are then completely covered by hand in clay.  Seamlessly.  One one piece, the clay was textured like leather.  It was unreal!  (Literally).  Take a looksee here to see it all.. They're almost animated, like a sketch come to life.

There's also a wild adjacent furniture showroom that you access through a hobbit door.  Wild because of enormous swooping couches and scribbled painting on the walls.  Quite dramatic, I'd say, in addition to some theatrical lighting.  Maybe a little overwhelming.  But they had a whole Maharam library, including the Folklore fabric, one of my personal favorites. This pic is the brighter version, but there's also a more brown/coral one that is really beautiful.

I'm definitely gonna keep up with this place.  Lucky it's neighbors with Topshop...

And this is some work of my old design professor, Eelko Moorer (yes that's rubber)-

EM

The Air's Better Up Here

A free Tuesday found me at High Line park this week. I entered at 14th, in the heart of the Meatpacking District. The last time I was in that area was August 2008, fresh from backpacking and studying abroad, freshly two months behind on my thesis research. It's hard to believe that was only a year ago.

I found out about the High Line only in May, from a Cool Hunting podcast. I weaved through the construction on the cobblestone street and took a glass elevator up to the old elevated tracks. Once up there, I got a vague hint of the L in Philly but oh what an improvement!!
The park was designed to integrate with the existing tracks. Why waste a perfectly good view? The plants are all ones that were originally native to the area.  Back when New York City was known as Manhatta.  Thanks, Bowery Boys.

What I love love loved! about the park was the materials, especially the flooring. Concrete with a fairly large aggregate gave it an industrial feel, but it was poured to create slats, that not only echoed the linear quality of the park, but mimicked hardwood planks. Then, wonder of wonders, they curve up and mesh with wood an steel to become benches. (might I just say reminicent of my pool deck-becomes-jungle-canopy idea that I had in London?), it was both captivating and lovely to see the change in function and material. 

And I just about died at the beauty of the stair materials- aged metal, the turquoise-painted original structure (harking back to the original Gansevoort neighborhood, where facades are historically protected), steel, and lots of glass. Being a young designer, one of the things I focus on is trying to identify and nail down my aesthetic, and I realized I respond well to simple, true materials.. that is, not a lot of fuss and finishes.



I was also able to see my thesis building- the flagship store, design headquarters, and penthouse of Diane von Furstenberg- from the top. And straddling the entire width of the park like a giant concrete transformer is the new Standard Hotel, which last summer was still in construction phase.  [Left: August 2008.  I guess you can't see from the photo but not all the glazing on the other side was installed at the time.  Right: November 2009]

My Quest to Learn Everything

After visiting a kitchen showroom the other night, I decided that the best approach I could take to becoming a successful designer is to first get a thorough knowledge of New York showrooms and vendors.  I realized that if someone asked me to spec a piece of furniture, I wouldn't know where to start in this town. Over the next couple of months, I am on a journey to get an essential idea of what is here, and then continue to stay updated.
Reinforcing this idea, I opened up Elle Decor last night and there were great interviews with five successful women designers.  When asked to give advice to people starting out, here's what they had to say:

"Do your homework. Inform yourself on a daily basis. Study magazines. Go to museums. Attend lectures. Ignorance isn’t bliss." - Charlotte Moss

"Train your eye. Whether you’re going to a museum or a flea market or flipping through a book, always be on the lookout for something special." - Kelly Wearstler

"Your business needs a raison d’être [reason to be; driving purpose]. Be prepared to work 24 hours a day, and be willing to take risks. And you have to love it or you won’t succeed." - Josie Natori

"Work for—and learn from—someone who is successful. Also, travel abroad and expand your horizons by visiting museums, galleries, important architectural sites—and understand why these things have influenced design and style. Read." - Michelle Nussbaumer

"As I say to my sons—who are all artistic—be like a sponge; soak up everything. Working in this industry, you touch upon so many different ideas." - Holly Hunt

I am very excited.  And coincidentally, I'm going to update more frequently with products, textiles, materials, or furniture that I find in New York that I like.  

Starting with this rug:

Map
Harry Allen
Dune


Number one I love maps.  This rug is just phenomenal, not only because of the visual interest and the path that your eye travels.  If you look at it as a pattern, it becomes a whole new image.  I can't get enough. 

What city is this?  Paris?



Venice?

September, you minx!

I blink for one second and the month is nearly gone.
Alas, lots to discuss. I went to the New Island Festival on Governor's Island earlier in the month. For being only an 8-minute ferry from Manhattan, its got a whole different feel. Kind of like historic suburban Philadelphia. The main action was in (eight?) historic houses that surrounded a central grassy area. In each house was a different design or cultural group, and in the middle were sculptures or installations (left). All in celebration of Dutch design. The organization and design of the event was very cohesive and intriguing from day one, including the humorously disorienting signs during the event. And another point- each group of people coming off the boat was required to witness a nonchalant ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with full Dutch fanfare. Make what you wish of that.
I'm getting increasingly interested in honing my graphic design skills. At work I've been learning tips and tricks, though I am looking for some means of lessons to get a solid education. Maybe a podcast? I want to explore typography first.
Speaking of podcasts, I've devoured almost every episode of NYC History by the Bowery Boys. The intro is enough to get you hooked. Coney Island part I and II are my favorites.
And lastly, progress on the loft-front. Long-set concrete columns and beams have posed a problem in several areas. By means of crafty C-clamps and spare bamboo, we were able to devise a way to hang our curtains off the mullions of our 18' x 10' window. Since our housewarming, we've been edging the house into better shape. It is difficult with three different tastes- minimalist, eclectic, and functional- and opposing schedules. But we're making it work, and I'm getting increasingly proud of my new domesticity. Here's to Red Hook.