Off and on

I'm not sure whether it's this unseasonably warm weather (the back door is wide open and Spot is in the garden digging holes to Timbuktu), but my get up and go has got up and went. I'm totally in the mood to start this long weekend early with a quick snooze on the sofa, lol, but in the meantime, there's cool stuff worth sharing! Sprout and Slide are the latest in lighting from Jonathan Adler. The shades, realised in a beatifully matte unglazed porcelain, pick up on his Relief collection of pottery with organic references and simple forms. Lovely. For more on Jonathan, click here to read a 5 quick questions interview with him. And, have you hooked up with him on Facebook yet? Check in here to find tons of behind-the-scenes shots of his work in progress, as well as witty Daily Adlerisms. 

   

Getting my craft on

I spent this a.m. running around at the One of a Kind show in Toronto. It's quite the craft-tastic institution and always a great one-stop-shop to check out what's new on the handmade scene, and as usual, I scored a few great finds (while gabbing with Julia Black, lol).

Up first, I'm loving the petite and edgy hand-embroidered artwork by Amanda Hu of Denture Thief Productions (read more on Amanda here). Next, the sweetly sketched packaging of Honey Pie Hives and Herbals, designed by one of Honey Pie's co-owners, Bay Woodward. Repeat, a collaboration between Roisin Fagan and Arounna Khounnoraj, resulted in a great line of hand-printed textiles, as well as these charming teensy notebooks (that were printed last night!). And finally, Jardinique's Garden Chair - inspired by this Rietveld chair - which looks smashing in all white (though you can order it in any Benjamin Moore exterior Aura paint colour), it also comes as a rocker and has an accompanying side table too.

Perforated in orange

The talk of Tolix-esque chairs on the last post had me digging around and jonesing for the originals, first designed by Xavier Pauchard in 1934. Tolix are sold in North America by DWR as the Marais line of chairs and stools, but if you want everything - and I mean everything - that Tolix makes then you have to check in with Melissa Edelman Antiquaire. Yep, the folks at MEA can get their hands on the fab perforated collection (a lovely twist on the Tolix originals, like the orange stools below), as well as the just launched kid's line (that's the kid's Mouette Armchair below), both of which were designed by Normal Studio. And yep, MEA can hook you up with around 200 custom colour choices as well as a bunch of lovely industrial feeling metal finishes too. 

   

Spring has sprung

Right now I'm sitting in Vancouver, amazed at all the blossoms on the cherry trees, stunned by gorgeous tulips in full bloom and gobsmacked by a rather warm breeze that doesn't have any clue what 'wind chill' is. Yep, it'll be short lived, since I'm only here for a day on the last stop of a whirlwind tour for Graham & Brown wallpaper (I was in Calgary yesterday, and Edmonton the day before). A major shout out to all the great folks I've met along the way, including everyone at Breakfast Television and Shaw TV !

Spring is definitely springing, and not just in balmy Vancouver. These gorgeous snaps of what HomeSense is offering up this coming Spring and Summer are a lovely taste of warmer days to come and have a bright and fresh vibe to them, oh, and they were shot by my talented mate, photographer Angus Fergusson. I'm totally loving those antiqued metal chairs and the knit ottoman (they're definite hot picks), as well as the smashing shadow box framed butterflies!

California dreaming (again)

There’s probably not too many folks you can name that have worked on projects for both the Beastie Boys and Trina Turk, and published their own book, not to mention had homes show up in Dwell and the LA Times Magazine practically simultaneously. That person is California based architect Barbara Bestor, who was nice enough to say yep when I e-mailed her about running some of her work here on the blog. The book (which you might already have a copy of) is Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake and her projects are – from my point of view - just about a perfect combo of modernist sensibilities and a laid back style of living. Take a boo below at Bestor’s home Glendower, uh-huh, that exterior shot shows it sitting beneath Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House in Los Feliz, and the following image is a peek at the shaded back patio and pool. Next up is a couple of shots of the Floating Bungalow (check the March issue of Dwell to see more), and finally an exterior and interior of the Surf Shack, designed for photographer Dewey Nicks, which popped up here in the LA Times mag. Seriously, with this kind of inspiration I could so easily be talked into buying a one-way ticket to LA... [Image 2: Vårt Nya Hem. Image 3,4: John Ellis. Image 6: Dewey Nicks. All other images: Bestor Architecture]

Love 'this'

I see lots of cool stuff in my travels, but occasionally I'm suprised by a sweet bit of a mash-up between something cool, something creative, and something witty. It's the this globe below, snapped by Aesthetic Outburst blogger Abbey Hendrickson in her own home, that happily caught me by surprise, though if you were to spin the globe it would read f this s, which just happens to be a fave epithet of mine when things are - ahem - not going as planned. Of course there is a story behind the f this s globe, which Abbey explains here as being in mourning for not being able to swear out loud now that she has a family. Be sure to check out the rest of Abbey's great blog, it's a lovely mix of inspiration, art, craft, kids and collecting.

Guest blog / Jenn Hannotte: Feeling cross?

Jenn Hannotte: My favorite new store in Toronto pandering to my want/need/can't have tendencies is Mjölk. Owners John and Juli offer an amazing selection of clean-lined, pale-wooded, Scandinavian and Japanese pieces from the classic Børge Mogensen 2226 Spanish Chair (take a look below, and if anyone out there is wondering if I'd like a gift, the answer is yes: I'll take two), to this gorgeous Hiroshima extension table by Naoto Fukasawa and a set of Arne Jacobsen cutlery to go on top. They also have affordable design objects, like this gorgeous Grass Vase by Claydies for Normann Copenhagen as well as adorable things for the Scandi-wanna-be baby like this cool/odd Norwegian Lice Onesie. But the one thing I really went to see and covet was the Pia Wallén Crux Blanket. It's so soft, so simple and so PERFECT. It's also all-wool, made in Sweden, and $850... Now, I don't like a little thing like price to get in the way of instant gratification, so I headed off to Etsy in search of some Swiss cross inspired textiles and found this coffee sack burlap basket with a cross screenprinted on the front by Brin and Nohl It'll be perfect for toys, magazines, or even small storage in the bathroom. Okay, it's not a blanket, but it's a wee bit more in my snack bracket.

Below you'll see snaps of the 2226 Spanish Chair and the Grass Vase, plus a couple of inspiring shots of the Crux Blanket in action (via Door Sixteen). For more of Jenn's take on style click here.

5 quick questions: Alanna Cavanagh

I've had a bit of a design crush on the work of ultra-talented illustrator and printmaker Alanna Cavanagh for quite a while, so I'm glad to have cornered her into answering 5 quick questions. You might have seen her illustrations in the likes of Real Simple and the New York Times, but most recently I saw her work hanging in the home of Bev Hisey, where after years of looking at an - imho - awful painting of a blobby lifeless figure floating in the ether, I was happy to see one of Alanna's gorgeous Big Orange Scissors prints sitting pretty on the wall instead. And for that Alanna, I really really have to thank you.

Below you'll find shots of both Big Orange Scissors and Brook Brothers Suit (Green), plus a behind-the-scenes snap of Alanna tea staining one of her Penguin Books cover prints. Next, a peek at Alanna's own place, a shot of a space that currently inspiring her, and finally a super cute portrait photo/illustration mash up. Click here to read more 5 quick questions! [Portrait photo:Janet Kimber]

Arren Williams: What's inspiring you right now?

Alanna Cavanagh: Josef Frank Textiles, Illustrations from the 1950s, the colour limey green, swiss miss blog, springy tulips, Selvedge magazine, Graphic designer Paul Rand, Decoupage artist John Derian, The Workroom on Queen West and most especially: my new 'hood Parkdale.  

AW: Is there anything that drives you crazy when you walk into a space?  

AC: If it's too white and minimal I don't feel comfortable. For me I need to be surrounded by lots of warm wood, cozy textiles, and piles of books to feel at home. 

AW: What's the next thing you have your eyes on for your own house?  

AC: I would love a velvet tufted couch in a jewel tone like turquoise - I'm on the look out for a used one. In the meantime I have my eyes directly set on Benjamin Moore's 'Florentine Plaster' paint. It'll soon be on the walls of my bathroom.

AW: How would you describe your look, and has it changed over the years? 

AC: Fleamarket Chic with a dash of New Romantic! 

I absolutely love a MIX: of high and low, traditional and modern, and new and old. I also love to include whimsical pieces like old birdcages, and vintage signs to make sure the space never feels too serious.

In terms of colour I always paint my walls grey (Benjamin Moore Chelsea Grey is a fave) and then add lots of juicy tones like pink and orange which really POP off the grey.

And of course I love displaying a lot of art. I've always been a sucker for a salon wall. Every time I see one in a magazine I rip it out. My style has always been the same but happily these days I have a bit more high to add to the low. :-)

AW: What's next on the horizon? 

AC: I've just completed 3 new silk screen prints which you can find here on my website. I've also illustrated a campaign for Air New Zealand, and a book cover for Penguin books, and am now working on a tote bag design for Good Egg ( the wonderful food shop in Kensington market). Look out for it in June!

Don't tell Joan

"I told you. No more wire hangers, ever!" Okay, if that quote means something to you then you're probably fascinated by kitsch and might have seen the crazypants Joan Crawford biopic Mommie Dearest. In one infamous scene Joan, in a scenery chewing performance by Ms. Faye Dunaway, ransacks her adopted daughter's closet, beats her with a coat hanger, and screams those now oft-repeated words. Where am I going with this? Ah yes, wire hangers - despite Joan's protests - are making a comeback in the design world. Take a look below at Hang On from Normann Copenhagen. Designed by Jade Barnes Richardson, and named with the help of suggestions from Normann Copenhagen's fans on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, the design plays around with the archetypal hanger shape and our view of their disposability. Hang On is made in steel, rather than wire, and is available here in four colours.

  

Shocking or hot?

Okay, before we get into the grey/gray debate again (I've discovered I unfortunately spell it both ways quite naturally, lol) you should know this post is more about pink. And not a pastel pink either, nope, this is much more of an in-your-face Elsa Schiaparelli inspired shocking pink, as it's known in the UK, or hot pink as it's more commonly known this side of the pond. That pink - whatever you like to call it - looks smashing in the new Prima Donna floral print by Cole & Son paired with a cool silver and smoky gray, and has shown up as part of Heal's new ReDiscovers collection. It has such a Fifties feel for me, optimistic and a little odd, yet really quite modern too. Loving it!

Guest blog / Julia Black: Going for the Loot

Julie Black: In my younger days, the first thing that would come to mind if I heard the word 'loot' would be treats and other giveaways grabbed on my way out of a birthday party. Now 'loot' is more commonly known as 'swag' yet still ignites rather ravenous excitement, with or without a slice of brithday cake. There's also another 'loot', and one that's particularly Canadian, Loyal Loot Collective. The all-woman collective are a brilliant set of artists - Doha Chebib, Carmen Douville, Dara Humniski and Anna Thomas - each bringing something different to the creative party. Anna Thomas thought up a swish way to hang your gear with her Monsieur Dressup (way better than dumping stuff on the floor) while the Log Bowls, designed by Doha Chebib, are handmade using locally reclaimed wood in combination with a high-gloss, vibrant finish (and are a totally perfect design prezzie if ever there was one). I can't wait to see what the Loyal Loot bunch comes up with next!

Simply gorgeous

Okay, after a slight fashion-y detour in the last post, we're back in a particularly gorgeous all wood architectural space. While I'd like to think I could live this kind of simple, uncluttered life in the snap below I just don't think it would be possible. Where would all the collectibles go, and what about some art? Anyways, this is the rather lovely new Raleigh line of sofas and chairs from the folks at DWR. The seating, designed by Jeffrey Bernett and Nicholas Dodziuk, has a swish streamlined Danish modern feel to it (the cantilevered walnut frame is extra sweet) and looks awfully nice with DWR's Skagen coffee and nesting tables.

The industrial Dutch at V&R

I saw all the Tweets about the ultra cool Viktor & Rolf runway show in Paris for Fall/Winter 2010, but only just realized that there was an extra layer of fabulous added to the show by the edgy Dutch design team of Studio Job. The couple behind Studio Job - Nynke and Job - collaborated with V&R and designed that stunner of a backdrop, inspired by the marquetry designs on Industry, this collection of furniture and objects created back in '08. Love it, love the tones of grey, and can totally see it as a surface treatment on textiles or wallpaper. And well, it doesn't hurt that I've always had a thing for erstwhile supermodel Kristen McMenamy - who V&R undress and then re-dress on a revolving stage - ever since she shaved her eyebrows off back in the '90's. Ah, the things we remember from Fashion Television and Ms. Jeanne Beker...

California dreaming

Right about now, at the tail end of winter, I'm at my wits end with the cold and the grey and my dreams turn wistfully to California. I'll noodle through real estate websites and find Palm Springs gems like this and this that I've been trying to talk friends into buying. Then reality sets in, and the sun - thankfully - comes out.

But it's good to dream, and it's extra good to dream on a blurry post-Oscars® Monday morning. So, when I found this gorgeous Santa Monica home splashed across the glossy pages of the LA Times Magazine, I knew I had to share. The home is owned by photographer Dewey Nicks and was designed with a nod to mid-century California style by architect Barbara Bestor. The interiors are smashing, and shake together kid-friendy glamour with a keen vintage eye by designer Paul Fortune. Maybe the Nicks family needs a pool boy?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey, where did the shots go??? Well, I got a rather nasty legalese e-mail regarding copyright infringement, so they just had to come down. Sucks, huh? And the first time that I've ever been asked to do that too! In the meantime I'll be checking in with the Barbara Bestor to see if she has any shots available (check out the rest of her firm's portfolio here, it's brill). If you fancy scoping out the original LA Times article, click here.

Guest blog / Julia Black: Old school movie style

Julia Black: Ever since I can remember the Oscars® have been somewhat of a religious holiday for me, and every year I start counting down the days way before the spectacular event. Of course all the award shows leading up to the Oscars are also scribbled into my agenda, and the most recent ceremony, on the 21st of February, was the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Checking into the BAFTA's I discovered illustrator and graphic designer extraordinaire, Tavis Coburn. Tavis was commissioned to design the program covers of the five Best Film nominees, and he brought each film to life in his brilliant retro-style. I love his work, and how his inspiration - 1940s comic book art, the Russian avant-garde movement and printed ephemera from the 50s and 60s - informs his take on each film. Now, with his illustrations in mind, I am over-the-top excited for Sunday night! Oh, and btw, The Hurt Locker won Best Film at the BAFTA's! Click here to see more of Tavis Coburn's work, as well as his online store. [images via: Joey deVilla]

To read more posts from Julia click here, and to check out her cool blog click here.

Of sport and flashlights

While I might not have a sporty bone in my body, I did recognize the baseball reference in Belgian designer Sylvain Willenz's Homerun chair. It's not just the yellow and grey colour choice, or the friendly, curvy cartoon influenced design, that makes them a standout for me (tho' I am an acknowledged chairaholic), it's also the fact they were a collaboration with a Japanese furniture firm - Karimoku - and use the waste wood byproduct of thinning out trees in managed forests. Check below for snaps of the chairs, and a couple of shots that show production and a prototype.

Willenz is also resonsible for the rather mouth watering Torch lights (that's flashlights to you North Americans) he designed for Brit firm Established & Sons, shown below in a shot from the Milan furniture fair, and then a closeup which I had to include, as much for the light as for that tiled floor. Yum. For more on Willenz you can become a fan here on Facebook (btw, I love all the shots people have sent in that show his designs in their homes).

  

More affordable modern

So have you heard that CB2 has finally announced their first store north of the border? The edgier kid brother of Crate & Barrel is taking on the old Big Bop on Queen West in Toronto as their flagship location, and expects to have the space all fixed up and doors open in early 2011. Yep, not exactly next week (we'll be keeping our fingers crossed it might be sooner) but in the meantime don't fret - CB2 ships to Canada, and you can always use the wait as an excuse to head to either NYC or Chicago to shop one of their stores. Just remember to carry along an extra suitcase.

Guest blog / Julia Black: Follow that sign

Julia Black: Boris Bally has a talent for discovering a second life for one of the most mundane things that surround us at - ahem - every turn. Street signs. An extraordinary industrial designer and metalworker, he continually creates pieces that provoke conversation, and often times, a chuckle or two. His humorous yet sophisticated furniture, installations, jewellry and even flatware mashes up recycled street signs, scavenged weapon parts and found industrial materials in a process he calls humanfactured. I love how on-trend his pieces feel from both a green angle (Bally reckons he's upcycled close to 70 tons of signage in his career so far), as well as how they'd add a lovely jolt of colour and wit to a space. Click here to check out all the galleries that carry his work in the US, Canada and further afield. From the top: BroadWay Armchairs, Small Square Transit Tables, Transit Chairs.

To read more posts from Julia click here, and to check out her cool blog click here.

 

Joining the Hansen family

Nope, it's not a cult, not unless there is a Scandinavian furniture cult. Umm, is there? I discovered The Hansen Family - art director and designer Gesa Hansen's modern furniture firm - on a very cool UK design blog called Bright.Bazaar (bookmark it, you won't be sorry!) and immediately fell for the whole collection. Each piece is handcrafted in oak, and I love the touches of colour in the desk cubbies and dividers in the sideboard (which made it into the March issue of Monocle). Oh, and if The Hansen Family tote bags ever end up on sale, sign me up!  

Guest blog / Jenn Hannotte: Things are piling up

Jenn Hannotte: I've been noticing the floor getting a lot of attention by stylists recently. From piling magazines and books straight off the ground to create side tables, to using the surface to display art and objects. 

It's a fast and dirty way to update a corner or a whole room, and likely won't cost you a penny. Now, I'm not a designer in any professional capacity; I'm a mother of two who usually writes these wearing a house coat and drinking coffee while the baby naps! But I do love design and I think there are a lot of you out there like me, so take a look at my inspiration shots below and how I styled it up in my own home in that last shot. I have a soon-to-be mobile baby, Beatrix, and an off-the- wall 5 year-old, Willa, so it wasn't practical to have things directly on the floor for safety reasons. Instead, I've taken a vintage low coffee table, stuck it in an awkward corner and used books and mags to give the lamp and other objects some practical height, but it also conveys that sort of super-relaxed, eclectic aesthetic that we see in those delicious inspiration shots. [Image 1: Dos Family. Image 2: Andrea Ferrari. Image 3: Manolo Yllera]

For more of Jenn's take on style click here.