I was walking up Henry Street in Brooklyn with my family this weekend and happened on Abitare, a beautiful little store. The store is filled with wonderful accessories, table linens, glass ware, and a great collection of ceramics. They also have a very nice website which also has a blog. This is a great store for gifts and I love the white interior with the white washed floor.
The Brooklyn Design show in Dumbo was from May 9 -11th. I went to the first ever Brooklyn Design show in Dumbo some years ago and was impressed. The small show, then only at the St. Ann’s Warehouse, had some notable furniture and lighting designers. One of whom, Dform, ended up suppling most of the lighting for one of my bigger restaurant projects (see Sushi Samba in My Work). I am a bit obsessed with shows like this one. The quest for new materials and interesting furniture make it impossible for me to not attend.
The show, which has tripled in size and also included jewelry and accessory designers, was impressive. Sure - there were the booths that you quickly walk by (tons of custom expensive chunky wood tables). But there were also the handful of designers who got me really excited about this crazy business of design. The first one I came upon was Argington, a modern children’s furniture company. The designs were fresh and clean but also accommodated the ever changing needs of children. The Sahara Crib (below), for example, can convert into a toddler bed.
I also was impressed by Jill Malek, a wallpaper designer.
Her designs are bold, contemporary, playful and use terrific colors. She is also very nice and can help hook people up with good installers.
One of my other favorites was a company named Ecosystems. They are an environmentally sound firm who are making strides toward furniture manufacture that has no impact on the environment. They have just finished a hair salon in Soho where they have designed everything including all the bent plywood chairs, cabinetry, and architectural finishes.
Lastly, I spoke with a wall decal company called DVider. They have really beautiful designs that can all be easily applied and removed.
Above: I Only See Things When They Move
Above: 360 Degree Room For All Colors
I had the pleasure this morning of going to a members only viewing of “Take You Time”, the Olafur Eliasson show at the Museum of Modern Art. We got to view the show essentially alone and, I have to say, the show is superb.
My favorite piece is entitled “I Only See Things When They Move”. It is a large square room painted white with an incredibly strong light source in the middle which is surrounded by slowly moving colored glass panels. The effect is amazing! Large beautiful stripes of light move slowly around the room layering over each other. The viewers shadows add yet another layer over the stripes. It is lovely and always changing. All the pieces in the show encourage the viewer to stop and notice the details. Eliasson’s work has the ability to seem so simple but as you focus and study, you realize there are amazing details.
I highly recommend the show and encourage you to take your children.
They even let you take photographs which is a luxury at any museum.