Art Books

Creature

Dinosaur Fleure

Buddies

Charlotte and I became fast friends last year after meeting at Christie's. We "get" each other. One of the most creative, spirited, hilarious and dynamic individuals I know. My experience in New York wouldn't be the same without her.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte.

Cy

Precious

Junghaus table clock from Moss

Rope puddle chair by Christian Astuguevieille.

The Frank Chair from Mattalliano

Antique gold stool in the style of RJG

Canvas

Home Depot

J. Crew

Etsy

Late night

Adorn me

A beautifully made link bracelet in 18K yellow gold. American, C 1960. DK Bressler

Yves Saint Laurent Jade Clip Earrings from the 1970's found on 1st Dibs

Italian 18k Gold Bracelet by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany at Kimberly Klosterman Jewlery

English turquoise and enamel bracelet from the 1800's at DK Bressler.

A Retro gilt palm frond cuff found on 1st Dibs

Pop Art! Vintage Chanel earrings from Vintage Luxury. Lichtenstein inspired chrome yellow suns with faux baroque pearl centers.

Bonne Nuit

I'm sleepy and I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. It's fitting that the only thing my groggy noggin can come up with right now for my design homework is Matteo bedding. Matteo is a line out of L.A. made with incredible soft and luxurious Italian linen. I'm utterly addicted to it. They also make the most perfect nursery sets. No offensive colors, ridiculous cartoon animals or acrylic fabrics. Just a pure heavenly white nest for your little bambino. Sleep tight.

A Balanced Light Source

I have a thing for tripod lamps. These are some of my favorites.

One of my favorite lighting designers, Alison Berger, design this light featuring her signature hand blown glass shade. Each piece by Allison is an honest sculpture. So obviously hand blown and fragile, yet visually sturdy.

I am a weak kneed groupie around anything that the French designer, Christian Liaigre touches. This hand forged bronze lamp by Liaigre is so simple and so grounding. It's branch like legs take root in a room.

Like and alien from another planet, the Futo light by Plug Lighting in L.A., seems to have personality and humor, yet still maintains a modern grace.

Proportional perfection in lamp form. The Tripod Lamp by Service Station in the Catskill Mountains of New York

This hand carved Claro walnut lamp by BDDW is a masterpiece...just like every other piece this incredible company has produced.

The Fortuny lamp. Designed in 1907. A light that is so ethereal and luminous, but was birthed after the Industrial Revolution. A design classic.

Kicks

I was checking out the Spring collection of the French designer, Anne Valerie Hash recently and fell in love with all the sneakers she paired with each look. With pants, with jumpsuits, with long dresses. That bit of playfulness was so sweet and honest. These elegant and sexy pieces were defused in a wonderful way. There is nothing quite like the French sense of style.

I recently found these Martin Margiela high-tops. They can't arrive soon enough. I'm going to wear them now with wide leg wool pants and long beach dresses, come summertime.

I've been coveting these Lanvin sneakers for some time now, but I might just settle for some pretty new ribbons laced in my old Spring Courts. Perfect.

Cruising

This post is following a lovely 40 mile ride I took yesterday, up the Henry Hudson Parkway. Tough ride, beautiful day and the great company of a couple of my Full Throttle teammates. It was perfect. At this point in my cycling career I'm coveting bikes the way I've been known to buy wine on occasion: strictly based on presentation. They are magical, mystical machines that are a wonder to me. I have so much to learn, but this doesn't stop me from curating my own fantasy bike collection. Here are a few of my favorites.

The "There and Back" from Beloved in Oregon

The "Stoica" from Bertelli Bici in NYC

The "Morton" from Beloved.

Touring Bike #1 by Vanilla Bicycles out of Oregon

The Gov'nor by Pashley from the UK

And last, but not least, my road bike. The Xenith Race by Jamis. It's a good bike. I'm bonding with it slowly and it's treating me well. Here's to many more miles ridden.

Resolute

I'm making a happy resolution for the new year. I'm going to find some joy in something visual everyday and post it here. Not so few and far between. I get so consumed with digesting all this wonder that I often times neglect to record it, savoring it only in my mind. So here it is. A little trail of design "bread crumbs" to catalog my life here in NYC.

Crumb #1

This is a dress that I've ordered from the Spring collection at Elizabeth Charles, the WV boutique that I occasionally work at. It's by A Détacher, an eclectic and sophisticated line designed by Monika Kowalska. I can't wait for it and Spring to arrive.

Maybe it's because it's raining and cooling off after that long hot summer. The scarves, stockings and trench coats remind me of a Catherine Denuve film. All covered up, but no less seductive. Or maybe it's because I've been reading too much Shakespeare and Neruda and am on the verge of writing a sonnet myself. To seduce with words and prose, touching little, revealing less. Waiting until the very last moment to succumb to temptation. Whatever it may be, I'm taken by the privacy screen lately. It's implied modesty and secrecy. Soothing sharp corners of a room, providing a continued arc of movement for the eye. I particularly love these two screens.

I found this lovely gold screen at Baker the other day with my dear friend Alecia. I am normally not the Baker type, but I was converted for a moment when I saw this screen by Tony Duquette for Baker Furniture.

It has a flirty effect of surprising you with a coral red edging inside the cutouts. So very nice.






This second screen is by Maarten Bass for Moss NY. He carefully set fire to this mid century modern classic screen by Eames turning it into a gracefully eerie creation. Fittingly, it was only done once and is now sold. Never to be recreated. A moment in time; a charred memory of a classic.

Nesting

I'm about to move into my very own apartment here in the city. It's been lovely living with my sister. I am grateful that we had the year together, but now she is off, with chocolate lab Sophie in tow to live upstate. I am moving just a few blocks away to an adorable studio apartment on a tree-lined, cobblestone street. I spent the last week in Minnesota, packing up some of my things. In the kitchen back on the farm, my mom and I chatted late into the night as I sifted through my collections of photographs, miscellaneous silver pieces, old wooden salad bowls and freshly laundered antique linens all across the dining table.

This past year in New York has been wonderful, but I couldn't shake that feeling like I had left something behind or that I was just on an extended visit. I came to the city last September with a few suitcases of clothes, but nothing more. I had put most of my things in storage or had left them for the couple that is renting my house. As I waded through my belongings, I become more aware of the life I had curated over the years. These simple things, the old worn objects, the treasured textiles, the beat up books, they have anchored me. I wonder if my attachment to this stuff is healthy. I decide not to worry about that, so I pack up this "stuff" that gives me so much pleasure and set off for the city.

School's Out

I graduated from my program at Christie's last week. I've seen so much and learned so much and now I'm feeling the need to document it all before it becomes one general memory. I'm need to start playing a little "catch-up" with my design diary. Starting with a little snippet of a project I was working on researching the lovely emerging artist Jessica Dickinson. This instillation shot of one of Dickinson's past shows reminds me of how I feel right now. Quiet, fresh and open.