My boyfriend calls me “Chandelero.” And for good reason. I’m obsessed with chandeliers. I have stockpiles of them in our garage and even a spare yet beloved Italian Tole piece I love plopped on a chair in our dining room.
I also love charms. So I am ready to kill or be killed for this literal “pendant light” by Floto + Warner, who have created this luminary masterpiece from assorted necklaces and pendants found at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. Repurposing never looked so good.
This amazing armoire is the product of British artist and furniture designer Anna James. Entitled Verona, the piece was inspired by Anna’s visits to Juliet’s (of star-crossed lover fame) house in Italy, and replicates the graffiti covering the walls at the archway entrance – all declarations of love by visiting lovers of all ages, from all over the world.
Anna transposed the original etchings by taking a series of digital images, which she then applied to her carefully prepared authentic period pieces. Her LoveAnnaJames site explains:
“Because messages are constantly being added to the walls, Anna’s design for her Verona furniture is unique to a particular moment in time, and gives each piece its own individual artwork and identity.”
How thoroughly romantic… the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day?
Wonderworkers of black clay, Astier de Villatte create magically beautiful ceramic concoctions. My favorite stuff is their glazed white line pottery line. They also have brilliant furniture, handblown glassware, Bas relief, and perfume collections. Their website is worth a visit for the Harry Potter(ha!)-esque rabbit hole it pulls you into.
Last year, my boyrfirend and his friends plopped themselves down on a New York City park bench and called it art. Cultural barometers that they are, I think they echoed a global movement in raising the banal to the beautiful. In their case it was a social statement. Here, amazing salvage pioneer and my hero Paulette Cole (again) makes taste out of waste in the form of stuff.
I love vintage Limoges boxes. Great antique ones can be hard to come but but the age-old Porcelain region manages to keep these fabulous little jeweled truffles coming year after year. You can generally find the older ones at estate sales but old-lady jewelry shops will carry the new line. Get the whole story
My eight-year-old son just got a bag of marbles and is uncharacteristically excited about them. He asked me how to play, and I realized I had no idea. How could I not know how to play marbles??? I grew up double-dutching on Queens asphalt and sitting on corner mailboxes, for heavens sake. Marbles is a sidewalk game, isn’t it? I know every hopping, jumping, throwing, and hand-clapping game around. Maybe marbles were for white kids on Long Island whose parents didn’t mind them “trading” their toys. Losing your stuff to other kids in a game wouldn’t go over too well in my house.
Anyway, I think marbles are awesome and it’s amazing to see my kids get into something so cool and old-school. I recommend them for any kids you might have or know who think the world starts and ends at Warhawk. Here are some instructions for those of you with similar backgrounds to mine…
I love Japanese linen and recently recently fell in love with Yumiko Sekine’s Fog Linen line. Fog Linen is a rigorously rustic line of natural-colored linens: sheets, dishtowels, aprons, and bedding. And when I visited the Japanese Fog Linen site, I saw her wares housed in my favorite vessel – old wire baskets! Design Within Reach carries a wide selection of the linen collection. Unfortunately the baskets and accessories are only sold in Japan.
I love burlap (or Hessian, or sack cloth.) It’s all natural, durable, and has a beautifully organic hand. I recently had these 30-foot tall drapes made out of burlap for an event on an abandoned pier. Lately I’m seeing it everywhere from throw pillows to upholstery on period antiques. You can buy new burlap in rolls, but since it’s a common material for packaging goods for shipping (like coffee beans and grains,) I especially love re-purposing these printed bags…
One good thing about the weather getting colder – Tallba Swedish Pine Soap. Keep the box.
I’ve always been obsessed with Fabergé eggs and would even go see the small collection that would make its appearance at the Forbes Galleries whenever I was on lower Fifth. Somehow I never saw this one. Despite my affection for embarassingly lavish Russian jewels, I think the very simple Karelian Birch egg is my favorite.
From the Wikipedia entry:
The egg is made out of Karelian birch panels set in a gold frame. This departure in design from previous eggs, which were far more ornate and gilded, was due to popular discontent with the monarchy and declining fortunes as a result of World War I. Its “surprise” was a miniature mechanical elephant, which could be wound with a small jewel-encrusted key.
Amazing. Runners up below.
Pam Bristow is a twelve-year veteran of the Design, Fashion, and Communications industries. She has developed and executed creative solutions for both domestic and international brands in a diverse range of lifestyle categories. Her custom strategies include Concept Development & Ideation, Creative Direction, Interior and Environmental Design, Communications Strategies, Custom Publishing Projects, Strategic Collaborations, and Special Event Design.
A master “placemaker”, Pam has been creating and curating unforgettable, concept-driven environments and “jewel box” experiences for clients in the fashion, lifestyle, art, retail, and hospitality industries for over a decade.
Pam has a personal affinity for both emerging and established creative talent and has a proven history of success in the delicate marriage of art and commerce. Her area of expertise is in the creation of unique, culturally attuned, and highly tailored communications products that resonate with global tastemakers.
