getting out there

Just a quick note about my friend Max! His design work is featured in the April issue of Nylon Magazine. Hello, 1940s. Max is wonderful and I'm so happy to see this.

Probably wasn't called a trapper hat then...

I know I shouldn't be giggling while flipping through a catalogue of altarpieces, but doesn't this remind you of something?

fiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!

Well, well. I survived the release of Liberty of London for Target at my local store this morning. I was not going to go because everyone else wussed out, but then I had a dream that I went in the afternoon and everything was gone. And I woke up and the wallets I liked were already sold out online.

So, I got a coffee and scone, and walked over to Target, arriving about ten minutes before the 8am opening. There were only about 30 people over the course of the first hour, but boy were the goods decimated. The only stuff out when we arrived was women's apparel. I picked up a dress (the last in a size small). The sizes run large, and the fabric was disappointing. I probably would have purchased more if they were made of cotton. But this dress is pretty cute.


There was a group of three women grabbing everything in sight, filling multiple shopping carts. Boxes of accessories and all the home goods were brought out and people (mostly these three women) snatched things up before they hit the shelves. Most items didn't really have a chance to get on a shelf. At all. I was able to snag two wallets (the things I most wanted!).


I also got a neat storage box that I'm going to use for craft supplies. It looks better in person. I'm glad I went because there was really no way to tell what the quality of things would be. I thought there would be more cotton dresses. The pillows were kind of nice, but not good enough to fight for. The bedding quality was acceptable, but they only have poly-filled duvets and no sheets. I did like the quilts, but I really would have been sold on sheets. I probably would have lost an eye trying to get them though. I had really wanted some of the serving ware, and thought it was all ceramic, but most of it was actually plastic. And the two-tiered serving tray I liked was rickety. So there you have it. With my four items totaling about $60, I was one of the more modest shoppers.

Time Travel via Tea

Yesterday, I shared a nice pot of tea at Tea Spot. It was my first time trying lapsang souchon. And I can see how one might think it's totally gross. But, boy do I like it. It smells like wood smoke, the kind emanating from a working historic house. I once received a letter from a man who thrived on fires in his 18th-century fireplace, and the paper smelled of that wood smoke. It was hands down the best thing I've ever received in the mail. And now I can drink that. Don't worry: the taste isn't as strong as the smell.

Fabulous Fanny's

Tonsillitis and a new amoxicillin allergy put me out of commission for a while. I'm still feeling my way back into reality. What's going on?


I haven't been to any new museums or galleries or done much of anything artsy fartsy lately. But after a generous helping at 16 Handles, I diiiiiid go to Fabulous Fanny's yesterday and dig through drawers of vintage glasses. We had fun trying on all the cateyes, giant 1980s specs, and my personal favorite, tiny round tortoiseshells. They have a few things online, but it's minimal compared to the store's stock. I ended up picking out a pair from their own vintage-inspired line, Spectaculars. I took them to get lenses today, and they should be ready for their reveal tomorrow! Bonus: they ended up costing about half of what my last pair did. Kind of an I Heart NY moment.

Edit: here they are.

aw!

Today we had a party in our department. Our chocolate cake was for Matt, who is getting married, and the delicious vanilla cake (how did you know!) was for me! Because I am leaving the American Wing on Thursday to move to Brooklyn and work for the Costume Institute (starting Monday). And the Prosecco was for everyone. My officemate gave me the above card, which might be one of the coolest I've ever seen! It is covered with furniture AND glitter, two of my favorite things. She got it at E.A.T., the adorable shop on Madison that's part of the Zabar empire. It's made by a company called Creatives Inc., and you can view their collections on their website. This card is from the "Victoriana" collection, which is so cool! It's a British company, and I'd be interested to know where else you can find their products. Here are a couple more - it was hard to pick because they are all so decorative-arts-tastic.

Nankeen

Back in April, I attended the Newport Symposium, which included a dinner at the Breakers. That evening, I was seated next to Anne Page - former interior designer, now artist, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She and her family started Nankeen, creating accessories out of blue and white hand-printed cotton from China. Their goal is to "provide a level of support for the 'old ways' and to create a market in which the traditional methods of production could ensure a livelihood for those still working in these ancient art forms." It took me a little while to go check out their website and products, but I'm glad I finally did. I always support the effort to employ traditional techniques while making something hip.

just like at Peale's. kind of.

So, you know I'm currently apartment shopping in Brooklyn with the tried and true Alison. I'm already planning our interiors (what a surprise). One plan I have is a pair of silhouettes to hang in a yet-to-be-determined place. You know, because we don't have an apartment yet.

Remember in Sense and Sensibility when Kate Winslet delicately traces hottie mcWilloughby's profile in front of the fire? I'm gonna get romantical and do this with Alison. And somehow do my own too. I'm thinking of approaching it with a little technology though, via photoshop. After I have some images to work with, I will finish it the old fashioned way. With romance.

Talk about revival style...

Brits Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, AKA the Jellymongers, are bringing back jelly. Projects range from a Victorian Breakfast for Warwick Castle to a slightly more hip glow in the dark jelly. I'm all for a resurrection of the past with a hip twist. Read all about the revival of jellies!

Bowne & Co. Stationers

My dear friend Alison told me about Bowne & Co. shortly after her first visit there. These images are from her trip around Valentine's Day. To her description, I probably replied with something articulate (as I'm known to do) like, "sounds cool..."

Yesterday we visited, and the place put me in a tizzy. It is so lame how excited I was. I think I was so excited that I had no idea what I was saying - the words just spilled out, good ones, bad ones (not that kind of bad). Sometimes I think my midwestern "charm" comes across as lunacy.

Okay. So. This place is a recreation of a nineteenth-century stationer's shop. The staff was really friendly and they make all sorts of neat stuff - a variety of notecards, little journals, etc. There was also a ton of work by other artists. Robert Warner is head of awesomeness (I mean master printer) there, and during our visit he was working on some ideas as to how he might use old bank papers in his creations (sorry I can't be more specific, I was too excited). He obviously knows a lot about printing and ephemera, and the contemporary art inspired by or related to its history. Robert also tracks down vintage wallpaper - I bought a piece with little country house scenes floating amongst a foliate design. I also bought a notecard with a print of a printing press on it! And a charming piece made using elements from different antique (reproduced, not original, I think) prints! The stuff is affordable, and so cool. If you are into paper products, prints and ephemera, and anything remotely ye olde, go there.

Palace Necklace

Soooo, today I ordered this Holyrood necklace. Maybe the coolest necklace ever, rivaled only by the rest of Tilly Bloom's creations. She was even nice enough to put this up for sale at my request! My other top pick is the pair of little rolleiflex earrings, but every design is so cool, and nicely priced. Perfectly suited for the overeducated and underpaid.

Cutlery, Cutlery, Everywhere

Going along with my last post, here are two more cutlery-related objects. These, however, are affordable enough for me to own (which I do). The ribbon comes from the Cooper-Hewitt museum shop and was designed by Laura Foster Nicholson. The bag is from Target, of all places. Unlike the ribbon, the bag is pretty poorly made (only $10, what do you expect), but the fabric itself seems fairly sturdy, so I'm contemplating buying a couple more, just to use the material for some other project (pillows or place mats, maybe?).

William Morris Tools

It's probably pretty common knowledge that the gift shop at the Victoria & Albert Museum is awesome. The fact that they have a pretty good online shop makes it even better, and to top it off, they are selling William Morris printed tools! My roommate recently told me about a study in which they concluded that women were more likely to buy something (like tools) if they were pink. Well, how about textile-printed tools! These are so awesome, I can't even express it. I also feel like Morris is appropriate for tools: the individual can produce their handcrafted creations (and look good doing it).

John Derian

I bought this John Derian plate in Savannah at the Paris Market & Brocante. I'm poor, but I have a hard time not buying things with decorative arts imagery, so this came home with me, along with a roll of more affordable chandelier printed wrapping paper. Derian is popular: you can buy his stuff in his own store, as well as tons of other places internationally. Here is a description of his process, taken from his website, "John Derian, an avid collector of antique fruit, flower and animal prints, hand-paints borders over centuries-old ledgers and letters. He combines all these elements into charmingly eccentric collages, which are reprinted and pieced together in layers under glass accessories."

So, if I'm reading this correctly, does this mean he does indeed alter some of the original materials, and it's only the finished collages that are reprinted, not the originals? If this is true, it seems sort of wrong. Maybe it's only because I'm curatorially-inclined, but I would rather reproduce the images first, and then create collages from those. In examples like the chair plate there isn't really any collage going on, just the straight image. There is no reason to alter the originals in these cases, so I'm assuming he doesn't (just when there is actually a collage). Some of the collections feature multiple images from the same book, often botanical volumes, and I hope that he isn't cutting the pages out simply to be reproduced on plates.

All that said, I still bought this plate. It's only 5 3/4" in diameter, so I still haven't found the right place for it in my apartment. I planned on hanging it on the wall, but I think it needs companions.