Clerkenwell Design Week

Last week in London, May 21-23, was the annual Clerkenwell Design Week. Showrooms throughout Clerkenwell were opened for tours, hosted talks and activities. The Farmiloe Building was the main hub, exhibitors ranged from furnishings and finishes to accessories and lighting. Emerging designers were found at the House of Detention while the Order of St. John was the location to find design luxury.

In my opinion, those exhibitors who utilized the unique qualities of each location were the most successful in displaying an exceptional product. The product theme which most caught my eye was LIGHTING.

FARMILOE
 

Foscarini / Holloways of Ludlows / Workhouse / Luminosity

HOUSE of DETENTION
 

Donna Bates / Fred & Juul / Philippe Malouin for W Hotels / Fellicia

ORDER of ST. JOHN
 

Ochre / Louis Henri

Saatchi Gallery

My new favorite gallery in London is the Saatchi, and it's free to the public. Located in posh Chelsea next to Sloane Square, the Saatchi Gallery is housed in the Duke of York HQ Building on King's Road. It's an impressive blend of old and new contruction with it's grand exterior and light-filled and spatial interior. My favorite aspect of this gallery is that there are no ropes, barriers or guards keeping you from getting up close with the art, in my opinion the best way to experience an exhibition (but hands off, respectfully). The gallery's exhibitions are a mere sampling of Charles Saatchi's extensive personal collection. This multi-millionaire is a self proclaimed 'Artaholic', thankfully he likes to share.
'The Saatchi Gallery aims to provide an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by largely unseen young artists or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK.'

50 Shades of Grey

Walking down Portobello Rd. Market in Notting Hill you can't help but to gaze up at the wonderful Victorian style row houses dressed in lovely shades of pastels. This color choice was no accident when you see them against the typical grey British sky. The grey almost gives the houses a luminous quality on a cloudy day. Clever way to add interest and color to a usual gloomy background.

David Bowie is...

...at the V&A till August 11th and completely worth the visit. The exhibition is a concert of his life full of amazing visuals including costumes, video clips and album covers all playing to the soundtrack of his life's greatest hits.
At one moment during the exhibition you come to an open space with two enormous screens playing live concerts from the 70s and another wall full of stacked boxes each housing a Bowie mannequin wearing an icon costume. Each box lights up in beat with the music. The experience is absolutely engulfing and amazing.

Whether you're a fan of David Bowie's or not, after experiencing the exhibition you cannot deny his powerful influence on music, art, fashion and pop culture for decades.

Color G-Range

As I was walking down Marylebourne High St. popping in and out of shops, I found an interiors store named Grange. Their collection wasn't very impressive until I started finding color in unexpected places. My next thought, after seeing too many numbers on the price tags, was how easy this would be to accomplish myself. It would be as simple as sanding down an existing piece of furniture, plotting out a pattern, and committing to a color palette (for help selecting a harmonious scheme try COLORSNAP by Sherwin Williams). As soon as I'm back state side, this will be my first weekend DIY project. The tea cups are just because I fancy them and a hint of color for a plan tablescape.

Will the real Banksy please stand up?

For those of you unfamiliar with the street artist, Banksy, don't worry because no one is. "He's" an unknown artist with gorilla-style graffiti all over the world, though the majority of his work can be seen stenciled on random walls in Bristol (his home town) and London. Banksy's art is controversial because of its political commentary and some government authorities consider it public vandalism, so if you catch a piece today it may be gone tomorrow.

Starck Appeal

Recently, at the Brooklyn Flea, Coydog Vintage made a big sale to an iconic designer. Before we introduce the legend of design, let's talk about the fantastic piece that was sold. Coydog Vintage restored an old piece to its original glory and went above and beyond to put their trademark creative twist on it.

Cyprus wood with a tough oil finish, matching industrial carts from Amsterdam, New York's old industrial town

These carts were purchased by legendary designer Philippe Starck! Yes my jaw dropped too when I heard the amazing news. Starck is one of my favorite designers and I make a point of visiting Interiors he's designed on my travels, one of my favorites is the St. Martins Lane Hotel London. Starck is known for well-designed products with a twist of whimsy, its no wonder he was attracted to the carts.

Watch Starck's TED talk and I think he'll become your favorite Designer if not favorite person. Enjoy!