La Vie En Rose

3X's a Charm: Dwell on Design & A+R

A+R does Dwell on Design

We've scarcely recovered from a slamming weekend at the Dwell on Design show at the L.A. Convention Center. But there's plenty of euphoria in all our exhaustion.
For the third year of the show's existence in L.A., A+R has operated the Dwell Store--really A+R + Skylight Books + a curated capsule of products chosen by the Dwell editors.
Some 18,000 visitors came through the doors and, very likely, our shop, which was located to the right of the ticket area. Had a blast talking to so many of them, too--some old friends, many new. Among the new pals is the team at Woolly Pocket. This weekend, we began carrying their innovative planters at the DoD shop, and we'll be introducing them at A+R Venice and online in the coming days. So stay tuned!

A+R Meets Wooly Wally!

We also debuted POD's new mini versions of their bestselling spun-aluminum planters, which we will have instore soon, too; as well as the stunning, mouth-blown terrariums by Lauren Coleman, the artist behind Lítill. Lauren creates poetic scenes inside each inspired by the California desert. We will be showcasing them in Venice later this week. So drop by!

A+R L.A. Exclusives: Terrariums by Lítill, Plopp stool from Hay Denmark

In fact, the only downside of the entire weekend--except for our aching soles--was not having the luxury to see the great line-up of lecturers and panels, or leisurely cruise the aisles of the show inside the hall.
Congratulations goes out to the winner of A+R's free ticket offer via Twitter: Talena Smith. We never did get to meet her, but hope she--and all of you--had a great experience.

And a heartfelt THANK YOU to the DoD volunteers who helped make the weekend flow better (sorry I can't recall all your names!), and the A+R team: Rafael Negron, Gina Gardner (who kept the fort down all weekend at the Venice store), Taylor Cumbie (A+R alum who flew out from Austin to work both Venice and the DoD show), and Brandee-Nicole Able (my trusted fashion intern who proved her mettle).
Besos to you all! Andy+Rose

New mini POD planters and Litill's Terrariums

A+R & Skylight Book = Dwell Store at Dwell on Design

944's Martine Bury, designer Raven Kauffman and Nate Wittasek visit.

Part of Dwell capsule picks: Shirts and bowties by Taylor Stitch.

Dwell's anniversary prints.

Modkats kitty litter boxes, next to the hot-selling Bobble Bottles.

Andy works the register and phone behind Muuto's Architect Lamp.

Flashback to Thursday: Before it all began.

Dwell On Design...No Time to, uh Dwell...

End of Day 2 of Dwell on Design at downtown L.A.'s Convention Center, and we're absolutely toast. Some 18,000 visitors were expected this weekend, and I wouldn't be surprised if we chatted to most of them in the last 48 hours. But we're pretty thrilled at the response from fans and friends alike about how cool the A+R temp shop in the lobby is among the hundreds of vendors showcased inside the convention center hall. (If I hadn't left my camera behind at the stall, I'd share some of the pics of the space here now).

So what are the bestsellers so far? Perhaps it's the calendar season, or simply a crowd desperate to keep hydrated, but the two water bottle options--both within just feet from another in a corner of our space--are vying for Top Bottle. After that , vying first place is a new product for A+R, the Wooly Pocket. Made completely of post-consumer recyclable materials, the verdant display inside the hall is bringing them straight to yours truly.

So with the third and final day just 11 hours away, what surprises might emerge?

Back from Seattle...

Hello Folks,
Sorry it's been so long in between entries, but Andy and I've been neck deep in projects. Intense projects. Fun projects. Cuckoo projects. These last months have been a swirl of people and places--London, Paris, Las Vegas, New York, Seattle...yes, in that order. I'm sure I'm leaving some place out.
We're gearing up for Dwell on Design this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center. More to come...

Casting Cast of Vices

Cast A Side: Two ways to rock the charm.

Christopher Glancy, culture photographer and one half of the provocative jewelry line Cast of Vices, sent us over these two contrasting interpretations of his charms. On the left is the ever-debonair Miles Siggins, stylist and art collector and one of the most dapper gents in town. He's tacked the sterling fly to his skinny tie. On the right is the Technicolor dreamcoat of a dude with a sterling cigarette and fly.

Mad for the Mercer

Mirror in the Bathroom: Inside our room at the Mercer NYC

For all the traveling we’ve managed to weave into our lives, not too many hotels exist where we muse, “We could live here.” The Mercer, however, has us considering that taking up residence there would top the reasons to relocate to New York. Seriously.

The SoHo landmark strikes that frail balance between the kind of impeccable service expected from a luxe hotel and the fashionable spirit so many pretenders strive to emulate but fall short of all too frequently, and to the woe of those of us who expect better.

Here, it's backed by authentic substance, from the selection of CD's and films from the library (and delivered to the room) to the FACE Stockholm beauty products in the bathrooms to the well-dressed, well-mannered, sincere staff. Of course, the bunch of pink peonies, bottle of red and handwritten note are an elegant touch.

Consistency is key here. It's not simply the front desk team, but every member of the crew who stay on message. This isn't the status quo at all top-tier hotels or restaurants, mind you, so whomever is inspiring the ranks here should write a book.

The lobby, as frequently chronicled, is a scene of the bold faced and beautifully faced, and to keep it that way there's a no-camera policy that is totally welcome. Owner Andre Balazs witnessed what happened when unsavory visitors to sister hotel Chateau Marmont in Hollywood sneakily photographed famous guests there, unflattering snapshots which turned up in tabloids. So both places now uphold the oft-neglected ideal of privacy. To those of us who needn't worry about such breaches, it's a welcome policy since it fosters comfort and consideration, which is really what one wants from a sanctuary like a hotel.

(In the interest of full disclosure, we're friendly with Andre. I met him a decade ago when he opened The Standard in downtown L.A., and I profiled him and the new venture for WWD. But as he and anyone who knows me knows, no amount of friendliness influences my outlook.)

Just as the no-photo rule impacts the mood, admittedly, it makes for great people watching when the odd design or art or hip-hop star camps out in a club chair. We took the same corner for our nightcaps, and usually after a quick chat with friends also staying there who we'd run into (Loree Rodkin and Jenny Holzer one night; Courtney Love at several other times since she has been living there). If there was any disappointment to report, in fact, it would have to be the menu we tried late night a few times in the lounge. Given the delicious offerings in the Mercer Kitchen downstairs, we expected more of our nightly snacks. They were fine. But there's no reason for a "fine" pizza in New York. Ditto the salads. Again here, though, the service shined.

Of course, we tended to gravitate, and fast, back to our room and the mammoth marble tub and spongey, 400-thread-count covered sheets--and both with plenty of stretching-out space for Andy and me.

We holed up at the Mercer during our recent week-long trip east for ICFF, and enlisted any excuse to leave long after breakfast or sneak back early evening to our suite. I spent the better part of the Tuesday after the design show, nestled at the wall banquette against the dining table inside our room, banging

Sweet dreams are made of the 400-thread count Egyptian cotton.

A tub for two with all access, and only two-thirds pictured.

away on the final pages of a manuscript as the relentless cloudburst did the same on the wall of windows outside.
Because I was personally feeling under the weather (it nearly turned into walking pneumonia a couple of days after we got home!), we skipped the subMercer, the basement bar-cum-nightclub. Been there, done that and there's always next time. That's the thing: No matter when I've been here, it's always kept up its standards. No easy feat.

Like Coltrane or Davis, a dozen years after the Mercer opened, the place maintains an understated style that is so cool it doesn’t have to try. But it's because of all the effort that it hits the right key.

Before Darkness Falls: A peak at the subMercer

Photos of subMercer by Tim Street Porter; top photos by RA/LVER

Modern Love: Lara Stone and Calvin Klein

Lara Stone for Calvin Klein Collection

The only thing getting in between the world and their Calvins this fall is the delectable Dutch girl, Lara Stone. Perhaps timed to Monday night's annual awards-a-thon for the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with Lara arriving arm-in-arm with Calvin Klein creative director Francisco Costa, word hit the wires the gap-toothed supermodel is back at the house after a two year break, as the new face and bod of Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans.
Francisco had told Andy and me of the shoot last month over the most delicious dinner at Barbuto in New York (where we were all pretty thrilled to catch a pink polo shirt-clad chef Jonathan Waxman in the kitchen).
Between bites of of lamb, Francisco talked of the crazy fast weekend this spring of shooting it all.
Lens duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, Francisco and Lara hit MILK Studios in Hollywood to do the black and white campaign. Boy models Eric Anderson, AJ, Grayson Vaughan and Simon Ellisdon also appear in several images.
For the jeans campaign, Fabien Baron shot Lara, along with Oleg Antosik, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Christopher Michaut and Chinese model, Yin, in a former industrial factory in San Pedro. Lara replaces Eva Mendes in the Calvin Klein jeans campaign, and admittedly we'll miss those sultry images of the Cuban beauty. But Lara's look is undeniably a perfect match for the house built on pared-down cool.

"You can't take your eyes off her," Francisco told us, and we totally agree.

Much has been made about Lara's "curvy" figure because she is no rail. Nor would we file her under zaftig. But the house that popularized the waif ideal with its '90s campaign that launched Kate Moss, once again considers the beauty paragon with this latest incarnation of what is modern now.

Francisco Costa and Lara Stone at Monday night's CFDA Awards in New York

Photos: Top, Courtesy Calvin Klein
Below, Credit Steve Eichner

Goooaaallll!

Workers do their own thing with these harlequin futsals.

The World Cup is only three days away from kicking off, and soccer fever has spread even to my old stomping ground WWD, which is using the colorful soccer balls we offer from IDEA Japan as a marker on their upcoming coverage. Ok, so they are actually regulation-sized futsals--indoor soccer balls--but they make the point. Each is Fair Trade made, too, by workers in Pakistan; the organic cotton bags are made be developmentally disabled adults in Japan. And sales benefit a mine clearance program in Cambodia. Given the recent news of the sorry way Adidas is producing its replica of the official game ball for the series, these graphic globes from IDEA hit the mark and then some. Can't score better than that!

Don't Miss: Baryshnikov at REDCAT

Once Upon a Time: Mikhail Baryshnikov before the late Merce Cunningham.

Monday evening can't come soon enough: Mikhail Baryshnikov will join the equally legendary Merce Cunningham Dance Company for a one-night performance at REDCAT downtown.
This is one for the books. So if you can, go. There are a few tickets left.

The night benefits the Cunningham Dance Foundation and REDCAT, one of our favorite places in town because of its envelope-pushing program. (We also love the design of the theater.)

This is one of the standout stops on the "Legacy Tour" because of its performance with Baryshnikov. He will join the MCDC in "Occasion Piece2." This is also the company Mr. Cunningham personally trained, before he died last July at age 90. There's also a screening of Charles Atlas’ new film "With Merce."

There are two tiers of tickets to the night--with the top one topped by an intimate dinner for 100 with the night's marquee and the company. Sure the tickets will set you back $1,000 for that pleasure (cocktail and performance, included, natch). But $900 of it is tax deductible.

If all that wasn't enough of a truly remarkable night, there's the costumes, designed by Romeo Gigli, and part of the music is by John Cage from "Song Books."
Beg, borrow, or steal for this one.


Photo Credit: Robert Whitman/REDCAT

T Hearts A+R

The "Woody" shelving system--in high or low--by Danish maker Hay.

We were thrilled to find ourselves this week in Rita Konig's T Magazine column "Inside Out," following her California adventure to Venice and Ojai.

She and pal Honor Fraser arrived just as we were installing the new "Woody" from Hay Denmark. As she writes, she was immediately smitten. We could relate. We fell hard for this collection during our January trip to Paris' Maison et Objet, and the shipment of our order just arrived this last week. We will be bringing the colorful array of chairs, rugs and side tables into A+R Venice in the coming week. They're truly different from anything you've seen.
Besides the "Woody," we've also installed the Plopp stools, which defies reason at first sight, and elicits a smile from everyone who sees it. They're in our window now. This is as much a collector's item as anything, and it certainly adds a point of interest to any room.

Plopp: Oskar Zieta welds sheets of steel inflated like a balloon.

Another Self-Destruct

By way of The New York Times obit, we learn how Tobias Wong died. Like McQueen, we can only hope whatever demons drove him to this are now silenced. R.I.P.

Remembering Tobias Wong

Tobias Wong

A sad day in design. Word just out that Tobias Wong died Sunday morning. He was only 35.
No one seems to know why or how. And we keep wanting to believe this is just one more sensational provocation from an artist who wowed us with his legendary happenings and witty products in the art and commercial arenas. But we won't be so lucky as that. A neo-Dadaist who preferred to let his work--and not his personality--take centerstage, his varied contributions charmed children and environmentalists (the Sunjar) and art curators and urban anarchists alike (Cokespoon series now in collection at SFMOMA). Some of our perennial favorites at A+R are by him, collaborations with friends like Philip Wood from Citizen:Citizen, with whom he realized some pretty outrageous, wonderful pieces.

"Ballistic Rose," a Kevlar corsage by Tobias Wong and Citizen:Citizen

The news comes at the heels of two other losses in recent days, maverick multi-threats Dennis Hopper, who died Saturday at 79, and Louise Bourgeois, on Monday at 98. They had a lifetime, long lives, to create. Sadly, Tobias' chance was cut too short, and the world is all the sadder for it.

Here is the release on his life and death.

D. TOBIAS WONG, 1974-2010

D. Tobias Wong, the Canadian-born, New York-based artist and designer, passed away in the early morning of Sunday, May 30, 2010. He was 35. Through his work, Wong helped bring forth much of what is now taken for granted in contemporary culture. Influenced by Dada and, especially, Fluxus, he questioned authorship through appropriation; held a mirror to our desires and absurdities; upended the hierarchy between design and art, and the precious and the banal; and helped redefine collaboration and curation as creative practices. Working within what he termed a "paraconceptual" framework, Wong prompted a reevaluation of everything we thought we knew about design: its production, its psychological resonance, its aesthetic criteria, its means of distribution, its attachment to provenance, its contextualization and its manner of presentation. Wong was a keen observer, an original mind, a brilliant prankster, and an unerring friend.

Wong's work was widely exhibited, including at the Museum of Modern Art and Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. His many projects included those for Colette, Comme des Garcons, Prada/OMA, Cappellini and Swarovski Crystal Palace. In addition to the objects he created, re-created, repurposed, rarefied and otherwise manipulated, Wong's work included events and happenings that included, among many others, a pop-up tattoo parlor at Art Basel Miami Beach/Design Miami and the Wrong Store, a "store" in New York that was in fact never open. (As with much of Wong's work, both were collaborations.) Wong was named Young Designer of the Year by Wallpaper* magazine (2004) as well as the Brooklyn Museum of Art (2006). In 2008 and 2009, he served as founding co-creative director of 100% Design Shanghai, affiliated with the 100% Design fairs in London and Tokyo.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Wong studied in Toronto before moving to New York in 1997 to attend the Cooper Union, from which he graduated with a major in sculpture. He is survived by his mother, stepfather, brother, partner and BFF.

R.I.P.

Photo of TW: Nigel Parry for Esquire

Yo Dita!: Ruven Afanador's Pics

In the Flesh: Dita Von Teese, Paris, January 30, 2010

Yo Dona, the popular style magazine in Spain, finally hit newsstands this weekend with the cover feature on Dita Von Teese--and featuring Ruven Afanador's breathtaking photographs of her. Watching both artists at work--the master photographer and the master performer--collaborate during the day-long shoot in Paris this last January was an absolute highlight of my stay there with the burlesque icon. Intrepid manager Melissa Dishell sent me these yesterday, and I can't get enough of them. These are a few of my favorite highlights from the feature...

Woman on the Verge: Giving good drama for Ruven's lens

Talk about beauty mark. This is my favorite, especially the left.