Clustered Art

I love the way these walls look with the eclectic mix of frames and prints placed haphazardly together. I also love the clean lines of the vertical blue and orange striped walls- perfect for a collection of prints.

Little Luxuries

Diptyque candles are one of those little things I love to have in my apartment. Diptyque originally began their business producing printed fabrics. In 1963, they introduced a line of scented candles that eventually became the main focus of their business. The flagship store in Paris was designed by Olivier Lempereur (who is also one of the store designers at Printemps) and the simplistic black and white space is inspired by the brand’s signature colours.

The candles are so strong that even when they're not burning the room is still filled with the aroma. Although Pois de senteur was discontinued, I can’t get enough of Tubereuse!

Raising the Bar

Gemma Redux is a jewelry line designed by Rachel Dooley. She is a self-taught designer that came up with her line as she needed a creative outlet while studying for the Bar. 

She creates the kind of jewelry I especially love- big, chunky pieces that have character and individuality. Dooley’s signature look involves hand making each unique piece with layered metal chains and bright stones. Her website also has one of the most interesting and interactive layouts I’ve seen. Take a look here.

Caillebotte: Impressionist Paintings from Paris to the Sea

Oarsmen Rowing on the Yerres (1877)

L'Yerres, pluie (1875)

Cliffs of Normandy (1880)

The Brooklyn Museum is a 560,000-square-foot Beaux-Arts building that is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the U.S. On view now through 5 July, 2009 are works by impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte in an exhibit called Impressionist Paintings from Paris to the Sea. This is the final stop on an international tour and the first major showing of his work in New York in over thirty years.

Known as the “Urban Impressionist", Caillebotte also painted scenes of the coastal life in Normandy and in the villages of Yerres and Petit Gennevilliers. This thematic exhibition showcases forty of his works in which water plays a central role— as an element that reflects its surroundings and focuses on water sports such as rowing. The exhibition also includes drawings and sketches of the sailboats that Caillebotte owned.

I'm Off to the Beach...

...with the best friends a girl could ask for. Wishing everyone a very happy Memorial Day weekend! Leaving you with some Otis.

Maelstrom

Roxy Paine is an American artist that looks at natural forms and recreates them by mechanical means. His largest venture yet includes one of his tree-like "Dendroid" sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

After much research and natural observation, Paine sought out to demonstrate how human culture is a part of nature and that nothing is unnatural. His latest endeavor emphasises the strain between what is natural and artificial by exposing the unfinished pipes that connect the structure to the museum and essentially hold it up. The contrast between the artificial structure and the now beautiful Central Park is also interesting since the park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1857.

This particular “Dendroid” is 130 feet wide and 29 feet tall, covering the full length of the roof deck. And although the branches are made out of metal rods and pipe, they are based on vascular networks and tree roots. There are over 10,000 pieces weighing more than seven tons!

The Met exhibit is open through 29 November, 2009.

Tribeca's Bikini Bar

Aileen Oser and Stuart Smith opened Bikini Bar in Tribeca in 1997. Bikini Bar specializes in vintage home furnishings from the ‘50s and ‘60s including rattan furniture, rare beach theme posters and collectible surfboards. They also keep vintage surfing movies on a loop and have a shave ice and coffee bar.

They have rented props to Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Woody Allen films and numerous print ads. The shop has also been named one of The New Yorker’s “100 Best Little Places to Shop”.

Bikini Bar

148 Duane Street, corner of West Broadway

Jonathan Adler

Internationally recognised interior designer Jonathan Adler has a knack for country club style with interests like needlepoint, acid green lacquer and The Breakers hotel circa '72. He studied art history at Brown but actually spent most of his time at RISD making pottery. Many years later, Barney’s New York picked up his pottery line.

In 2002, he launched a new furniture collection and began taking on interior design projects. Soon after, he branched out into bedding, towels and stationary for The Parker Palm Springs hotel, Trina Turk's flagship in New York and numerous luxury residential projects. Once you walk into one of his stores, you'll never want to leave!

His line of ceramic candles, vases and lighting accessories are all classic and fun. Some of my favourites are the Giraffe sconces and the Muse candle, which you can use as a bowl once the candle is gone. Shop Adler here.

The website Rose and Radish also features some amazing ceramic and porcelain pieces like the nest candle, above, by designer Ted Muehling for Nymphenburg.

Experimenting with Balance

I love these vintage books on the presidents. Prints can be bought here.

Louise Fili

Louise Fili Ltd. is a studio here in New York that specializes in logo, packaging, restaurant and book design. Louise Fili was the art director for Pantheon Books during the ‘70s and ‘80s where she designed over 2,000 book covers. She is the recipient of many awards, including those from The Society of Illustrators, New York Art Directors Club and three James Beard nominations. She has taught graphic design and typography and her work can be found in the Library of Congress and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. In 2004, she was inducted into the Art Directors Hall of Fame.

Some of her work includes two restaurants here in Manhattan, including the logos for Sfoglia and Picholine. Sfoglia also has a restaurant in Nantucket, and the two mermaids in the logo represent each island. They also redesigned the logo for Manhattan Fruitier, showcasing their fruit baskets that are inspired by Dutch still-life paintings. The New York Times’ Senior Art Director Steven Heller and Fili designed the book Typology, which goes into seven time periods of typography and the main international influences for each.

Todd Selby

Todd Selby has created an amazing website that features photographs, paintings and videos of interesting people and their creative spaces. The best part is the handwritten interviews he posts along with their interiors.

Shown above is Nicolas Malleville and Francesca Bonato’s home in Mexico. It has such a great minimal appeal with some really nice accent pieces, like the gold chandelier in the living room and the hats! Check out the site here.

Amy Smilovic on Tibi

In 1997, Amy Smilovic and her husband Frank moved to Hong Kong when both of their jobs at American Express transferred them there. Amy found herself in an interesting position if she stayed with the company- her husband would become her boss! This was when Tibi was born.

Just one month after the move, Smilovic began designing a line of dresses that combined American sportswear with a splash of international influence. She brought certain pieces to the attention of some friends in the industry while she was there, who then brought them back to Nantucket and the Hamptons during the summer. Tibi’s international success began then and there.

Smilovic comments on the Tibi woman: “There are three major influences to the line; Hong Kong, Paris and Palm Beach. We like to think that our girl never looks uptight and that is where the Hong Kong influence comes from. Hong Kong is about the ease of wearing things, throwing on things that aren’t too encumbered. The French side is effortlessly chic, the mandate for runway is that the girls always looks fabulous but she didn’t spend more than 15 minutes on herself. Our girls definitely didn’t spend hours in front of the mirror. Palm Beach is always on the clean side, the girl may wear something that is laid back but she is not a hippy. It’s clean and minimal.”

In 2005, The Cloister on Sea Island in Georgia chose Tibi to develop a collection that would represent the lifestyle at their world-renowned luxury resort- she then designed tunics, bikinis and one of their suites. In 2006, Smilovic opened the first Tibi flagship store at 120 Wooster Street in SoHo. See Tibi's full line here.

One of their amazing sample sales starts today at 409 West 39th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues). See the times below!

Wednesday, 13 May: 1 PM to 7 PM

Thursday, 14 May: 10 AM to 7 PM

Friday, 15 May: 10 AM to 6 PM

Madison Avenue Gallery Walk

This upcoming Saturday marks the 2nd Annual Madison Avenue Gallery Walk in New York, which allows you to tour fifty of the world's most prestigious galleries. The free guided tours leave hourly and will be conducted by art teacher’s from New York City’s public schools. The tours depart from The Fuller Building at 57th Street and Madison and no reservations are required. This is a great way to get acquainted with the art world or revisit pieces you already love. Click on the maps above to enlarge.

The Midas Touch

Cartier

H. Stern for Diane von Furstenberg

Rolex

Alexis Bittar

Sequin

Gold jewelry is a perennial must-have. Above, Cartier’ yellow-gold Love bracelet. Cartier sold 5,000 in the U.S. in the first two months of 2007 (about $15 million worth of Love!) It is still the single bestselling item in their collection. Stacking three of these on one arm would be ideal.

Diane von Furstenberg and H. Stern have collaborated to create a collection of pieces centered around the iconic love knot. I love these hammered 18K gold earrings. Also shown is Rolex’s Oyster Perpetual Day-Date in gold, Alexis Bittar’s Nugget Ring and gold chain necklace by Sequin from Charm and Chain.