This past weekend NYC designers and aficionados enjoyed the 2015 Architectural Digest Home Design Show. Every year I happily wait for this weekend in March to see the best of the best under one roof. As a designer, the feeling when walking around the event is exactly like a kid in a candy store. I’m always glad to observe that I’m not the only one feeling like that because you can notice the same excitement, curious and happy face on other visitors too.
This year, the highlight for me was to see/listen to Jonathan and Drew, the Scott brothers from the HGTV show The Property Brothers. They behave the same way they show themselves on tv. It was a fun presentation, and even though I chose not to make the line to get a picture taken with them, I took one of them goofing around with the fans.
It may sound silly, but I find that show very interesting, and you can learn a lot from the way they reconfigure the spaces to make them more functional for today’s lifestyle standards.
OK. let’s go directly to my list, hope you like my selection. (note: the order is irrelevant)
1. Zachary A.
It’s a line of outdoor furniture that resembles cement. The twist is that they are made of a fiberglass blend which makes them very light, despite the strong character they evoke. A cool and very smart choice when going with an ultra modern, brutalist type of aesthetic.
2. Loic Bard
A designer whose objects are organically conceptualized and that have a beauty that merges a whimsical air with a very dramatic, but melted silhouette.
Let’s spread his work…tweet this >>>
Talk about having a sense of humor! The work of this (very nice) artist stopped me on my tracks while walking around the busy, crowded aisles of the show. After telling him how much I enjoyed his work and how I thought he had a very unique way to play with unpredictable shapes and textures, he confessed that this indeed started as a way to show that nothing needs to be taken so seriously; and that having a sense of humor, while creating his pieces, allows him to be more free on his journey as an artist. I agree, sometimes the art world is full of pretentiousness… expectations are many times set within a framework that limits the art, clouding the senses to the appreciation of original approaches.
4. Mirth Studio
Colorful, patterned hardwood floor tiles. They are easy to install, the combination is infinite, and it’s a different way to bring the fun look found on cement tiles, which are very popular nowadays. The studio also has wallpapers and other products, but what really fascinated me were the tiles and the large variety of patterns in stock.
5. Mimi Jung / Brook and Lyn.
The work here was part of a two-side presentation – the one done by Mimi Jung as an independent artist, and the one where husband and wife collaborate. I got the chance to talk to Brian, who was attending the booth the day I went. The one on the picture is a room where to go and isolate from the ‘noise’ that surrounds us. I rather call it some sort of Pod, because of its concept of enclosing yourself and do whatever you want inside.
In my mind the activity doesn’t have to be always a profound, soul-search-type…it can be just chilling and seeing what surrounds you, appreciating the emptiness, beauty, fragility or what inspires you at the moment. But if you want to romanticize this beauty, let’s say that you can go inside, close the doors and start meditating into a deep trance that takes you to unknown paths of your memory.
At any rate, I love this portable waved room, its transparency and delicacy are breathtaking…A table was on the other booth across (no picture of the table, sorry). It was also a very well made pieces with a clean-fun design.
This show opens up the season for art events in NYC. I will try to squeeze some time to go around and update you on my favorite finds, and also share some other thoughts about the architectural digest show. Hope you enjoyed my top 5 +1 picks, ‘see’ you next time!
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Xo,
Dinorah