Monthly Archives: October 2009

October 29, 2009 · 7:30 pm

Montage: Mosquito Netting

It’s getting rather chilly in Boston. Some days are perfect crisp autumnal wonders. Others just plain cold. While I will surely be dreaming of Caribbean getaways come February, I had this post put together already, so I thought I’d share it now. I am crazy crazy with work. Will catch up here with many thoughtful posts later next week. For now, make yourself a rum drink and dream of the Islands.

Photos: Photographer Adriano Bacchella; Ladera Hotel in St. Lucia via Apartment Therapy; Sixx Design; photographer Anson Smart; Dave Coote; Elle Decor; Piet Boon via Style Files; Skona Hem; Crib and Lean Day Bed via Stylehive; Bratsera Hotel in Greece via Apartment Therapy; Domino; Marie Claire Maison; Vt Wonen; Anna Kern; Living Etc.; Dara Caponigro in Elle Decor; Kristian Septimius Krogh; Tom Scheerer in Elle Decor; Patric Johansson; Remodelista; photographer Hans Zeegers; stylist Atlanta Bartlett; photographer Helen Norman; Fernanda Bourlot; Bolig Magasinet.

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Filed under . REGULAR FEATURES, Montage

Tagged as Adriano Bacchella, Anna Kern, Atlanta Bartlett, Bratsera Hotel, canopies, Caribbean chic, Dara Caponigro, Fernanda Bourlot, Hans Zeegers, Helen Norman, Island style, Kristian Septimius Krogh, Ladera Hotel, mosquito netting, Patric Johansson, romantic bedrooms, Sixx Design, Tom Scheerer

October 26, 2009 · 10:11 pm

Food: Farmer’s Market in Stowe, Vermont

We went to visit friends in Stowe a couple of weeks ago. It was sort of drizzly, but still magical. I adore Vermont. The rolling pastures and golden leaves calm me. It’s so unlike the untamed landscape in Cape Cod, where we spend the summer, which actually leaves me a little unsettled. It was a quick trip, but we managed to take a short walk on a trail through a national park, where I think I had more fun jumping from stone to stone in the brook than the kids did (reminded me so much of my childhood!). We also stopped briefly at the farmer’s market before coming home. Aren’t the vegetables gorgeous?

ARTmonday: Jacob Kulin

I first came across Jacob Kulin through a publicist for D Scale, designer Dennis Duffy’s furnishings showroom in the South End. She had emailed me images of an amazing tree branch, glass, and steel table that I was able to include in an article for the Globe, and in my post Get the Look: Trees (it’s the very first image). When I found out he is local to Boston, I was inspired to pitch a column on contemporary furniture designers in Boston to my editor in Stuff. She liked it, and I’ll probably do the piece in January. Meanwhile, I learned that Kulin also creates fine art sculpture. Hardly a surprise given the sculptural nature of his furniture. Here are some of his artwork that I particularly like.

Untitled 2009 – Powder coating over aluminum, stainless steel.

Untitled – Lamp-worked glass beads, steel, anodized aluminum.

Windjammer 2009 – Canvas, mahogany, aluminum, waxed cotton cord.

Untitled – Ostrich eggs, acrylic, stainless steel, walnut.

Untitled 2008 – Glass, zebra wood.

Aspen 2008 – Aspen wood, steel, silver leaf over aluminum.

Untitled – Enamel over copper, steel, cherry.

Montage: Eames Lounge

At first glance, if you’re not (gasp!) a connoisseur of the mid-century modern, the Eames lounge may look frumpy. I’ve heard from a couple of women that I interviewed for articles, that their husbands “didn’t get it” at first, but then went on to love and live in it. I would so love one in white leather, with a walnut shell. I would keep in Cape Cod, positioned towards the ocean view, adn there you would find me, ensconced (with my Mac Air of course) pretty much always. Like most mid-century modern pieces, the Eames lounge works well in most décors, from rooms filled with old antiques and Oriental rugs to the sparest of minimalist spaces. Here is a sampling of well-designed rooms that included this iconic piece designed by Charles and Ray Eames.

Photos: Kara Mann Design; Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architecture; Please Sir blog; Steve Giralt; Flickr via Style Files; S.R. Gambrel; Boundary Hotel London; Cookie Magazine; Greg Natale Design; Elle Decor South Africa; Hannah Simmons; Inspace; photographer Joe Schmelzer; Apartment Therapy; Timothy Griffith for NYT; Studio Cerri & Associati; Living Etc.; James Tse; Elle Decorations; Margaret McCurry in Architectural Digest; Michael Crockett; Living Etc.; Jayne Wunder; photographer Julien Lanoo; unidentified.

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Filed under . REGULAR FEATURES, Furniture, Montage, Rooms

Tagged as charles and ray eames, Eames Lounge, Eames Stool

October 21, 2009 · 1:01 am

Designer Spotlight: Mod Green Pod

Here’s another textile profile from “Designing Women” that I wrote for Stuff Magazine. You’re no doubt familiar with this company – Mod Green Pod – especially the signature butterfly print, which was their very first design. Here’s their story.

When textile designer Nancy Mims mentioned to her sister-in-law, Boston-based Lisa Mims, that she was thinking of creating an organic cotton fabric line, Lisa, who had just quit a consulting job, hopped on a plane to brainstorm with Nancy at her home in Austin, Texas. Mod Green Pod was born at a picnic table in Nancy’s backyard. Their first collection was launched a year later, in spring 2006, with the funky and flirty signature print “Butterfly Jubilee.” Today, the company produces eight patterns, including Clara and Atticus, named after Nancy’s children. (There used to be an Adelaide print too, named after Lisa’s daughter, but that pattern was retired.)

This month Mod Green Pod launched a line of organic cotton solids in colors that coordinate with the prints.

Nancy, who is the company’s creative director (Lisa serves as a sometime consultant from her home in Beacon Hill), recently came up for air after three frenzied weeks spent churning out 35 new designs, only three of which will make it into the next collection. The designs are all printed with non-toxic pigments on 100% certified-organic cotton grown in the United States. A recent visit to textile mills has motivated Nancy to continue to produce domestically. “My dream is to help our old mills go green and revive production in the US. We could bring back jobs and clean up the textile industry at the same time,” she says. As for other visions, Nancy would like to see the fabrics used in Malia and Sasha Obama’s rooms in the White House. She reasons, “Sasha is my daughter’s age, and I think she’d love the hot pink colorway with the butterflies. It’s US-made and organic, and since she has allergies, she needs clean, green décor.”