CHICAGO

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LANDING AT MIDWAY

TRENCHERMAN, WICKER PARK

 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, OAK PARK

 VIOLET HOUR

 GREEN STREET MEATS

 CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTRE

 

LATERAL OFFICE ILLUSTRATION

 FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, OAK PARK

TULUM HOTEL MODEL, CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTRE

Chicago - what a marvelous city, full of interesting neighborhoods, ambitious buildings, art, food and contrasting adjacent scales of architecture and cultural detail.  After a cancelled flight due to the heaviest November snowfall in 120 years, I had one more precious day to add to my brief trip to discover inspiring places during the architectural biennial.  

Unsound Toronto - Hearn Generating Station

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The Unsound Toronto event that was part of the Luminato Festival took place at the Hearn Generating Station.  What a space.  Industrial majesty.  Immense steel members support soaring ceilings, masterfully illuminated for the night.  The steel reverberated with the music.  I felt lucky to have gotten a rare glimpse inside of this relic.  It reminded me of the times when I would sneak into forbidden infrastructural spaces in New York.  The scale of building necessary to run a city can be breathtaking.  I always dreamed of building something that defies imagination.

Ode to New York

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I am thinking of my trip to New York City earlier this month for Design Week and ICFF.  I go every year, as each visit never fails to inspire and provide opportunities to forge new connections to people and places and ideas.  Each meal for instance is a delight; starting with the curation of a table - each element serves simply to give pleasure, from feel in the hand to visual care to of course, the taste.  This does sound indulgent but whenever I leave the city I treat myself to a little plate of oysters and sit at a favorite spot, reveling in the marvels around me that one of the greatest cities in the world offers. I certainly remember how difficult it was to first arrive in NYC to find a place to live and to work, and the tremendous satisfaction in the reward of eventually finding both.

Sketchbook 35

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Autumn 2014

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Needless to say it has been months since my last update; what a wonderfully productive summer and early fall.  A short recent visit to London UK was a fantastic reunion with that majestic old city, filled with contrasts, inspirations, long-time friends, family, history, exploration.  100% Design and DesignJunction and the V+A.  Etc.  I hadn't been in London since 1999 when I last lived there.  I shall endeavor to share some images soon from that little trip.

A full roster of new projects is also on the horizon - I am thrilled about them, and will be updating more on all of these things in short order.  To name a few, a pavilion, a restaurant downtown, and a resort.  Exciting times.  Other projects are under construction, are concluding, have concluded, and at some point if the hours magically multiply those shall be documented. 

Strata

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OLYMPIA TILE SLAB WAREHOUSE

I love touring stone slab warehouses and marveling at these gorgeous ancient slices cut from the earth.  I saw the most magnificent specimens yesterday that looked like topographic maps, microscope slides, painterly masterpieces, quiet captured stretches of petrified matter, magnified photographs, glacial records... the most vibrant and delicate colours compressed adjacent, all in natural stone.  I have been to many of these warehouses to choose precious slabs for projects, and every time it is at least as thrilling as any gallery or museum.  Each must be touched to feel the subtle veining, honing, and the layers that have been concealed before the diamond saws sliced through those irreplaceable blocks; the sheets to be treasured for generations as reminders that there is a hidden and mysterious beauty beneath our feet.

Some Inspiration

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ALL PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARL BLOSSFELDT

I adore Karl Blossfeldt's photographs (a few of which are above).

I have been contemplating for a quite a while taking images such as these as a starting point for inspiration to create a new series of large images/wallpapers/collages/murals combined with some incredibly detailed maps that I have.  Nonsensical perhaps, but I love the idea of these gorgeously organic forms in black and white colliding with the organic complexities of man-made cities.  I can see the images that I want to achieve so clearly in my mind.  I just have to do it.

Fire in the Garden

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I am loving my Weltevree corten steel oven.  Such a wonderful thing to enjoy in the garden; a warming hearth to prepare dinners within and to gather around.  It is quite the treat in the winter; a sparking steaming entity that melts the snow and glows with fragrant wood alight, creating a growing mass of ruby embers. 

Happy New Year - 2014!

Art Basel / Design Miami

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DAVID RENGGLI "I LOVE YOU"

REVERSE PAINTING ON GLASS
WITH MATCHING SUIT AND TOTE

RICHARD PRINCE "ALL YOU CAN EAT"

ACRYLIC + SILKSCREEN INK ON CANVAS

BARNABY FURNAS
DRANOFF FINE ART

LIFEGUARD TOWER ON SOUTH BEACH

BREAKFAST AT THE RALEIGH

SOUTH BEACH

 

Amazing trip to Miami saturated with art (+art + art), design, neon, pastel hues, art deco architecture, the beach, gorgeous weather, great food and good company. A few of the places and events visited that I would recommend include Art Basel during Vernissage, Design Miami, Untitled, Scope, INK, Wynwood, Art Miami, Soho Beach House, Casa Tua for lunch, the Raleigh at the little interior bar and also by the pool, Wynwood Kitchen, (thanks Andrea Mills!) the Standard, the Delano, and for a fun meal with seafood bibs and key lime pie Joe's Stone Crab.

Very inspiring.  Lingered over beautiful Motherwell prints and I also saw a very nice Francis Bacon piece that would have almost fit into my suitcase.

Last Hurrah

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I love the effort and spirit it took to send this beautiful old industrial warehouse off in style.  So many of these wonderful spaces simply disappear under the wrecking ball without acknowledgement - becoming ghosts remaining in too few people's imaginations.  Check out the video.  Hey Zion, thought you'd like this.

Fall Update

Hello, is November around the corner?  I am excited about the projects on the boards right now.  I am working on a cottage project in Port Hope on a gorgeous property, have designed a tiny little sauna [memories from Helsinki flooding back], am about to embark on a 50's modern gem of a house renovation, am designing for the Thompson Hotel rooftop, and have just booked another short trip, this time to Miami for Art Basel again, which was so fun the last time.  The Art Deco hotels along South Beach have a special place in my heart.  Montreal was amazing - hopefully I'll get around to posting some photos eventually. I have been lagging on posting photos and new work I admit, however time is too precious these days, as always. 

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I have had many relationships with different amazing cities.  Loves, crushes, friendships, the ones that got away.  Toronto is of course one of them.  It has been a gradual bond, a slowly dawning appreciation - indeed I have lived here for a decade.  Last night, as I was having dinner in the precious summer twilight, it was clear to me that Toronto can be very beautiful, and there is magic to be found here.  Not a revelation, but it was a reminder of why we ground ourselves in certain places, when the rest of the planet is calling.

NYC ICFF 2013

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Here are just a few snapshots of few things I saw and liked in NYC at ICFF - for some reason I didn't take a lot of photos but I looked at a great deal!  I noticed a lot of beautiful wood cabinetry and furnishings with restrained metal and leather details, lacquered or enameled tableware objects, brass artifacts, modern interpretations of traditional chandelier forms.  Off-site, I noted many collaborations between different disciplines and cultures to come up with interesting albeit experimental ideas.  It was great fun as well to have brunch at the Waverly Inn, discover Cafe Gitane at the Jane, walk the High Line, and attend the many design receptions and events at Wanted, and in Soho and Noho.  As always, NYC offered a wealth of opportunity for inspiration. 

Gianni Basso Stampatore in Venezia

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I was thrilled to receive my beautiful letterpress thank-you note cards and envelopes that the charismatic Gianni Basso had made for me.  He has a tiny print shop in one of the quiet side streets of Venice.  I had met him 10+ years ago and he had made some cards for me then - wonderful to see that the shop is still there and nothing had changed.  It was a pleasure to see all of his samples - a legion of very famous names have apparently found his shop somehow and ordered various types of cards for themselves.  It's heartening to think that this tradition is still alive - a precious few of these amazing 18th century letterpress machines are still active and indeed the act of hand writing a note to someone is still very much appreciated.  I will savour the moment each time I send one of these into a post box.

Also - thank you Gianni for recommending that restaurant - it was indeed delicious traditional Venetian fare.  Until next year!

Milano Salone + Venezia 2013

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VIBIA

VIBIA

INTERLOCKING GLASS CHAIN LINKS

BAROVIER & TOSO

BOCCI

GUBI

SALONE UFFICIO

FLEXFORM

LUALDI

PHILIPPE + GABY'S BOAT

ISOLA DI SAN MICHELE FROM AFAR

MIRACOLI AT NIGHT

THE RIALTO FISH MARKET

ASTOUNDING 

ABUNDANCE OF FRESH FISH

VIEW OF THE GRAND CANAL FROM PEGGY GUGGENHEIM

TINY PORTIONS AT CUCINA 'DA OSCAR'
[THANK YOU CATHERINE + JEFFREY FOR 
THE RECOMMENDATION!   WAS VERY, VERY FULL.]

APEROL SPRITZ WHILE ADMIRING MIRACOLI

VERY ORDERLY AND CIVILIZED DESPITE NO LIQUOR LICENSE FENCES, CURIOUS

FRESH BURRATA, HOUSE-CURED SALUMI AND CARPACCIO 
WITH TRUFFLE  AT
 IL SALUMAIO DI MONTENAPOLEONE

These are a few snapshots from another wonderfully inspiring trip to Milan during Salone del Mobile, and from Venice whilst visiting dear friends Gabrielle and Philippe.  Design ideas, beauty and pleasure were in abundance.  I am looking forward to receiving my note cards printed by Venetian letterpress master Gianni Basso Stampatore - what an amazing personality.  The trip was a welcome reminder of the importance of beauty, warmth, friendship, and the legacy of skill and craftsmanship.

Off-site celebrations for Agape, Bassam Fellows, B&B Italia, Poliform, Fontana Arte, Bulthaup, Tom Dixon, Bocci and Boffi - to name a few - highlighted introductions to new products and new directions in the design world.

I believe more than ever that dedicating enough precious time to do things right, to savour the moment, and to continually seek out and embrace new experiences is essential.

Viva Italia.