Homegoods: Velour Patchwork

Whenever I come across furniture accessories with a homemade feel, it gets the wheels turning- I’m motivated to pull out the sewing machine and make my own line of accessories. Over the past year, I’ve snapped several beautiful patchwork velour pillows and am ready to share the collective:

The first two bolster pillows combine children’s drawings of British foot soldiers and hand painted landscapes with purple fabric and gold rope trim. I found them in Hackney, on the east side of London at an indie designer shop along Shoreditch High St. The patchwork square pillows are from Butterfield on Wayland Square in Providence, RI and pay homage to the British flag by way of paisleys and peach. They’re soft, welcoming and remind me of an 80’s collection from Laura Ashley. The chaise lounge is from Merci in Paris and has been hanging out in my iphoto library for a while now…happily, it’s finally part of a family!

July 25, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Follow-up: 2D Gone 3D

Tanagrams have blanketed commercial architecture around the globe. From mirrored paneling to glass bulges, fluid and reflective edges continue to make their mark. Recently, we highlighted a few examples ranging from fashion to product design. Today’s focus hits architecture in Melbourne, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore.

This glistening triangular sculpture is a pile of dynamic energy against it’s natural surroundings at the McClelland Sculpture Park in Melbourne, Australia. Revealing luxury at it’s height, design legend, Jean Paul Gaultier shares his balcony with Elle Decor. Giving us an exercise in tasteful innovation, Herzog and de Meuron have brought us Tokyo’s Prada store with floor to ceiling windows amidst a calming park. Nearly mimicking a disjointed Frank Gehry design, the Ion Orchard mall in the heart of Singapore’s shopping district is a beautiful fusion of it’s geographical counterparts.

January 20, 2011 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: A Patchwork of Textures

Mismatched patchwork is continually getting a facelift and the cubist approach in these designs reveal the latest pairing of pattern on pattern. Always the curator of cool, the latest literary addition to Colette’s bookshop, Wanderung, by Edouard Baribeaud, reveals 24 pages of painted and drawn imaginary spaces. Experimenting with this technique in the home goods sector, Missoni Home has designed a typographic pillow to reveal softer contrasts. Enlarging these black and white patterns for a throw, Bensimon of Paris has included this menagerie in their latest collection of wares.

November 23, 2010 | By: Shayna Kulik

Snapshots from London & Paris

Here are some snapshots of what I can share from my scouting trip to London & Paris. Met a few characters, took sneaky photos and returned home inspired + recharged. Hope you enjoy!

November 8, 2010 | By: Shayna Kulik

Trend: Beastly Art

You’ve been hiding under a rock if you haven’t noticed the animal influence that’s infiltrated all things visual lately. From graffiti tagging to fashion campaigns to high-end art, animal influenced portraiture is everywhere. Simon Schama recently wrote a piece for The Financial Times, proclaiming that beastly themes have always been a part of the modern art world in British society, making note of the highly religious themes that often come hand in hand with each piece.

The above illustration is from Flair magazine and portrays the best of both worlds: curious creatures with beautifully collaged textures. To the right, the graffiti leopard can be found on the streets of East London. The sexualized Hello Kitty illustration is part of Surface to Air‘s Parisian retail display, while this tailoring sign sits comfortably in a Hamstead window in London. Rounding out the retail theme, this canine portrait painting is currently part of the window display for Printemps Mens in Paris.

November 3, 2010 | By: Shayna Kulik

Fashion: Pointed & Precise

Having just returned from a 10 day scouting trip to London and Paris, there’s lots of catching up to do this week! I took hoards of photos and have hours of editing ahead of me, as even pre-holiday, both cities were brimming with creative inspiration. One thing that was consistently present was hardware (of course). Moving beyond pyramid accessorized clothing, cone-shaped gold and silver pieces were rampant. This parallel between Christian Louboutin’s most recent footwear and this pigeon-like-people-deterrent outside a London bank is priceless. Art imitating life never gets old.

November 1, 2010 | By: Shayna Kulik