Superior Designer

A couple of days ago I had the distinct pleasure of spending much of the day assisting one of our favorite Interior Designers and her team. The glamorous and lovely Amy Lau graced us with her presence for a whirlwind flurry (like the weather outside) of decorating activity. I first became aware of her talents back in 2007 when we happily lent her some accessories for an installation at the annual Kips Bay Showhouse, pictured above. She shares our love of modern design through a nod to the not so distant past, and she's certainly not shy with color!
More company history and design Inspiration can be found at:
http://www.amylaudesign.com/

Gobs of Goblets

Just a small cross section of hand blown goblets available at the moment. Pictured here are some of the Italian variety in caramel cased glass. Other colors include cobalt blue , aubergine purple, mushroom taupe, turquoise, and a particularly vivid shade of green.  The Italians made glassware for all occasions and any libation, and we have a limited sampling of every style from long-stem wine glasses to the tiniest cordials. 

At Home with The New York Times

                                                Ruby Washington/The New York Times

From an article titled "In a Turquoise Mood" in today's Home section of The New York Times, Interior designer Ghislaine Viñas touts us as a one-stop-shop for her favorite accent color of the moment!

See LINK:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/garden/25shop.html?ref=todayspaper

Brazil-liant Bowl

This bowl is hand-crafted with Brazilian rare wood and finished with an aluminum rim detail, designed by Jean Dubre for a company called "Tropic-Art", made in Brazil circa 1960. It measures just under 10" in diameter. This is the Rio thing!

Olympic Fever

OK, so this sport is not quite current, but let's look forward to the Summer Olympics to be held in London 2012. This sculpture made in France circa 1930 is of an athlete readying to toss the javelin.  Made of "Spelter" (aka white metal) and then enameled to look like bronze (the spear itself is likely actual bronze) and it stands upon a black marble base. Every inch is finely detailed and classically masculine.

Bang and Awesome

This ceramic vase with a moss-like mottled green glaze has such an austere simplicity as to make it iconic to its Art Deco origins- 1930's from the studio of Arne Bang.  It measures 6.25" in height and about 3.5" in width. 

It's a Grey Day

3 from Italy, 1950's.

One More to Pine Over

This is the piece we have been waiting for! Per Lilienjren's work, featured here before, never ceases to amaze. Completely hand carved with such meticulous tenacity as to represent the epitome of obsessive creativity...captured for posterity. The glaze is the most subtle shade of blue. This Swedish vase stands at 12" tall and 6" across, the largest we've seen and the last of it's kind.

Bali by Way of Sweden

A fine female figure by Harald Salomon for Rörstrand, made during his short tenure there between 1943-45. It is my understanding that this fortuitous placement at the renowned Swedish factory was a refuge of sorts. It was during the second world war that this most prominent Danish sculptor found a home in which to make his work and help establish his name. The monumental ceramic piece is 22" tall and has a blue/green glaze, a color-way popular at the time. This form could be Balinese or at very least a beautiful study in exotica.

Muy Bueno

This Mexican sterling silver box (measuring just 5"x 3") dates back to the 1940's and is bejeweled with a solid jade Aztec or Mayan mask decoration.

It's a Bromance

These twin stopper bottles from Fratelli Toso (literal translation is the Brother's Toso) measure at an impressive 29" and are made of the most luminescent Opaline glass with a delicate layering of floating gold leaf.

You RED it Here

Faceted glass courtesy of Murano, Italy, circa 1960's.

Happy Valentine's Day

Heart Shaped Barbini Bowl

Totally Tubular

A selection of cylindrical mid-century ceramics from Denmark.

From top: Palshus, Palshus (tall)/Conny Walther (small), Conny Walther.

Chew On This

With its rich CARAMEL color, this 1950's Murano ashtray looks good enough to eat!

Top Brass

2 mid-century boxes from Italy. The foreground mahogany box features fine inlaid brass details and opens on hinges. The box in the back is gold plated with a black lucite lid and base and is attributable to Baron Alessandro Albrizzi...the swinging '60's Italian designer known for his ultra-mod decor. Delve deeper into his fascinating history @ http://www.albrizzi.com/

White Out/ BlackBook

Because of the major blizzard outside, I never made it to the store today, so for a blog entry...I give you an oldie but a goodie review from one of the hippest magazines out there, BlackBook:

"Acclaimed as one of the best-curated shops in New York, The End of History specializes in mid-century design, primarily in glass. Grouped by color, the store boasts the largest collection of 50s and 60s glass in the whole world. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable, so if you've just wandered in when mesmerized by the jaw-dropping window displays, they'll show you around a bit."

Widow display photo from nearly one year ago: courtesy of www.blackbookmag.com

Simply Stunning

Our fabulous Fantoni ceramic lamp was recently featured in the pages of Real Simple magazine (January 2010). The canary-colored cylindrical lamp ties into the yellow accents in the room. The theme of the shoot was "5 Ways to Reimagine Your Bedroom"...this set up was built around an exotic themed boudoir.

Orange You Glad?

Sometimes a room needs a shot of color or texture. Here is one Italian ceramic that has both elements at once. There is no other color more distinctly modernist than orange. Not to mention gold highlights...this vase is like sunshine in a bottle.

It's a Grey Day

Murano from the 50's. At 37", this grey Venetian cased glass genie bottle is one of the tallest we have ever had. The stopper alone stopped us in our tracks!

Delightful Decanters

These three divine decanters feature mint condition rattan details and teak and cork stoppers. The original paper label on the bottom reads Katrup Glas (not a misspelling), indicating that these were made in the 1950's from one of Denmark's most renowned factories. The glass has a milky opalescence...giving them a dreamy quality.

Purple Reigns

2 1960's Italian lidded jars in a delicious shade of mauve-y purple.

Twisted Sisters

Meet The Barbini Twins. Sounds like the title of a vintage Playboy Magazine spread. Fraternal, naturally, given their relative size to one another.

I Feel Peretti

Oh so Peretti..as in Elsa, the fabulous Italian jewelry and housewares designer. She may have trademarked the shape of the organic thumbprint bowl for Tiffany and Co., however her designs are undoubtedly influenced by the the great Venetians who came before. A terrific example of such inspiration is this 1950's gold bowl created by one of the venerable factories such as Barbini, made when Elsa was but a teenager.

One More-ano Bowl

This bowl may be Venini, given the very concentrated Pelugoso effect on the underside...Billions of bubbles. You can see I'm currently obsessed with these aqua colors.

Superb Bowl

From the Murano factory of Archimede Seguso. Couldn't you just drown in the absolutely dreamy opalescent turquoise color of this bowl?