Caillou Boats
growing up in a salty boat community outside SF,
I have always been intrigued by boat building.
along the funky docks of houseboats and anchor-ins,
old sailors would be working all day on their boats
carving, sanding, painting



It's hard not to romanticize Hemmingway
"the old man and the sea"
I think great design begins with a great boat
before Ferraris, Lamborghinis and MGs
I think the boat was man's first beloved vehicle.

In Tiverton, Rhode Island,
John Meikle makes it so again

A Daily Dose of Architecture

Wooden church of Kärsämäki
by Anssi Lassila (2004)
(winner of a student competition hosted by University of Oulu)

I'll never forget.
In my first architecture class:
Constructing Home
I learned about a very rad Austrian lady:
Margarete Schüette-Lihotzky
In 1926 she designed the:
Frankfurt Kitchen

The Frankfurt Kitchen was a social experiment based on time/efficiency studies. Each element was positioned in way to minimize unnecessary movement. Lihotzky was largely influenced by that classic American text: The New Housekeeping (1913) by Christine Frederick. Frederick analysed the bodily movements and circulation patterns of the housewife as she engaged in daily work in order to arrive at new principles for household design and labour---It forever changed the way we look at women, domesticity....and the Kitchen.

read on

WW11 army canvas

Bensimon
If anyone is going to Paris,
can you pick me up a pair of Bensimons?
my all-time favorite tennis shoe

I'm not a huge fan of Kate Moss
however,
this outfit is très chic
I'm digging shirts tucked into high waisted, wide legged jeans

it Design

7mm thick cardboard = bed

Andrew Rodgers via Treehugger
robert smithson-style earth art
(Arava desert, Israel)

(watch)

this is auto
meatpacking district, nyc

Emily Hass + Tivoli Audio
the 3 pillows remind me of the 3 coolest people I wish I knew:
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy + Rothko + Josef Albers

The Feminine Mystique

Our most :: notorious fashionable lovely :: female outlaws

1. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Faye Dunaway
2. Pierrot Le Fou (1965) - Anna Karina
3. Irma Vep (1996) - Maggie Cheung

L. Williamson

Leslie Williamson, was featured in the July/Aug 07 Dwell Issue and I loved her photographic series on famous architects' and designer's interior spaces---like that of Walter Gropius. Unlike typical 'contextual' architectural photographs, William's captured tighter and more unrestrained aspects of these seemingly sterile environments: "By focusing on quiet, interior vignettes, Williamson reveals and intimacy in each space, and, in turn, makes each person's life's work all the more tenable---Dwell"

Take a closer look

If I could buy anything this fall, it would be these 4 pieces at A.P.C.

Back in wonderfully neurotic "Manhattan"

DDR "communist-chic"

::Via designboom::

Digging this DDR pre-Goodbye Lenin-style nostalgia fest of:
retro plastics, wall fabric, linoleum-lovin' East German consumer design

It's weird digging "communist chic"
there was really nothing chic about communist Germany
It's interesting how time can sedate history
...history becomes art
(everything thing a bit lost in translation)




::Via Dezeen::

NOW:
...trabant cars & pastel kitchens are rad...

"Ostel, a new budget hotel in Berlin, (photos above) celebrates Communist retro chic.
Rooms are furnished with Communist-era pieces rescued from
private houses and second hand shops,
and have nostalgic names such as:
Stasi Suite and Pioneer Camp." - Dezeen

(hmmmm...still a little uncanny)

1. a Rougerouge old photograph
2. one day at 46th & Irving ::Mollusk::

-->Tyler's HI SHREDABILITY <--

In the same sort of tune as Thomas Campbell
....and the Quilts of Gee's Bend:
VOLKSWARE
{a small design company out of Amsterdam}
assembles furniture_rug_ clothing
from discarded materials

Thomas Campbell
all-round-creative-surf-artist-dude
sewn, collage, Beautiful Loser's, graffiti thread hangin' down-style
Album cover for the equally intriguing: Tommy Guerrero*
16mm film: Sprout

Heading back to NYC in a few days
and will surely miss the yellow plums & red apples

home in san francisco
Listening to: Joni Mitchell
Anticipating: plum season
Wearing: TOMS

unfortunately, didn't meet:

TM Studio Office (2003)
Guo Kuang Road, Shanghai
Architect: TONG Ming, TM Studio

fortunately, met:

Zhujiajiao Cambridge Water Town
Architect: Studio Shanghai
Benjamin Wood

Was thrilled to visit Ben Wood's Studio Shanghai architecture firm (read NYtimes article)...based in their new adaptive re-use complex in the very Xintiandi neighborhood they restored. Really cool people with an interesting approach to development in Shanghai. Studio Shanghai was one of the first architecture firms in China to explore alternatives to suburban growth and outlandish development schemes. For example, their new 337 housing development in the Cambridge Water Town showcases how modern architecture is able to naturally merge with ancient Chinese principles.

The Bund Interiors

Shanghai decor

The Bund is a historical strip in Shanghai that hosted some of the wealthiest and notorious banks in the world during the early 20th c. ---the pinnacle of the roaring 20's Chinoiserie 'east meets west' party scene. And then...all the lights, jazz and glamour dimmed for 5o years during the communist republic. Now, these beautiful old buildings are being restored and converted into the most posh bars, clubs, fashion houses and restaurants...to recreate, in more modern terms, the infallible decadence of Shanghai.

Here, at #6 on the Bund
Each floor level hosted its own international designer
illustrating unique themes, materials, textures, moods
and sharing one thing in common: luxury

Decadent 'Shanghainese' lighting

Not exactly my taste of lighting. However, it was just so striking and photogenic that I couldn't pass the opportunity of being inside # 3 on the Bund (Aka, Dolce & Gabanna Building). Soon I'll post the equally decadent interiors of this building...6 floors dramatized by some of the top Interior Designers of our age.

These are a bit more quirky. I love how the artist used kitchenware for these chandeliers

Beijing beds: Inside + Out

Check out the amazing blankets in the 2nd to last photo above...In observing the brightly colored floral graphics don't you think they may have traveled from Uzbekistan? However, I do know for sure that these cots and blankets belong to some of the thousands of immigrant construction workers that are flocking to Beijing for work these days. There is not enough housing in Beijing to meet the new demand, so its typical to see military tents pitched in the courtyards of temples or along construction sites to house all the young men. The implications this mass migration will have on the urban environment in terms of pollution, poverty, overcrowding and social welfare, is very frightening...China is so wrapped up in preparing for the 2008 Olympics (eg: beautifying facades) it seems to be avoiding its deeper urban issues all together.

On Monday, the NYtimes noted that Dubai is amidst a similar crisis (read). I would be interested to see if the Chinese have any "architecture for humanity"-type organizations dealing with this forced migration. Maybe you know?

2 momentos from Beijing
the orange clock, with the flipping calender, is my favorite

:Mollusk Surf:

A little detour from China
Board bags sewn by a friend of a friend
all things made retro at *Mollusk*

The Red Capital Club

I hope this spread isn't too noisy (unfortunately, I think it is!)...it's just that The Red Capital Club & Residence in Beijing is so very red! The illustrious interior spaces are so rich and vibrant with deco furniture, memorabilia and antique books, that it's nearly impossible to convey the retro sophistication of this exclusive residence in Beijing. (click on photos for greater detail)

Now a very petite-boutique hotel, The Red Capital Club used to be an elite private courtyard residence following the communist victory in 1949. Recommended by a friend, one can stay in one of six rooms all styled and named after prominent intellectuals like Mao Zedong, Han Suyin and Edgar Snow + 2 concubine suites. It's like traveling back into time because all the bedrooms are dressed in silk, with beautiful old writer's desks, stately antiques and piles of old books everywhere. Not to mention, most of the items and furniture belonged to Zhou Enlai, China's former Communist Party leader (1949-1976). I particularly enjoyed the secret underground bar...the stone ceiling lined with guerrilla mesh and a decor of old stools, dim lanterns, radios and bottles made it an extraordinary venue to watch old Chinese films.

I wish I could have taken one of these velvet Deco chairs home

CHINA: funky Interiors {Part II}

Balenciaga meets Brocade Country, China

I've been very inspired by Balenciaga's Fall 2007 collection (watch) of hyper-kinetic, fiery and tribal gang melting pot of Africana, Oceania + the America's folk textiles. The hot color palette of neon threads complemented by rich opaque grays (not to mention, Asian influences) kind of reminded me of something I just found in Shanghai:

I just purchased this really rad wrap skirt in Shanghai. Let me just say that much of the fashion I observed in Shanghai was either from upscale gaudy fashion houses, cheap knock-off stores or touristy side-walk vendors. However, my friend, a landscape designer and a great reference for cool, off the radar places told me to visit this store called: Brocade Country at the intersection of Julu Road and Xiangyang Road (616巨鹿路近襄阳路). Tel: 8621-62792677

REVIEW: It was pure visual eye candy for me! The textiles, table cloths, shoes and indigenous dresses were beyond beautiful. The small, humble, hole in the wall boutique belongs two very chic sister's of the Miao Zu ethnic minority of the Guizhou province. {{Here's the story}} Both of the sisters are designers. However, the elder Liu sister, Xialan, speaks English and seemed to be the creator behind it all. They were so sweet and we talked for a long time about Chinese design and their amazing craft work. As the story goes: their mom still lives back in Guizhou and helps send them all the embroidery work from their village in Gai Din County (sometimes the cloths are nearly 100 years old). With no former training, the sister's re-work and sew the pieces into more contemporary and paired down creations....retaining the essence of the original textile (eg: My skirt was tailored and cut to knee-length). I must say, that was the most innovative work I've seen in a long time and I was just so happy to support the designers..and all the Miao people they so honorably represent. Spread the word.

(I now wish I bought their really handsome and chic sandals too)

CHINA: funky Interiors {Part I}

At the old industrial factory park...798...host of Beijing's now flourishing art scene...Also note: [if you ever journey to China, please feel free to e-mail me anytime if you'd like travel advice. I can lead you to some great desginers/design spots as well as 'off the beaten track', funky, often a bit wacky, petite_hotels.]

The Great Disparity

Shanghai has both a lot of Glitz and Gloom

At Home Abroad = Shanghai

There is a fantastic New York Times piece on author, Emily Prager's, relocation from Manhattan to Shanghai. "Settling Down in a City in Motion" is a provocative and humorous account on the Day in the Life of an expat in China. Here 2 or 3 things I learned about dwelling in Shanghai:

1. Like in Cuba, after the Communist Revolution of 1949, single family houses in China were converted into multifamily dwellings (5 people could potentially live in a single room)
2. These multi-family dwellings are now being converted back to singles
3. Unlike NYC, when you rent a place in Shanghai, the landlord gives you house warming presents (Emily's land-lady gave her a TV and cable!)
4. For every neighborhood lane there is a lanekeeper who watches over the lane.
5. Floors are regularly waxed, "a gleaming floor is a sign of prosperity"
6. Never wear shoes indoors
7. Privacy is mental vs. physical
   
8. Buy fresh food and items daily, or as needed. "[people] do not hoard and their homes are not full of items they never use". (I love this)
9. And so much more, so read on...