Published on: By Gail Garlick
I first learned about Jade Snow Wong at a talk by James Zemaitis at Manitoga, the Russel Wright Design Center. A first generation Chinese American, Jade Snow Wong was extraordinarily accomplished. She wrote both a best selling autobiography and a followup novel. She became an accomplished artist, raised a family, ran a travel agency and … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Amazon’s new grab and go store’s technology allows you to slip your credit card into a reader, take what you want and go. Great huh! But some are skeptical. Everything is pre-packaged. One size fits all. What’s good for Amazon is good for us too? I doubt it because some of us are gonna want mustard … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Last week, I was very excited to see a larger version of appliques that I have in my home. They were shown in an auction catalogue and attributed to the influential Italian architect Tomasso Buzzi. Buzzi was friends and colleagues with Gio Ponti during the 1920’s and 1930’s. I’d bought my appliques, a single leafed … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
The early modernist Lechner House by R. M. Schindler was featured on the cover of last Sunday’s New York Times Style Magazine. Restored by architect Pamela Shamshiri, who lives in it with her two children, it’s a modernist’s dream. I poured over the article, noting every wonderful detail and marveled at the extent to … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Tomatoes of every color and stripe, peaches and melons are perfuming my kitchen. The summer’s bounty leads me to play in my kitchen. Every day I find a new way to use tomatoes. This BLT salad is luscious! Quick to assemble and beautiful, it’s an ideal summer recipe.
Published on: By Gail Garlick
When I became a dealer, older dealers showed us newbies the art of hands-on inspection. This investigative work uses 4 of the 5 senses. Recently, while examining a unique cabinet by a well known Italian maker at an auction preview, I became uncomfortable. An interior bank of drawers looked fishy. I seemed to smell.. solvent … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Design books and magazine articles on the development of Italian Modernism and post war construction continuously champion the vital role played by Italy’s architects and larger manufacturers. As a result, the names of Ponti, Mollino, Albini, Ulrich, Mangiarotti, Frattini, Parisi, Sottsass, Scarpa, Cassina, Gavina are all very well known. Missing from the discourse however, are the … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
While Murano, is Italy’s most well known glass making center, nearby Milan, (Fontana Arte) and Turin, (Cristal Art) had their own important glass making companies. Between the 1950’s and 1980’s Fontana Arte and Cristal Art were competitors. In Good Design’s inventory, I‘ve two very special Cristal Art mirrors. Their manufacture was both labor intensive and … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Design destinations are often a little disappointing. As the years go by structures are re-purposed or the inhabitants want something new. So it’s rare to see a place left just as the architect wished it to be. Gio Ponti’s Parco dei Principe Hotel in Sorrento is true to the vision of the master.
Published on: By Gail Garlick
How long do viewers spend with a work of art? Most spend 15 to 30 seconds. But real seeing takes patience, time, developing your eye. What you see depends on what you know and what you’ve seen before. How long you look and how intensely, will alter what you see. Observing carefully is critical in … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
In November I wrote a post called The 3 Things you Need to Know About your Dealer. Under the topic of taste, I briefly touched upon an aspect of all dealer/scholars. We’re tireless aesthetes, passionate about beauty in all things. Whether it’s trips to museums or a walk down the block, everything gets funneled through … Continued
Published on: By Gail Garlick
Paolo Buffa created such an abundance of furniture designs that he is thought to have reconstructed the very history of Italian twentieth century furniture.