Written on: Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 | Filed under:
Blog, Design
| Art Chat
[Art complements the decor in an Orange County, California residence. Photo by Steven Barston]
SoCal designer pushes the boundaries of art in interior design
“Every room is important to me,” says Trip Haenisch, ASID. Indeed, this prudent designer hates to see any room go to waste. For Haenisch, each room should have a purpose; each room should be put to use and, most importantly, each room should be beautiful.
Trip Haenisch has been working as a designer since the mid-80s, first with Waldo Fernandez and later with business partner Martyn Lawrence-Bullard. Today, he heads his own six-person firm in West Hollywood, working on thirty high-end projects for a clientele that includes celebrities, socialites and media moguls. He has been honored by HG magazine as a “New Tastemaker” and his work has been featured in over seventy publications, including the cover of Architectural Digest. Each Trip Haenisch project is as unique as the client who commissioned it. “I don’t like to repeat myself, ‘ he says modestly.
Written on: Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | Filed under:
Blog, Design
| Art Chat
New book chronicles the life of Ralph Pucci International
Ralph Pucci International’s path from mannequins to world-renowned furnishings and art is the subject of a new book, SHOW, published by Glitterati Incorporated.
Starting with the company’s origins as a mannequin repair shop founded by Nick and Lee Pucci, Ralph’s parents and the individuals to whom the book is dedicated, the book follows the company’s growth into a high-end mannequin manufacturer in the 70s and, eventually, a major New York City art and furnishings showroom.
[Neigungsgruppe Design, organizer of Vienna Design Week: Lilli Hollein, left, Thomas Geisler, and Tulga Beyerle, right. Photo/Concept: Zajc & Zündel]
Looking forward to one of Europe’s great design gatherings
We know this one’s still a little ways off, but we thought we’d tell you about a great event coming up: the Vienna Design Week.
In cooperation with many partners — from Vienna museums to production and retail companies to designers from all over the world — all of Vienna becomes a platform and showplace of design for this one October week. Make no mistake: this isn’t just a trade fair, as the VDW takes place in a variety of venues and encompasses a multitude of smaller events.
[Left to Right: DreamHome Living Room Designer Grace Sielaff, Sheila Kennedy, and Chris Kennedy. DreamHome is a design house sponsored by Chicago’s Merchandise Mart that features nine couture rooms created by renowned Chicago designers and using furnishings from the Merchandise Mart. Image courtesy of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.]
In recent years, Chris Kennedy has worked tirelessly to promote art through politics, philanthropy, and sheer love of creativity
By Lynn Morgan
‘‘I don’t know if people who live in Chicago can explain to people who live in LA why art is important!” laughs Chris Kennedy, the president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI), the owners and operators of the newly refurbished LA Mart and the producers of ten international art fairs, including Art Chicago, the Toronto International Art Fair, VOLTA and the Armory Show. Because of his involvement in the business of both fine and decorative art, he has a unique perspective on the importance of art to community and to commerce.
Matteo De Paolis of Navona Antiques in West Hollywood will host celebrated designer Joe Nye’s window installation in homage to Sister Parish.
The window unveiling is scheduled on the evening of May 7 in conjunction with the La Cienega Design Quarter’s first annual Legends event, and will display curtains with Chinoiserie print in vivid colors, an antique settee, historic tables from Navona, and decorative wall coverings painted by the fine artists at Gallagher Designs. Joe Nye’s inspiration behind the window vinette, iconic designer Sister Parish, has been a muse-like figure for Nye since he was a young boy. With this window display, Nye is pleased to have the opportunity to give tribute to Parish’s iconic works.
[Artist Dan Gallagher completes Joe Nye’s inspirational design]
[Fabio Micucci, Micucci Collection; Mark Robinson, president of Boffi LA; Mariella Salvatori, commercial attache at the Italian Consulate of Los Angeles; Elena Manferdini, Atelier Manferdini]
Boffi Los Angeles and Ducati team up for an unprecedented showroom event
For one evening only, Boffi Los Angeles and Ducati teamed up to host an unprecedented event exploring the history of two of Italy’s foremost design legends. Boffi’s modern, minimalist showroom came alive with a stirring juxtaposition of Ducati motorcycles, visionary kitchen and bathroom designs, and a photo essay chronicling the remarkable parallel histories of Boffi and Ducati.
French doyenne of design Andrée Putman illustrates that life is best lived not in black, white, or gray, but rather in rich contrast
By Claire Naa
Upon opening the door to Andrée Putman’s office in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, visitors are immediately blinded by the light shining through the space’s playfully constructed design of glass openings and windows. Seated behind a black desk is a tall woman dressed in a stark white suit, her ash blond hair billowing slightly in the breeze from a nearby fan. The window behind her allows the light of day to shine gleefully on an elegant necklace—an item, the woman explains, that she has worn every day since she unearthed it at a flea market and replated it with white gold.
[Katsuya Restaurant, Brentwood, CA. Courtesy of Starck]
Checking in with ubiquitous designer Philippe Starck
By Lynn Morgan
He transforms the ordinary. Hundreds of objects we touch, use, and work with every day have been reimagined and redesigned in Philippe Starck’s vision. From the Microsoft optical mouse and the cult-object Alessi juicer to a Tokyo skyscraper, the Paris-born designer-turned-architect is the best-known advocate of New Design, the aesthetic that blurs the distinction between the utilitarian and the artistic.
Last Saturday, culture aficionados from all over made their way out to West Hollywood for the city’s annual Avenues of Art and Design Walk. The weather couldn’t have been better — a mild and sunny afternoon provided a perfect setting for perusing some of the L.A. area’s finest art galleries, design showrooms, and fashion boutiques.
As a way to kick off their 50th year of existence in style, L.A. Mart and L.A. Mart Design Center held a gala celebration to christen the center’s new, Christopher Gaona-designed main lobby on January 10. A plethora of Los Angeles’ most influential figures made their way out to the Downtown L.A. event, which was organized for a good cause—proceeds from the evening benefited Inner-City Arts, an L.A.-based, non-profit arts education center founded to enrich the lives of inner-city children through the arts.
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