NATE DUVAL

These made me smile today. A bit creepy, yes, but I'm intrigued....

And I love, love, love that full floral one...

Check out more here.

All images courtesy of http://nateduval.com/.

"FAVN is the Danish name for embrace. This piece is the result of a creative dialogue between Jaime Hayon and Fritz Hansen. 'I wanted the sofa to be based on a shell. A shell being hard on the outside, soft and welcoming on the inside. I wanted to create a form that embraces you, something really organic - that's why we named it FAVN' " - http://www.hayonstudio.com/

oo wee.

All images by Ruven Afanador. 

DRAMA QUEEN

Kelly Wearstler can be called many things, but one thing she's not is scurred. Love her or hate her interior designs...but you can't take away the fact that girlfriend is pretty ballsy. And just like any girl, she loves a good accessory — especially if it's vintage. She has absolutely no concept of less is more. Countless textures layer over patterns, which lay over other patterns. Gold is not an accent but a main player. The overall effect is regal, yet pop-py. Rich and certainly not stuffy.

Those last four images are of the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills, which I've stayed at a couple of times. I wanted to touch everything....sit in every chair...marvel at all of the glistening gold ornaments......

All photos courtesy of http://kellywearstler.com/

Some lovely type candy from typographer Darren Booth. That "300" is making me drool.

All images courtesy of http://www.darrenbooth.com/

 

STORMY WEATHER

So, yesterday there was free admission at the Oakland Museum of California (believe it or not, I've only been once before. Shame on me.) Last time I went, I did see this exhibit, but wasn't able to see experience it in its full glory until yesterday. 

This piece, called Pavilion of Rain, is only one element of a full retrospective of Michael C. McMillen that's currently on view. 

An abandoned shack, precariously situated above a small pool of water beckons you to enter. Inside, it is clear that it is someone's home. A small sink, benches, sheer fabric for curtains....the home is bare and lonely, but not uncared for. Under the tin roof, a storm brews outside — sprinklers with a pretty high water pressure and faux lightening. When sitting inside, the sound of the "rain" hitting the tin is immense. Simultaneously spooky and cozy, the home and the experience it creates is very moving. I couldn't help but be reminded about a trip to Panama some years ago and being pelted by a night storm while sleeping inside a structure not unlike this one, that was perched on stilts above the sea.

It took me there, and from the expressions on other visitors' faces, they were taken by it as well.

Nothing short of magical.

So, Bay folks. It's only up until the 14th. Yes, 6 more days. Go, go, go.

ELVIA PERRIN

Equal parts obtrusive and delicate, Elvia's shapes in her printmaking evoke an ethereal, dreamlike (or nightmarish?) quality. 

The big black shapes are almost anatomical, and are seemingly emboldened when layered on top of more delicate patterns.

I'm sort of in love with them and might need one for my apartment. Or five.

Check out her Etsy page here.

All photos courtesy of the artist.