Good with Style

design philadelphia with dupont corian

Last week I took a short trip down to Philadelphia for DesignPhiladelphia, the nation's largest one-city celebration of art and design. Across the city, in galleries and public spaces of all sizes, design was on display.

  I was in-town to see my friend's sister's installation, which I will tell you more about in my next post. We spent a day walking around the city, collecting ideas and inspiration. The day we left, we made a stop in nearby Manayunk, which is a hot-bed of interior design and architectural firms. I scored some Prada shoes in chic-consignment store Greene Street. I also bought some farm fresh vegetables from a local Amish Farm Stand, and some mini-pies too. It was a great trip, and the only downside is that what was a minor cold has now morphed into a sinus infection and Bronchitis, which is why I am somewhat devoid of excitement. I promise to be more colorful and cheery tomorrow, when I'll show you the Dupont Corian sponsored design project my friend's sister created. It's pretty amazing.

xo

Emily

P.S. Check out how Corian is helping a small Kansas town with their sustainable rebuild after being destroyed by a tornado in 2007.

 

house wanting: renting vs. buying

 

 

We're moving--to a rental (Insert Charlie Brown Music). Yes, friends, the Recession has affected me too, and so, we are going to keep renting for another year. Rest assured, we will not be looking in Julian Schnabel's Palazzo Chupi in NYC.

 

Nor will we be engaging Chen Chow Little Architects, Sydney, Australia to build us our dream home. This is not to say that I'm sad we are renting rather than owning for another year. Having grown up as a bit of a nomad, owning a home just doesn't have the same visceral meaning to me as it does for many people.

I also don't have a passionate attachment to a specific type of architecture. I used to think I'd rather die than live in a split level. But now I see the creative ways you can turn anything into a place you love. Even if it's just a rental. What about you--what's your house story?

 

eco-friendly in the east village

         

Last night I visited the apartment building where I'm going to be signing books on Sunday (BRIDES and IKEA's Newlywed Nest Event.) 311 East 11th Street, The Village Green, is a brand new LEED certified apartment building. Michael and Izak Namer are the developers, and I had a chance to learn about the construction and the process of gaining LEED certification. It's quite a process indeed. This is only the beginning, but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Reichard Meier's Dressed Up Building at TodaysArt

This is The City Hall building in the Hague, built by Richard Meier in 1995.Here it is decorated with a pattern that is projected onto it's surface. This was for an annual TodaysArt that takes place in The Hague. At first it looks like it's the actual surface of the building. It made me realize that we never see anything this ornamental on the outside of buildings, not like we do inside with wallpaper, etc. I suppose it would be a bit of an arrest on the senses if every building had it's own crazy pattern. But it would be kind of nice to see a little more color.

Here's the building without it's fancy dress. It's like it's saying "Okay, the party's over, time to get back to work."

Women & Architecture

 

 

Architecture is a male-dominated profession, with prestigious awards like the Pritzker Architecture Prize most often going to men. Rarely do women architects receive headline-grabbing commissions. (Here's where I give props to my friend Alexis Anthony who just started a fab new job at Diane Von Furstenburg, designing stores--woot woot!).

Landscape Embracing Architecture by Tatiana Bilbao

If you need me, I'll be by the pool

The Universe House (pictured) was built by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao. Bilbao was an urban planner and decided she'd rather build things and be a part of the urban environmental conversation. She "embeds" her projects into the surrounding landscape by shadowing the aesthetic cues in the topography. Read more in this interview by Stefano Boeri on Abitare.

The Kennedy Center Honors 2009

Last night I watched The Kennedy Center Honors of 2009. Seriously, five of the most amazing artists who have ever lived. Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck, Grace Bumbry, Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen. These are people who used art to transcend circumstance, and to illuminate the human condition as they experienced it. Please take a moment and let the amazing, brave, beautiful, divine Grace Bumbry inspire you with song.

In Good We Trust

Sometimes trusting that the world is essentially good is all we have to go on.

Wouldn't life be pretty unbearable if we didn't trust in the inherent goodness of people? In the belief that good will always prevail, although sometimes it is in a strange and winding way. Good is a simple and powerful word. It's personal. And changeable.

You could think something, or someone, is good today, only to find yourself wondering "what was I thinking?" the very next day. You might be stunned by the not-so-good actions of someone you trusted.

(all photos by James Welling)

I think that my definition of good is grounded in the platonic ideal--that which serves the benefit of group (that's how I interpret it anyway.) In my life I have always had a global awareness, probably instilled in me by my mother. Style and design is also ingrained in me, also by my mother who was an Interior Designer. Which brings me to the idea of "Good with Style." This is my idea, my mantra, my platform, my purpose. I want to discover, illuminate, share, champion people, places, and things that I feel are Good with Style. They are aspiring to the good, with style. Like I said, good is personal, style is personal, and this blog is about how I see things.

Tell me about the good things in your life, I'd love to hear your point of view.

 

Jude Miller: Handmade Flowers as Art

I am enraptured with the work of Jude Miller. She makes delicate, exquisite flowers that rival the intricate beauty of the real thing. 

I think that it takes a true love of something to be able to capture the littlest details as she does.

 

If design govern in a thing so small*

  
(photo & styling: Kendra and Seth Smoot)

Practically everything I design is derived from everyday materials. 

Newspaper, cardboard, glass. I especially like working with 

wire hangers, I think it's because I love fil de fer so much.

It is surprisingly simple to work with a deconstructed wire 

hanger, all you need is a good wire cutter and some medium size 

pliers. I made the compote above with two wire hangers and a bit

of fine gauge copper wire. You can see the detailed

instructions when the book is released. 

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these fantastic wire 

creations by Marie Christophe. 

*This line of poetry is from:

Design

by Robert Frost

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth --
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches' broth --
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.

What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?--
If design govern in a thing so small.