Lovely Snowbird
I just returned from a family vacation in Utah where I visited one of my all time favorite ski resorts from a design perspective, Snowbird. Its brutalist cast concrete buildings might leave others cold, but they warm my heart. Their utopian perfection is beautifully maintained. Someone at the top must understand their important design legacy. […]
GOLD BOWL STYLE
I finally get to have J-Lo and Keri Washington on my blog … Because the gold Rope Bowl is featured in the color issue. Is gold a color?
Mexico: Day 10
The highlight of our final day in the jungle is the feast prepared by Ofelia’s family of Pibipollo, a local dish made for special occasion of chicken inside a giant corn meal crust. The whole thing is roasted underground for hours and cut up like a pie to eat. Tortillas were prepared over an open […]
Mexico: Day 9
Thursday morning we visited Becán, and climbed the huge pyramid with a huge hangover. After, work continued in the shops and projects started to come together. One of my favs is a resting pod, made of vines, created by a young Spanish designer, Daniel.
Mexico: Day 8
On Wednesday everyone started working on their ideas in the workshops. And that night we had a fiesta. I was a little worried the group was too small for a party, but between the tequila and all the latin population, it really took off.
Mexico: Day 7
On Tuesday we spent most of the day holed up in a palapa in the jungle. It was a little dark, but my workshop participants, Sandra, Andrea, Sebastian, Paulina and Paulina, got their ideas down on paper.
Mexico: Day 6
The first real day in the jungle was full of information gathering. The students would be working with two local workshops. Our first stop was at the woodworkers where we met the woodworking team – Ofelia, Miriam, Ricardo, and Sayuri – in their open air shop. And then we visited Doña Rosa, a master weaver, […]
Mexico: Day 5
We started our day at Walmart in Villahermosa. Which, although depressing in concept, was a great place to get breakfast and stock up on fruit. Today was another long day in the van that ended in Zoh Laguna, the small village in the jungle where we will work with the local artisans. Our colorful little […]
Mexico: Day 4
The morning started early at the University. The library building was beautiful in the early morning sunlight. It is covered with murals and the landscape is a very modern grid. Then I boarded a minivan to the Yucatan jungle with a group of students and teachers. We did 12 hours driving, watched “Silver Lining Playbook,” and […]
Mexico: Day 3
Sorry for the lapse, but I literally was in the jungle. More on that later, but I wanted to finish up my last day in Mexico City, as it was filled with Design and beautiful things. I started my day at the Luis Barragan Museum. He was a genius of proportion and color, and it was […]
Mexico: Day 2
This morning I spoke at the Industrial Design College at UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. I showed my work and talked a bit about what I hope to accomplish on the Mayan Workshop. The school is just beautiful – a classic industrial design program with equipment to match. It is arranged around courtyards so each […]
Mexico: Day 1
I arrived in Mexico City yesterday for the Mayan Design Workshop. I will be leading a workshop in the jungle next week, but we will start here in Mexico City with a talk at UNAM, the school sponsoring the project. I had the afternoon and evening free to roam. I love Mexico City. Its low there […]
Sunny and New
Brooklyn Museum
A nice piece on the Brooklyn Museum Design Collection. We have quite a few pieces in the museum and get a shout out. https://brooklynbased.com/2014/02/20/a-tour-of-brooklyn-museums-untold-treasures/ A Tour of Brooklyn Museum’s Untold Treasures
Color Report: Snow
white grey blue
Color Wall
I love this amazing new mural on Houston and Bowery.
My friend David Weeks
I am embarrassed to say that it took me this long to visit my good friend Davids Weeks new store. But last Thursday I finally made it down to Walker Street. I thought it was in Tribeca (no excuse), but its actually just south of Canal in the area that for years was where you […]
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Our ex-intern, Matt Spencer, not only printed our flying pig ornament, but transformed it into Picarus, replete with a variety of Hellenistic details – tiny little sandals, a Grecian wig, strap on wings. Adorable! I know its getting stale, but there are a few days left to partake of our Holiday Ornament Project. The site […]
BROOKLYN DESIGN MARATHON
I visited the Brooklyn Museum last Thursday. My intention was to see the Gautier show, but my day turned out to be so much more. Barry Harwood, the Curator of Decorative Arts played host and we started with lunch in Saul, the delicious new restaurant in the Museum. The space is designed by my friends […]
Pigs Fly In
The holidays feel like they were ages ago. Next year I will get the Ornament Project up earlier so it doesn’t feel so old at the end of January! BUT, there is only a week left to download an ornament. 80 have been downloaded so far, and a few more people have sent images of ornaments that […]
Highland Modern
John and I just got back from Aspen CO where the boarding was incredible and I admired the recently renovated Merry-Go-Round lodge at Aspen Highlands. Many of these great mid-century resort structures are being demolished to make way for faux alpine crap, so it was refreshing to see an appropriate renovation. The building has amazing […]
FIRST PIGGIE
This is the first image I have gotten from our Holiday Ornament Project. My friend Lisa Roberts sent her ornament out to Shapeways for printing. This little piggie is gorgeous – high resolution and a fantastic color choice! I hope others will share their results too. The link will be up until the end of January […]
Fair Folks, a Goat, and a Turtle
I always lament that my product is not readily available in the East Village, my home and the birthplace of my REALITY line. Odin carried some of the line for a while, and I of course offered it when I was running the HA Showroom, but in general one must go elsewhere to purchase my […]
DUPLEX
I just finished re-reading Duplex. My favorite book of 2013. I love ambiguity in art; I love a new perspective and being coaxed to emotion in a new way. Contemporary dance, theater, and visual arts can all do it for me, but on the literary front I tend to migrate towards Oprah Book Club feel-good novels. […]
A Holiday Gift From Harry Allen Design
Merry Pigmas
Makari: hidden in plain sight
Being the Japanophile that I am, I thought I would share my discovery of Makari. Its a little Japanese store at 97 Third Avenue, between 12th and 13th; right under my nose, and I never saw it before. They specialize in Japanese goods both antique and new. Such a great spot for Christmas presents. And they carry Hasami […]
Winterest
Such a pretty day in the garden on Saturday. John is always talking about “all-year-interest” and it was on full display in the snow. The white caps really bring out the architecture of the plants, especially the ball shaped boxwoods. My Bawl hooks looked pretty cute with their snow hats too. The Umbrella Pine was covered […]