Very pretty pictures

Photographers Angela Read and Michael La Fond are the focus (get it?) of this week’s Hot Home Products column in the Toronto Star. The couple has just launched a website that sells gallery-wrapped canvases of their pictures. Here are a few below, from places flung as far away as Georgian Bay and Italy, where the duo (who are also partners in life) love to visit. Scroll down to the bottom of this entry for a few of their tips on how to hang photographic art. Keep an eye on this space, as I'll be featuring more photographers over the next few weeks.   

Michael La Fond

                                                                                                                                                            

Michael La Fond

Angela Read

 

Michael La Fond

 

TIPS FOR HANGING PHOTGRAPHIC ART

When hanging multiple prints, Michael likes odd numbers of grouping.  

Angela suggests grouping pics by theme or subject.

The two agree that size does matter — a large expanse of wall can handle a single large print, while a hallway in a pint-sized condo might do better with three small prints hung in a  row

 

Pictures for Peace

Happy to share this one with you folks, as I’ve never thought there was anything that funny about Peace, Love and Understanding.

Okay, not a great segue, but any excuse to bring Elvis Costello into the mix is also okay with me.

Andrew Richard Designs is known for its beautiful outdoor furniture. But this weekend the reason to get yourself down to his Design Loft at 571 Adelaide Street East is to see stunning photography from Kris Reyes, a news anchor for Global Toronto’s Morning Show, and her husband, David Leggett.

In 2010, Reyes and Leggett quit their jobs to travel through Nepal, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii for six months. The exhibit, called Wander,Wonder, is the mesmerizing photographic document of that trip.

The works will be sold via silent auction in support of Artists for Peace and Justice. Move quickly, though, as the exhibit will only be in place until Sunday, December 2.

Learn more by clicking here or follow them @artistsforpeace

And since this is one of those times when a picture is worth 1,000 words:

Kauai - Hawaii's Garden Island -- David Leggett

 

Kauia -- David Legget

 

Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal --

 

Little Nepalese girl -- Kris Reyes

 

Mekong River, Laos -- Kris Reyes

 

Giorgio Armani’s home décor line lands in Miami

COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

Design cognoscenti have long known that Miami has its own brand of hybrid chic. Now you can add one more credit to the city’s cool cred.

Armani/Casa opened its third U.S. store in Miami in March of this year, featuring furniture, tableware, accessories, fabrics, ornaments, and lighting. The signature Armani aesthetic can be seen not only in the pieces offered, but also in the way they’re displayed and in the store’s layout. Around the perimeter and within the space itself, slim, shiny metal panels of bronze-coloured honeycomb polycarbonate subdivide the displays. Accessories are showcased on clear glass shelves supported by glossy black lacquer poles and vinyl tatami — a fabric most commonly used for Judo mats — was used for the floor.

 

COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

There are now 68 stores in 45 countries selling the line, which was launched in Milan in 2000. An interior design service is also offered in each store for upper-upper private clients and property developers.

 

COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

 

Dizzying design

 
If you took science in high school, you may remember hearing of the Coriolis effect, named after the French physicist who in 1835 described how the shape of rotating objects appears to change. That's what inspired Thomas Heatherwick, the ridiculously inventive designer who straddles the world of art, architecture and design and whose London-based team tackles everything from a monastery in Sussex to a rethink of London’s iconic buses. It’s all pretty spectacular, but I fixated on the glass bridge at King’s Cross in London I saw on the website. Why, pray tell, can't we have public design like that in Toronto? Is it because we're headed by Mayor Stop the Gravy Train™, who probably thinks that such stuff is pinko frippery?

Heatherwick’s Spun Chair was shown at the Milan Furniture Fair in carbon steel and bronzed brass finishes. It’s described as “a functional chair constituted by a single profile rotated through 360 degrees which transforms the domestic seat into a beautifully rendered spinning top.” Put more simply: when upright, it’s a piece of sculpture, but when seated it in,  a body can swivel in a complete circle. Wheeee! A marvellous idea, but I think I’d go easy on the cocktails if I was sitting in it.

Limited editions will be sold in London at the tres trendy  Haunch of Venison which is, I could not help but notice, showing an exhibit of photographs — many new — from filmmaker Wim Wenders,  who directed the film classic (it's on my personal  top ten list) Wings of Desire. Sadly I can never think of it now without being reminded of the shudderingly bad remake done with, God help me, Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan called City of Angels.

As if you need another reason to head down to NYC

 

 
  

If you’re looking for reasons to convince yourself that a springtime jaunt to NYC is a must-do, (other, of course, than the fact that you deserve a break!) here’s more incentive, especially if you love high style and decadent decor. The fabulous (in every sense of the word) mosaic panels at the Sicis showroom are compelling enough reason to hop on a Porter flight on a sunny May weekend. These incredible mosaics, such as the panel from one of their new lines (shown above), called Saville, are breathtaking.

You’ll also be able to check out a new line of furniture called Next Art from this toney Italian design house. They’re pretty far-out, as the pics above show (the Moi et la Rose love-seat and the Tenderly chair). When I posted one or two on my Facebook page this week, design friends polled seemed to either love them or hate them, with some even calling them bad design. Personally, I can’t help but love these pieces, simply because I think they’re beautiful, sculptural and different (and I’m REALLY big on different these days). Can one sit comfortably in the chairs? I’m not sure – guess I’ll have to head down to NYC to find out!

After a launch this week at the Milan Furniture Fair, Sicis is also rolling out another new furniture line by Christian Lacroix (see pics below). In an interview, Lacroix said he was drawn to the collaboration with Sicis because “the…juxtaposition of intricate work and artisanal incrustations evokes exactly what I did in Haute Couture. What really appeals when working with Sicis is the way in which we can create the trompe l’oeil effect or a treasure’s richness, or a miniature’s complexity or the purity of a metallic tint achieved/gained via teeny/tiny stone and glass splinters.” I agree. I think.

We probably could have all guessed that Lacroix is a fan of Byzantine mosaic work, which he says he admires for its elegance, detail and vibrancy of colour; and the style of which inspired the mosaic panel he did for Sicis of Empress Theodora (see below). This beauty was a warrior queen who Lacroix describes as a forerunner of the modern First Lady. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with; my Oxford Encyclopedia says she also was well-versed in the practice of political torture, but I hear there was a lot of that going around back then! Theodora also inspired Lacroix’s Bergère wing armchair (left), upholstered in beige leather and brocade on black background, with a velvet headrest and black lace medallion. It’s paired with an ottoman in pink velvet decorated with black lace.

The Chauffeuse (below) is a high back chair in blue brocade with a gray and brown floral pattern and a tasseled “necklace” hanging from the back.

 
See you in the Big Apple?

 

Finding serendipity — while taking a detour

 

 

Serendipity is — by definition, I suppose — a funny thing.  So it was that just after I filed a story on map motifs and decorative globes, I ran downtown to check out new summer product from PC Home (see post below). I was a few minutes early so I popped into Morba,  a cute and crammed store just west of Bathurst. Upon entering, what did my little eye spy but a veritable cornucopia (?!) of globes. Vintage, reproductions, on stands, globes hanging from the ceiling. It was raining globes! While chatting to owner Junian about the popularity of globes and maps, he told me about a company called Authentic Models. They have gorgeous globes. Lovely globes. Globes that make you want to travel the world to see. Or just sit home and look at them. You can see more fun maps on textiles and wallpaper in an upcoming Hot Home Products column, which will feature pillows for Ferm Living, available at Modern Karibou and Atelier 688 as shown in the pics above.

Very fine lacework indeed

 
Now this is pretty. Architect Italo Rota clad fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s home with metallic “lace” — wrapping three sides in laser-cut stainless steel sprayed with a frosted copper finish. Produced in Cantù by Marzorati Ronchetti , the panels open electronically, so sunlight can be regulated from inside the house. It reminds me of the exquisitely intricate geometric patterns found in Middle Eastern and Spanish design. Sadly, I'm not likely to repeat this at home (although I do love homes overrun with Ivy, which produces sorta, kinda but not really the same effect) But I did see some lovely wrought-metal doors last year at Artefacts in St. Jacob’s that I thought would make a beautiful room divider or garden trellis.

Bijoux of a different sort at Birks

 
 It doesn’t take much to tempt me to go to Montreal, which may be my fave Canadian city. Love you too, though, Halifax and Vancouver! So news that the iconic Birks flagship store in that great town now houses a resto-boutique (I think that’s Quebecoise for cafe) called Café par Europea, is enough to make me dial the Porter number (although I LOVE going by train).

The new establishment is the creation of Jérôme Ferrer and TV host Francis Reddy, who are fast foodie friends. It’s inspired by the “art de vivre” or “art of living” theme; which is about slowing down sufficiently to enjoy both the visual and culinary pleasures of a space. Any dishware, glassware, and cutlery used at the Café can be purchased from Birks. You can also take home beautiful macaroons, chocolates or madeleines in the trademark Birks blue box. But I don’t think you can take home the 200 kilogram chocolate Birks Lion (shown above), hand-sculpted by chocolatier Christophe Morel

I’ve got to say that recently I’ve been looking longingly at the cut-crystal Gemstone Wine Glasses in cobalt blue from Birks. Maybe it’s my eastern European roots showing through, because whereas once I thought them fussy and slightly garish, now I’m really drawn to the rich colour and the way the light catches the cut surface. I also wouldn’t mind taking a tootle around the vintage jewellery section, even though it would be window shopping only!

Ah well, a few hours looking at pretty things, and a glorious cafe au lait and pastry. That’s the kind of extravagance I can afford. The Café par Europea is open seven days a week during store hours. There will be a lunch service, a European-style Salon de thé, a wine card and gourmet food .

Alors, a bientot, Montreal!