9.30.2011

Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell & Dominic Lutyens, and some Birtwell inspiration

From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens



From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens


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From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens


Jane Birkin: From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens


From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens



From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens

From Celia Birtwell, by Celia Birtwell and Dominic Lutyens


There's finally a book about Celia Birtwell and it's fantastic.

Birtwell, if you don't know, is a legendary British textile designer, ex-wife and better half of the late designer Ossie Clark, and muse to David Hockney, who's made endless drawings and paintings of her, most notably 1971's Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy, a portrait of her with Ossie. 
The new book, written by Celia with author Dominic Lutyens, is just as research-and image-loaded as his previous book 70's Style & Design, and laid out the same way- every stunning spread being packed with beautiful visuals.
I became interested in Celia's designs a few years ago after Linda kept adding vintage Ossie Clark dresses to her ebay watch list. Thankfully none of these were actually won, as they're bank-breakers, but the photos stuffed an inspiration file, and led me to pilfer some of Celia's designs for a couple of projects I was working on at the time: the Eames chair and canoe both use her grid-with-dot motif- just in the trees behind the left pagoda and a couple squares, mind you; and then a full-blown Ossie Clark dress with Celia Birtwell Mystic Daisy print for a 2008 painting for our interior of Linhardt Designs Jewelry Shop. I really think all three of these look so cool, and I had a great time painting them in part because I knew I was going to add a little Birtwell touch.

Anyway, I really can't say enough about the book- I'm already partial to its two authors, but if you're at all interested in beautiful prints, design, the 70's, Hockney, Ossie Clark, ...even Jane Birkin, you should absolutely go buy the book


warymeyers.eames.willow

canoe2_3warymeyers


Jeweler.Wary.Meyers


Related: David Hockney's Vogue Paris 1985

And be sure to check out these videos on Celia's site:
http://www.celiabirtwell.com/heritage/sound-vision/


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9.26.2011

New Pieces

puzzle8


In our shop! (click here)



And also we've marked down some things that have been hanging out too long...
                


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9.20.2011

A little Heinz Edelmann inspiration

yellowsub

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How awesome would it be paint an actual wardrobe like this one from Heinz Edelmann's masterstroke Yellow Submarine ?  This is just a 5-second non-sequiter scene from near the beginning, but look how great this room is- white go-go boots, Hockney-esque rattan chair, Biba-esque Nouveau Deco everything else. But the dressing table and the wardrobe are the best. I'm on the lookout...

Related: Our half painted Lichtenstein dresser from our book,

halfpainted

and Jessica Lange, 1976:

Jessica3

...also a giant fur and purple leather King Kong hand would be a pretty awesome chair.



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9.15.2011

Elaine Katzer lidded bowl

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Always on the lookout for interesting, hippie, handmade, design-y pottery, this fit the bill on all counts.
It was only after picking it up we saw the name Katzer.


Screen shot 2011-09-15 at 7.17.27 AM

Above, Elaine Katzer on the kick wheel in 1962, from here, which looks like it's going to be an awesome show. And below, slightly more impressive than our bowl is her giant stoneware work "Sea Chanty" (1976), from the book California Design...
In fact, this may be my new favorite thing .
elainekatzerseachanty










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9.14.2011

David Hockney in A Bigger Splash



1973.
This trailer should have been an aria in the movie Aria. How great is Henry Geldzahler's appearance from behind the flowers?







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9.12.2011

Yellow

cotedazur

One of my favorite rooms. Banana walls and an orange juice sofa. Every time I see this I feel like repainting our living room, and switching all our frames from chrome to gold.

Photographer Slim Aarons portrait of Cornelia Sharp, St. Tropez, 1972



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9.05.2011

Labor Day Weekend!

dockjump




moira

beetle

fowlers

buoytoss





vanboat

poisonivy



lauries


tomotoes

on Long Island, Maine.





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9.03.2011

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9.02.2011

Revenge is a dish best served with a glass of milk.

mrs fields cookies recipe chain letter, 1987
cookies

The Xeroxed Mrs. Fields' cookie recipe made the rounds as a chain letter from a duped and vengeful woman in the late 1980's. Linda and I found this one filed away inside a cookbook we bought at a yard sale. I had no idea about this, but Linda said it was notoriously scandalous, and that her mom got one, all her friends' moms got one, everyone got one. Mrs Fields herself got one and then had to issue a disclaimer saying "that's not my recipe!" (but it totally is).
Proof being what's left of our batch (above) which made our kitchen smell unquestionably like the mall. 

If you make them yourself change the 6 minutes to 11 minutes -actually that was probably Mrs. Fields' way out.







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