Guest blogging At Home with Kim Vallee

My friend from Montreal, Kim Vallee, writes an entertainment and lifestyle blog. She’ll be out for part of next week and has asked me to guest blog for her. I’m looking forward to writing about cooking – my second love.¬† So look for me there ( as well as here) next week.

 

Now I’ve got to go frost Arthur’s birthday cake. Have a nice weekend!

 cake image via: cake journal

The Road to Milan: One Week To Go

¬†I’m getting all my black things together for Milan. Misterarthur and I leave in just a week. The Salone is the giant international furniture show. This year they expect over 270,000 visitors. The show is separated into a number of large pavilions – a total of 226,000 square metres.

It’s not just furniture. Soft home products are there, and a huge kitchen exhibit.

The show is divided into two styles – contemporary and classic. It’s so huge that one person couldn’t possibly see everything. But I’ll try. I’m especially interested in the Satellite Pavilion, which features young designers and students.

I’ll be posting throughout the day, along with Arthur and Industrial Designer, Leon Fitzpatrick.

It may seem rather abstract, but this is where the trends emerge. This is where it all starts – color, new materials, styles. Think of it like haute couture for the world of home furnishings.

Primary Season at MoMA

Speaking of New York (see today’s previous post), last Sunday, The Museum of Modern Art opened ‚ÄúColor Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today.‚Äù According to an article in today’s New York Times, “The show looks at contemporary artists for whom color functions as a ready-made ‚Äî something to be bought or appropriated, rather than mixed on a palette. As Frank Stella famously quipped, ‚ÄúI tried to keep the paint as good as it was in the can.‚Äù’

“Ten Large Color Panels” by Gerhard Richter

An entire wall is devoted to Gerhard Richter’s “Ten Large Color Panels” (1966-71/72), a 31-foot sequence comprised of ready-mixed paint bought from a hardware store. Looking at this brings on happy flashbacks to the color theory class I took while a student at CCS. I use the stuff I learned in that class every day.

Always Mod Opens for Business

I’m spreading the word about Always Mod, a new online shop devoted to all things Marimekko.

They’ve got a fantastic selection of fabrics, as well as pillows, tabletop items, you name it. I was previewing the site last week, so I really got a chance to check it out. I like the fact that Always Mod has more than the Usual Suspects. By that I mean Unikko and Kaivo fabrics. They’re terrific, but Marimekko is about so much more than that.

See You Next Week

Well, no phone. No internet. Not yet anyway. And it’s 4:00. So, Jennifer will see you back here on Monday. Have a good weekend.