My Friends 
Design Blogs
Detroit Blogs
Detroit Resources
Having a Laugh
Vacation Paradise
Archives 
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
Sponsored Links
Guy Wolff’s Studio
Guy Wolff, the master potter and designer of beautiful garden pots, sent me photos of his new shop in Woodville, Connecticut. It’s been his pottery home for 36 years. I’m off to a garden club meeting today, so I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about Guy and his workshop. Here are the photos, which he nicely arranged, of his place.
Guy’s new work room was added on to the original, 1740 structure. “It’s nice and airy,” says Guy, “But cozy in the winter.” It was renovated last year, saving older part of the structure from falling down. I miss old buildings like this.
Guy’s simple yet beautiful pottery is sold via his website, and at garden shops, and at Smith and Hawken. Thanks to Guy for sending me the photos.
The Wolff v Mr. Lipshitz
Stolen v Original
A couple of days ago I wrote a post about Guy Wolff’s beautiful, hand-crafted planters. So I almost coughed up my croissant when I came across this Ralph Lauren ad in Architectural Digest. What gives here?
The entire line is a rip-off! The similarity of Lauren’s pots to Wolff’s is shameful. The shapes, the glazes are all the same. The little “RL” is different. But if I were Mr. Wolff I’d be in a bad mood. I feel sorry for anyone who pays $75 for an imitation Guy Wolff planter when they could have the real thing for less than half the price.
I know Ralph Lauren is the Martha Stewart of Home Design, meaning that he’s great at repackaging old ideas. But this is really over the top. How difficult would it have been to think of something a little bit different? Or am I completely wrong here and Guy is the sub-contractor for Ralph? BTW, Mr. Lauren used to be Mr. Lipshitz (someone thought you might not know that, but I know you do!).
What’s your take on this?
Planterra and Guy Wolff
I was at Planterra shopping for plants for a client this week. This interior landscape design company caters mostly to commercial designers, but they’re also open to the public. They’re located in West Bloomfield (a Detroit suburb) and don’t sell plants online. If you’re looking for a good place to buy palms online go here.
If you’re in the Detroit area, Planterra has an amazing selection of plants. Their greenhouse has a special area just for cactus plants. They had a beautiful staghorn fern and lots of beautiful palms. I wanted to take them all home. Did they quote a wholesale price for me? No and arghhh. I don’t think my escort knew what to do with a designer looking for a few plants for one home instead of a zillion plants for a mall. Also, their planters are limited.
Speaking of planters, I really like those made by Guy Wolff. They’re actually the best I’ve seen. I like contemporary pots, but these are very tactile.