Designer Insight

July 13, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Describe your idea or memory of the perfect summer place. Has anything about that special place in time provided inspiration for your work?

I grew up in a tiny little house in Yonkers with wonderful memories of loving parents, but there wasn't, to put it politely, a travel budget, or somewhere to spend summer as a family. I was lucky and got to go to camp for a few weeks each season, camps that were geared to getting kids off the streets. But even though I loved every minute of it, log cabin never became my style. My husband Tony's story is pretty much identical.
 
So, our special place isn’t in the past, but the future. Last year we bought a 1961 Modernist house, after searching for 10 months. It's even bigger than our loft was (so we NEED so much, which makes me think we should start making lamps combined with furniture)...Read More

May 27, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

The last time you shopped for home decor item(s) for your home, what did you buy? Where did you buy it? And what attracted you to that particular shop/Web site?

Babette Holland: We have a new home - it's my Modernist Dream House (finally). It's very large, bigger than our loft was, so we need a lot of furniture to fill it. The good thing is I'm still a minimalist, so I need less then most, as my home is very similar in feel to the loft. The bad thing is I only want the original period pieces. I've found many wonderful places and sites to shop.  And even on sale, the not so special Nakashima bench is still $76,000. Didn't buy that one. So, here are a few sites that have wonderful things - the real McCoy, too - that you can even afford, if your home (not you...Read More

December 3, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

1) New York finally has a Frank Gehry Building.  It's pretty wonderful, and different from what we've come to expect from a Gehry building.  It's in glass and in the evenings the play of colored lights can be mesmerizing, bouncing around the wonderful mountain-like form of the building.  During the day, figures and forms in the building are in shadows, like a shadowplay, partially because of the frosted window and also because of the interior structure. The only problem is where the building is located. It's on West Street, and you can get killed trying to get a good look at the building. There's no "backing up" to see it -- or you're in the middle of mad rushing traffic. So, you have to...Read More

September 10, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Without question, it's important to be committed to our environment. We should have been doing this for a very long time, years and years. Hopefully most of us have, at least in our personal lives, as most cities and towns have had ways to recycle for ages. Not to do this is inexcusable, and not only at home, but also in offices and factories. And everyone should be calling members of Congress about Global Warming. The White House should be called as well -- even though they're still testing the waters on Darwinism...
 
As far as our own work, as metal workers we've been recycling since we started. And in lighting products, there are wonderful new bulbs -- the new fluorescent bulbs, that last 10,000 hours, that have much less impact on the environment and cost less in wattage, too. The cost of the bulbs is coming down, but while they still cost more than incandescen...Read More

September 1, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

The idea of good, better, best, is carried through in sofas, case goods, tables - wonderful vignettes put together in A, B and C classes, to hit all level of buyers. Store owners understand that well-merchandised vignettes make furniture groupings look more appealing, livable and desirable. Here’s what drives me nuts: Why do so many retailers use the same accessories - or the same price point - in all their groupings? They'd never dream of putting a $99 side table next to a $5,000 sofa - why in the world would they think it was OK to put an $89 lamp next to such an expensive piece of furniture?  The customer who's interested in that sofa just might also be looking for something more – a special lamp and art pottery perhaps, but most likely not something they cou...Read More