Aspen Ideas Festival attendees may have noticed pop-up art around the Aspen Institute campus. And it wasn't random. Those who pay attention to modern art will have recognized the handy-work as that of JR's, a semi-anonymous French artist who's known for putting art in public spaces -- often without the permission of surrounding authorities. 

Courtesy of artist's Instagram. 

In Aspen, cardboard eyes popped up in the Institute's Anderson Park and photo booth faces plastered the plaza near the Silver Queen Gondola. JR launched the Inside Out Project in 2011 after he won the TED Prize, an honor that comes with cash used in an attempt to "change the world." He uses the photos, like those seen in Aspen, to give communities around the world a chance to tell their story through images. 

Last year, Charles "Lil Buck" Riley  was the Institute's Harman-Eisner Artist in Residence, and the dancer collaborated with JR then on a film that was screened at Ideas Festival. This year, JR returned as a speaker and to present the film "Les Bosquets."

Part of JR's allure is the ability to put art in unsuspecting places that reflects that community it's in. Though much of it is impermanent, some of the projects he produced in Aspen still remain. Keep those eyes open while walking around to stumble upon some.  

Courtesy of artist's Instagram. 

The design world often mimics what's happening in fashion -- or vice versa. This has been obvious in recent years with the geometric print craze. Chevron, argyle, bayadere stripes, tartan and trellis are all popular clothing prints, and we're seeing them on pillows, bed covers, blankets and even wallpaper. 

These geometric lines loosened on the fall runway, like this Caroline Herrera gown. Soon enough, we were seeing that trend in homes such as Kristin Jackson's of The Hunted Interior. Instead of perfectly balanced shapes, they're a bit tipsy and that's just the way we like it!

But it goes beyond shapes. Lines are blurry too. Moroccan patterns have been popular in both the fashion and interior-design worlds. Now, this is being demonstrated on the runway and in living rooms -- seen in this runway-to-room image. The Greenwich Village space combines antiques with modern decor, the Beni Ourain rug is the room's statement piece.

While the craze has leaned toward shapes and stripes, with current trends tipping to floral, how long will it take until flowers make it back into our houses -- just like grandma's? 

Yarn bombing isn't necessarily a new trend, but it's a cool one. It's exactly what it sounds like: anonymous artists cover an existing structure -- usually a sculpture in urban landscapes -- with ornate knitting. It's like graffiti, but less permanent. 

Knitting has experienced a resurgence in recent years,  becoming a favorite pastime of Brooklyn and Portland hipsters. But, people can only make so many scarves and sweaters, so yarn-bombing challenges emerging artists and bored knitters to do something different with their skill-set. 

In Aspen, we saw this pop up a few years ago on Independence Pass, when a stand of trees was yarn-bombed, as reported by Aspen Public Radio. 

Yarn bombing in Aspen. Photo: Aspen Public Radio. 

In cities, it's a little more prevalent. 

Crochet artist Olek covers a  bull near Wall Street in New York City. Photo: New York Times.

Where do I see this fitting into design? Yarn, knitting and crochet have a comfortable place in our homes and can add that pop of color without commitment. Knit antlers? Awesome. A crocheted bowl? Love it. Plus, it allows actual knitters to take part in their own design process and customize pieces in their living spaces. And, if they don't like, a new look is just a stitch away. 

The Aspen area is so stunning that one of the biggest design challenges around here is orchestrating something that doesn't distract from the natural beauty, but complements it instead. This newly finished home by architects Bohlin Cywinkski Jackson and interior designers Shelton, Mindel & Associates succeeds by incorporating natural elements and fusing those textures and colors on the home's interior.

"The house actually looks as if it grew out of the land." the homeowner told Architectural Digest. "It's definitely modern--but not so severe that it feels like an intrusion on the beauty all around it."

The two-story structure is completed with split-faced Valser quartzite and was hand selected by the architects at the quarry in Switzerland. Mahogany and cedar undulate along mimicking the hills. The same quartzite extends from the house to create outdoor living spaces and a sunken lounge area finished with furnishings by Kettal.

This same marriage between elements continues indoor, and the Douglas fir ceiling brings some of the forest inside. A custom-made sofa anchors the living area and the Poul Kjaerholm daybed (used as a table) and stools are by Fritz Hansen.

The common areas are inviting and open, playing off natural light and the master suite and courtyard bookend the public spaces for a wrap-around, cozy and efficient feel. 

When can we move in?

Aspen is known for turning eyes to celebrities, and businesswoman Aerin Lauder, granddaughter to Estee and Joseph Lauder of the cosmetic company, is notorious for shunning the spotlight too. However she recently opened up to Vogue magazine about her Aspen home -- one of three she has across the United States.

The magazine calls it luxurious simplicity, kind of like Lauder herself. With views of Aspen Mountain, she says the ski chalet feels "like a tree house. It's cozy, very casual, very family. Skiing is a great holiday for everyone. It's nice to come in after a long day, make dinner, and sit by the fire."

Lauder bought the home in 2009 after friends and interior designer Daniel Romualdez softened it by lining parts of the interior in reclaimed cypress boards and wire-brushed oak.

I especially love the all white on white rooms that are accented by modern pieces like Hans Wegner's hoop chairs and George Nakashima's angular wooden tables.

The bedrooms have specially made low oak beds, and the library resembles a giant cigar box with breathtaking views.

White China either bought at Calvin Klein or picked up on visits to Austria adorn the kitchen. On the table, napkins are country style in sage greens and cream hues.

The best element in the house would have to be the baskets of shearling slippers from L.L. Bean that are provided for guests fresh off the slopes from skiing, and there are always fluffy white robes in the bathrooms.

Pantone is the color bible for graphic designers and publication types. However, it is also a dream for designers to work with too. More than 1,000 specific variations are available on the color spectrum, and that can translate into a lot of pop in otherwise drab interior landscapes. But, you don't have to limit it to accent pillows and cashmere throws. Pantone belongs on the walls, and the floors and even the lighting fixtures. This spring, cooler and softer color choices with subtle warm tones follow a minimalistic en plein air theme, taking a cue from nature.

Tangerine  makes for great decorative accents that can be paired with gold fixtures, including lamps and coffee tables. Use Glacier gray for a luxurious couch with an airy and relaxed feel. Try adding a hint of Custard or Lucite Green in carpets or wallpaper and your room will be ready for spring.

Pantone colors are each unique, which makes it simple to replicate the color throughout different parts of a room, and even a house. For continuity that will please even the most Type-A personality in all of us.

That's a rainbow of fun, even if you're not a designer.

TRAVEL ADVENTURES:

ST. BARTHS

St. Barths may be a 10-square-mile island floating in the Caribbean Sea, but it doesn't take more than getting off the plane to recognize its Franco-influence. And when the rich culture of France meets the island swagger of the sea, it's paradise.

A recent visit to Cheval Blanc reminded me there's more to airy beachy design than myriad shades of blue. From the terracotta and flamingo-hued roofs that pepper the buildings on the island, to the pops of pink in everything from cabana beds and even our drinks, a touch of soft pink was just the right hue to soften the feel of the 40-room resort.

The island's laid-back and intimate beach vibe leant itself to the cobalt skies above and the turquoise ocean before us. Everywhere we looked it was blue. But, the French were onto something when they injected the warmth of pink into their architecture, and it's a design tool I'll take home as a souvenir.

Raise a glass of rose to that.

Event Synopsis:

Milan Design Week 2015

People often associate Milan with high fashion, but it's the Italian city's annual design week that gets our attention. The who's who in high-end furniture and decorating ended earlier this week, but its influences will carry on throughout the year. More than 300,000 people attended, browsing some 1,400 exhibitors and their creations. Here are a few of our take-aways:

What's better than Florence-based fashion house Emilio Pucci? When Pucci enters the furniture world, that's what is. This partnership caught eyes and made headlines when French architect Phillipe Starck launched a series of chairs for Italian chair makers Kartell. The exquisite design features the rich prints for which Pucci is recognized, on the sleek design from Starck. The particular collection shown at Milan Fashion Week is world themed, with colorful prints featuring Rome's Piazza di Spagna, avenue Montaigne in Paris, Manhattan's skyscrapers and Shanghai's most characteristic districts.

UNESCO declared 2015 the International Year of Light, the year in which Euroluce, the biennial exhibition devoted to excellence in the world of lighting, celebrates its 28th edition. This is beyond basic light bulbs. The leading sector event, Euroluce, continues to showcase the very latest in lighting solutions for homes, offices, hospitality and the outdoors, as well as light sources and lighting design software. What a bright idea!

When a fashion house and design studio are given free reign over an installation at a design show, this happens...

Cos partnered with Snarkitecture to develop an interactive installation featuring more than 100,000 strips of perforated and translucent fabric to create a dream-like cloud layer in which visitors had to navigate through on their path to the fashion collection. Inspired by Cos's spring/summer collection, the effect was ethereal and light. Now we can't wait to see what the rest of their line will look like.

Artist Profile:

Marc Swanson

The Brooklyn-based artist was born in Connecticut and the son of a U.S. Marine. When he moved to San Francisco in the ‘90s, Swanson was surrounded by the city’s gay and counterculture scene. Neither environment -- small-town, wooded New England nor San Francisco’s flamboyant gay pride -- felt like home to him, and he confronts this duality of identities in his work.

On display through April 25 at the Baldwin Gallery, his crystal-covered deer head sculptures embrace the conflicting nature of masculine identities that he was feeling at the time.

More generally, Swanson is a contemporary American artist who is known for his handmade work that brings together formal preoccupations and references to personal history and identity conflict. He works in a variety of media, including sculpture, drawing, video, photography, and complex installations. In addition to the series of rhinestone-based sculptures, which he continues to explore, his sculptural work employs a variety of materials, including light, wood, glass, fabric, gold and silver chain, mirror, and naturally-shed animal antlers.

Swanson is a graduate of Bard College, and his works have been part of group exhibitions at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Miami Art Museum; and the Saatchi Gallery, London.

“The Gilded Cage” perfectly demonstrates the struggles Swanson feels between his past and future. Furthermore, the struggles that Aspen sometimes faces -- preservation versus progress -- are also reflected in his pieces, making the Baldwin Gallery’s show particularly relevant to this time and place.

If you go: Baldwin Gallery, 209 S. Galena St. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 12-5 p.m. baldwingallery.com.

Event Synopsis:

HIGH POINT MARKET, NC.

High Point Market was the high point in my fall. Hosted in North Carolina, the biannual event is the largest furnishing trade show in the world, spread over 180 buildings encompassing 10 million square feet of things I love: textures, patterns, colors, prints, structure and making space livable and lovable. 

This trade show didn't just come out of nowhere; in 1909 the first Southern Furniture Market took place over two weeks and has been held in some form ever since (except at the end of World War II). People come from all over the world for it, and after attending for my first time I now know why. 

I travelled to the southeast in early October for the event, and still feel inspired by it today. Highlights from High Point include a book signing with Kelly Wearstler at Visual Comfort (she's one of my icons!) and a fringe chair from McGuire and Baker. Some other great stops were Four Hands, Moe's, and Arteriors (mixing art and interior design, just like it sounds). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Just click on the photo to scroll through the gallery, and scope out what's new in interior design.   

My design is often inspired by the art world, and the works of Benedetta Mori Ubaldini serve as one of those muses. The Italian artist produces almost dream-like sculpture using wire that's rolled by hand to create these fluid shapes and animals. You know when designers use a computer to create a three-dimensional sketch of their design? That's what these look like, but they're actually multidimensional.

Ubaldini was trained in London, but now works in Milan. It's incredible that she can create such delicate sculpture from wire simply using her hands and color. The animals take on an almost mythical, magical feeling. I'd love to use them in a large living space, either indoors or outside. They're whimsical, yet used in a series or in multiples, take on a more formal, sophisticated tone. That's something I amore.

It’s the summer of tents in Aspen. It seems like every party, wedding and reason to celebrate is taking place under a temporary structure. And while tents are nothing new, the decorations going into making them seem so un-tent-like are.

During the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the grand tasting tents go up in Wagner Park to protect people while they drink and eat their way through hundreds of wineries and food purveyors. But away from the center of the action, smaller tents for seminars and private parties steal the spotlight. Nice touches in these included red-and-white checkered tablecloths for a seminar on picnicking. At night, private tasting events were transformed into ultra-cool lounge settings with low, cushy couches and brightly colored accent throw pillows.

Mid-summer is also a time for galas. Many of the nonprofits in town host their annual benefits, and they go all out in making it a luxe affair. Understated elegance has been the theme here, again with thoughtful, intimate touches; long picnic tables, small sofa sets around oversized tables and tall-boy tables with stools all encourage conversation and provide a sense of community at events that can otherwise be stuffy. Gone are big round tables for 10. Instead event planners are moving toward a mix and match of tables and group sizes.

And finally, what summer isn’t complete without weddings? Some of the most interesting designs have been on the walls surrounding these lavish events. Instead of keeping the ceiling white, one bride covered the ceiling with large swatches of navy-blue-striped fabric. In a separate tents, light blue plaid hung from the walls while the ceiling was covered in painted in stars and moons. It was heavenly and truly transformed the space into a mystical place. Spotlights pointed toward the wall casting shadows of stenciled leaves and flowers create a multidimensional affect. Carpets on the floor softened the noise and provided a comfy feeling.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Artist Profile:

John Pomp

John Pomp, an up-and-coming glass artist based out of Philadelphia, seamlessly marries classic and modern design in his lighting and glassware. His made-to-order lighting and furniture feature soft, organic lines that mimic the fluid nature of molten glass and are perfect for a mountain modern design scheme.

“It’s important to me that people know what I make is truly handcrafted, so I try to illustrate that with my pieces,” he told Philadelphia Style. ”The design of the Touch decanter exemplifies that sensibility. My hands formed every dimple in the center of the glass.”

Although he learned the ancient art of Venetian glassblowing from Italian maestros, Pomp gives this old-world technique 21st century context. He is known for his wabi-sabi aesthetic, which embraces imperfection and often includes asymmetry and simplicity.

“He also looks for slight imperfections because they indicate that a piece was made by hand. ‘When you see some of these fine, fine pieces of glass that are truly handmade, you’ll see these beautiful subtleties, like little tool marks,’ he said.” Source: NY Times

 

A quick look into a day in the studio of John Pomp, Glass blowing artist, Furniture and Lighting designer.

Travel Adventures:

Italy

Recently I had the pleasure of traveling to Italy to attend the wedding of my good friends Jessica and Nicola. Set in heart of Chianti at Castello Gelsomino, the wedding was a romantic fete flanked by old world architecture and rolling hills.

Needless to say to anyone who has traveled to Italy (or anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing photographs), there’s never a need to overdue it when it comes to creating an atmosphere in a hotel, restaurant, or, in this case, a wedding reception. The castle at which the festivities were held gave perfectly for this type of event because of its beauty in addition to being one of the top Chianti wine producers in the region. After all, What’s a wedding without great wine?

Married in a local abbey, Jessica and Nicola lead their guests back to the castle for a relaxing evening bathed in candlelight and baby’s breath. Greens, lilac and whites reflected throughout castle and which lent itself to beautiful photographs of a trip and evening I (and the happily married couple) will not soon forget.

Artist Profile:

Marilyn Minter

Though we are quite secluded in Aspen – far from the hustle and bustle of New York or L.A – it pleases me to know that we are not, however, too far removed from some of the greatest artists of our time, including my friend Marilyn Minter (www.marilynminter.net).

Represented here in Aspen by the Baldwin Gallery, with whom I work closely for my clients,  Marilyn Minter (born 1948) is an American artist currently living and working in New York City and one of the most engaging photographer / painter I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

An aspect I admire the most about Marilyn’s photography is that her photographs are most often not altered in any way – leaving a raw, exposed image of the life around us to consume as is. No magic.

BIO

Marilyn Minter has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2005, the Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati, Les Rencontres d’Arles festival in 2007, France, OH in 2009, La Conservera, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Ceutí/Murcia, Spain in 2009, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH in 2010 and the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Germany in 2011. Her video Green Pink Caviar was exhibited in the lobby of the MoMA for over a year, and was also shown on digital billboards on Sunset Boulevard in LA. She has been included in numerous group exhibitions. In 2006, Marilyn Minter was included in the Whitney Biennial, and in a collaboration with Creative Time she installed billboards all over Chelsea in New York city. In 2009, she had solo exhibits at Regen Projects, Los Angeles and Salon 94, New York. In 2011 Minter had a solo exhibition at Team Gallery, New York. She was featured in Commercial Break, at the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and POST, for the 2011 Venice Biennale. Her work is currently featured in “ Riotous Baroque”, a group exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich which will travel to the Guggenheim Bilbao in June 2013.

Designer Profile:

Kelly Wearstler

We’ve all seen it before – clothing and accessories designer expands to include lush home line including everything from sheets to sofas, or visa versa. However, often times designers find themselves in a precarious situation – one in which the goal of expansion obviously somewhere got lost in translation reducing the integrity of their label that was once iconic and groundbreaking to mediocre displays at your local Macy’s. There are exceptions, of course, such as Versace or Missoni and most recently, Kelly Wearstler.

Born in South Carolina and a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art, Wearstler began her career focusing on interior design. Wearstler’s distinctive style that mixes whimsy, sophistication and swank has been referred to as revolutionizing the look, feel and meaning of modern American glamour.

Perhaps her most famous and most frequently viewed project is that of the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. Originally built in 1949 as the Beverly Carlton, the hotel was a home away from home for stars like Marilyn Monroe. Fifty years later, the oasis was renamed The Avalon for its 1999 reopening, after it was completely revamped by Wearstler.

In addition to commercial projects, Wearstler is sought after by some of the world’s most prominent people to lend her touch to the interiors of their homes. The New Yorker called Wearstler “the presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design.”

From books to collaborations with names like The Rug Company, Bergdorf Goodman and more recently, Lee Joffa, Wearstler has her hands in everything, and she does it well.

Wearstler recently debuted a collection of ready-to-wear, jewelry, furniture, home accessories and objects d’art and opening a 2,400 square-foot flagship boutique on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles.

Though there is no question that I love the aesthetic of Kelly Wearstler and the many wonderful contributions she has made to the world of design, I think perhaps what I admire the most is the fact that she is a wonderful role model for women. Women like Wearstler remind us that there is no limit to our creativity and that about which we can dream.