Two weeks ago, The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC held their Annual Gala.


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“(Fortuny) is remembered as a Renaissance Man, for his versatile mosaic of
talents,
but it is the specific category of textiles and garments that guarantees
his
immortality. Any of these, taken from one of his magical ateliers,
stands on its
own, offering us a window into another world.”
Caroline Milbank, Fashion Historian

The Beauty of Durres - Durres, Albania

Mosaic panels in Nea Moni - Chios, Greece

Parc Guell - Barcelona, Spain

Mosaic photos by Steve Freihon


"Unlike the hardness and resistance of the traditional material of a mosaic,
which have always been selected to weather the elements, Fortuny has turned
the concept of a mosaic into something soft and warm, while still maintaining
the same benefits of being a mosaic and the many opportunities
it presents to clients with what they can do to it.“
Pietro Lunetta, Fortuny Design Director and Mosaics Creator
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Today we have a guest post from our own Catherine Vergara: Il ragazzo La famiglia Salute!
Who becomes our legend most (with apologies to Mr. Peter Rogers and his iconic black glama mink ad campaign)???

In honor of Avner Lapovsky's big birthday, we want to say how grateful we are that "la forza del destino"* took Avner the "ragazzo"** from his homeland to the design world of San Francisco, to Sloan Miyasato and Fortuny! Avner and Fortuny's wonderful shared history is a rare partnership based on mutual love, respect, and trust.
These pictures of Avner with the Fortuny family in Venice and America are treasured mementos of wonderful experiences.










Avner, Happy Birthday! We love you.
xoxo,
Guest Blogger, La Contessa Catherine Vergara
* destiny
** boy
This week, we have a special guest post from Paul Vincent Wiseman of The Wiseman Group, based in San Francisco.
Describe your style in three words.
Paul: My design approach is always relative to the nature of the project at hand. Exceptional style has to be grounded in a sense of place and context; connected to the needs and wishes of the clients; and timeless in its quality so that it will nurture the soul and bring enduring pleasure.

Pan-Asian style, one of several styles at which The Wiseman Group excels

Traditional style

Modern style

Paul traveling as a young man

The Wiseman Group-designed residence in Hawaii with primitive art objects on display

Delta farmland in Walnut Grove, CA

Façade of the Pantheon

Pannini painting of the interior of the Pantheon

Amankila Resort

Amanjiwo Resort

“Granada” in yellow & silvery gold

Traditional application of Fortuny in Paul’s pied-à-terre in SF

La Contessa in a Delphos gown
Two weeks ago, Mickey, Maury and I flew out to Berlin for the Leaders of Design Conference. Rounded Corners was a sponsor this year. You can check out the apps we made, here: iPhone & iPad
We left beautiful 70° weather in New York, so we were all a little shocked at the abundance of snow, flying into Berlin! It felt a little bit like our trip to Paris.
We stayed at the Hotel de Rome, in Mitte – right next to Berlin’s town hall and a stone’s throw from Museum Island. Read: historic, beautiful buildings everywhere.

From left to right: St. Hedwigs-Kathedral, Hotel de Rome, Jura Bibliothek

The Holocaust memorial





The Bauhaus Museum


We were close to Kreusberg, too.

Which tends to get a little crazy:

That's a Beer Bike!

On the second night, Mickey overheard someone speaking Italian outside our Hotel. Being an Italian company, we were instant friends, and the next day, he gave us a tour of a few of his unfinished lofts around the city.






















The Bauhaus Archive/Museum of Design in Berlin