Mary McDonald was the subject of 1st Dibs' Style Compass Introspective this week. A quick read, the article details McDonald's journey as a designer from fashion to interiors and gives an inside scoop on her taste, her process and her influences. It is also full of beautiful pictures from McDonald's new book Mary McDonald: Interiors. We were particularly thrilled to read that she takes special interest in Fortuny--we're on page 11, but you'll be missing out if you don't read the whole thing!
Read the article here
Darren Henault contributed three rooms to the Kips Bay 38th Annual Decorator's Show House, to raise money for the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club! We were pleased to play a role, and donated 40 yards of fabric to be used in the design. Henault's design is composed of an eye-catching mix of classical and contemporary elements. Despite the incredible range of pieces--from classical chinese lacquer furniture to Alex Prager's retro-pop photography--everything blends harmoniously into a very unique yet livable space.
The Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club does great work to create positive environments for children from age 6 to 18 to flourish. With mentors, after school programs, computer labs and many activities, they have been true their mission of supporting the "general health, educational advancement, character development and leadership potential" of young boys and girls in and around New York City.
A comfy nook is made with bright, warm colors and a day bed upholstered with Canestrelli in tan, olive, plum & silvery gold texture. Also, notice the Papiro in brown on bourettes behind the glass door!
Here's a detail shot of the day bed and the Papiro behind the glass.
A matching "his" daybed is upholstered with Papiro in ebony & white
The sitting room has an eclectic gathering of relics from the east and west. Papiro in ebony and white over the windows gives a final pop to the room.
A detail shot of the Papiro.
Our final installment of the Pillow Project, Monique Gibson's pillows are a true delight! Gibson took a very couture approach to the collection, focusing on details like pleating, ruching and beading. She worked with master embroiderer Miguel Cisterna to create the intricate designs. Delicately embellished, Cisterna's hand and Gibson's eye add a fanciful element to our classic patterns.
From Gibson's artist statement:
"I enjoy pairing artists and craftspeople to see what ideas may emerge. When the Riad brothers asked me to design pillows with Fortuny fabric I instantly called Miguel Cisterna in Paris who embroiders fantasy! Miguel embroiders using raffia and I loved the idea pairing of Fortuny with such a primitive material. I sent him some of my favorite Fortuny patterns and when the fabric fell out of the box it looked like a garden. So Miguel began to embroider insects...fantastic insects made from raffia and tiny crystals...and this is where the fun began!"
You can find more information on our website
or on Gibson's site: http://www.moniquegibson.com/.
As you may know, Barry Dixon is responsible for the recent redesign of our New York and Venice Showrooms. So who better to participate in the pillow project? Dixon met our challenge with nine richly quilted pillows in Papiro, Caravaggio, and Onde. Dixon's pillows highlight the intrinsic qualities of the fabric itself-- organic forms, culturally and historically diverse patterns, and elusive, shimmering finishes.
In Dixon's own words:
"What is more magically perfect, as it is and always has been, than a Fortuny fabric?
Our thoughts in considering a collection of bespoke pillows with these wonderful textiles was to highlight their intrinsic qualities--- organic forms, culturally and historically diverse patterns, and elusive, shimmering finishes.
The idea was to take them to the next dimension, which we did literally, by employing age-old techniques of trapunto and quilting. We then framed the resulting artwork with custom trims, which we developed as echo to our fabric muses and the lustrous history of Venice itself."
You can find more information on our website, or on Dixon's site: http://www.barrydixon.com/.
As promised, here is our first preview of the new pillow collection by Thad Hayes. Classic and clean, these pillows embrace the elegance of Fortuny from a fresh perspective. Hayes describes his creative process this way:
"I was inspired by the modernity of the dark grey and white colors in the Caravaggio and Papiro patterns. The fabrics reminded me of the minimal interiors of the late 1970’s when I first arrived in New York. My mentor Robert Bray, whose office was famous for its charcoal grey and glossy white walled interiors, first introduced me to Fortuny. This particular coloring has only recently been made available to those of us who have always loved Fortuny. It really embraces what my interiors strive to be: modern, classic and relevant."
Read Thad Hayes' full artist statement below, and see more images of his pillows here!
You can also find more information on Thad Hayes at his website: www.thadhayes.com.
Artist Statement
I was inspired by the modernity of the dark grey and white colors in the Caravaggio and Papiro patterns. The fabrics reminded me of the minimal interiors of the late 1970’s when I first arrived in New York. My mentor Robert Bray, whose office was famous for its charcoal grey and glossy white walled interiors, first introduced me to Fortuny. This particular coloring has only recently been made available to those of us who have always loved Fortuny. It really embraces what my interiors strive to be: modern, classic and relevant.
The actual design of the pillows was inspired by old Hollywood movies, architecture and decorating magazines from the 1940’s and 50’s that I’ve collected and studied through the years, and a general desire to show some variety in fabric application and use.
All in all, these new colors and patterns are a perfect way for me to express my love of things modern while still having a romantic and classic quality to them.
This spring, we approached three of our favorite designers, Thad Hayes, Barry Dixon and Monique Gibson, to design pillows for our New York and Venice showrooms using fabrics from our new collection. The unique personality of each collection proves just how dynamic our fabrics really are! Bejeweled with glass beads, tassels, fringe and delicate stitching, the pillows are irresistible. Here’s a preview of the final products:
We will dedicate a blog post to each designer and the inspirations behind their work, but you’ll still have to come see the pillows for yourself! The full artist statements will be displayed in our New York showroom, and the pillows will be available for purchase!
Sam