Trending ~ Highpoint

After two full days, more showrooms than I can count, miles and miles covered, parties and parades, I can tell you, Market is equal parts fun, education, and exhaustion!  This time around what I saw and my "take away" weren't so much about what was new, as much as it was about what is old is new again ~ in how materials we have come to know and love were married together to form functional pieces with artistic details.  The eye candy was overwhelming and the inspiration was abundant!

1. Metal was everywhere.  It showed up on headboards and buffets, consoles, and as accents like studs, nail heads, and screws, as hardware and decorative accents.  It was unusual, sculptural, and conversational.  Nickel, brass, gold, stainless, bronze, copper, everything was on the table so to speak.

2. Lucite is picking up momentum and trickling down to the masses.  While we saw familiar pieces used in familiar ways, these pieces incorporated decorative metal, leather, cowhide, or studding to accentuate and elevate.


3. Color was as prevalent as neutrals.  Grey is still "of the moment," but blue was boss at Market.  Every showroom had a blue vignette or two with citrine and persimmon making appearances.  There was a whisper of blush pink in the mix.

Theodore Alexander

4. Hair on Hide also showed up on EVERYTHING.  There was no surface off limits.  Beds, tables, desks, as well as the usual suspects, often times tricked out with nail heads, cool studs, or in one case a beautiful inlaid geometric patterned cerused wood frame.

5. The retro look of mid century modern has taken its place in the pantheon of classic looks that will always have a place in our homes.  Mad men rejoice, it's here to stay.


6. Cerused or driftwood finish feels light and carefree.  It has movement and can used casually as well as in a more elegant space.  What's old is new again.


7. As the Burger King slogan once said, "Have it your way" is the way to go.  Creating personal spaces often calls for custom pieces that are job specific.  Luckily the industry has heard the cry with many custom programs to satisfy a discerning clientele.


8. Sculptural forms in furniture make a statement and elevate everyday pieces into high art.

SHO Modern

Be Still My Heart






1.Bernhardt Furniture  2.Century Furniture 3.Theodore Alexander  4.SHO Modern  5. Thayer Coggin
6. Bernhardt Furniture  7. Benjamin Moore Paint, Joanie Design, Theodore Alexander  8. Bernhardt

In the Studio with Kenny Scharf

If you are familiar with Kenny Scharf's work, you know he is inexplicably identified with his crazy cartoon characters.  Alongside Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat and under the tutelage of Andy Warhol, Kenny was considered a key figure in the pop art/post punk culture of New York in the 80's.
Kenny's Jetsons meets Flintstones cartoon(ish) characters that look like they are moving through a lava lamp, often on outer space backgrounds as they have been described, express hope,  joy, optimism and FUN!  I can tell you first hand Kenny also has them tattooed on his body.

"Fred and Wilma in Heaven" 1980

"213"

"OLA"  2005

"Space and Blob" 2004

Kenny began his career as a graffiti artist, and maybe that's why his characters morphed into the perfect street style subjects.  I bet a mural can be seen somewhere in the world at any given time.

Pasadena Art Center College School of Design, mural arts, 2015

The man photobombs cars and has his own carasouel.

LUNA LUNA 1987

I really enjoy his donut series:YUM

I had a special interest in meeting Kenny.  It took a little doing, but eventually we connected and he invited us to his studio.  He said it was hard to find, but we pretty much figured it out : )

We sat along side him while he painted.  He is getting ready for a few shows.  Art Walk  will be honoring Kenny next month, and MOMA is exhibiting him next year in a group show.  The man is busy!

I asked Kenny what he remembered most about his years spent in NY in the 80's, living with Keith Harring, clubing and doing the whole underground thing.  His response was, "death."  They are inexplicably tied together.  The loss of so many friends overshadowed everything.

Andy Warhol, Jacqueline Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat,Julian Schnabel
Kenny Scharf, NY 1984 ph via: ArtHolics

We spent an hour or so in another dimension, and I was transported back to my middle school years when I loved watching The Flintstones!  I could sing with Ann Margrock; "I love you, but I ain't gonna be a fool" and wondered if I could rock a bone in my hair?  It was apropos as we went back in time, the men telling childhood stories and weaving the family tree together.

Kenny and Steven are cousins.




Photos:Kenny Scharf , CLI




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Design From Within

Here it is... Two years in the making. I am enthusiastically embarking on something new and unknown which more often than not brings up a mixed bag of emotions.  I know not where this road will take me but an looking forward to the ride!


                                                         Carrie Leskowitz Interiors



Buckle up and join me!
Love to hear your thoughts if you care to drop me a line.