Carrie's Design Musings: March 2018

Faustina Pace

After people ask me if I have been to antique row in West Palm Beach, the next logical question is,"what was your favorite store?" My answer is Faustina Pace Antiques. Faustina, a Floridian by way of New York, has a singular vision for the store. I guess I am as attracted to its cohesiveness as much as I am to the merchandise.

The first thing you notice is the vast array of pillows! Faustina makes them out of German home spun linen and cotton textiles she purchases overseas. The hand is heavy, the quality undisputed. If you are in the market for this kind of fabric ~ you found it!

Faustina's love of textiles led her to open the store 16 years ago after specializing in antique jewelry She loves collections. Within each category of merchandise, she has a lot of product which is also nice when you are antique shopping. Usually you see one offs.

Ironware galore.

The rattan animal heads were beyond adorable. I could so see them in a country home or a nursery.

The store is beautifully curated. Everything in it is beautiful and meaningful. It is obviously a passion of Faustina's. As we were talking she said she wishes she could call the store something other than an antique store as that conjures up a preconceived notion of what people think an antique store is. If you have any suggestions...

There is an ever changing popular selection of designer loving details like the Hermes Avalon blanket

and "I Married Adventure" for its fabulous book cover. These are hard to come by! The Gucci bookends aren't bad either.

Tell Faustina Carrie sent you

Mario's Menagerie

One of my favorite things that I have been doing while spending time in S. Florida is antique and vintage shopping everywhere from Palm Beach to antique row in West Palm to Miami.

I stumbled upon a fabulous pair of monkey console tables the other day at F.S. Henemader Antiques that I put on instagram. Not 48 hours later, I stumbled upon this little beauty. I took it as a sign to investigate a little further!

Mexican folk artist Mario Lopez Torres works out of a studio in the village of Ihuatizo, on the eastern shore of lake Patzcuaro. This is considered a town that specializes in basketry because the lake is shallow and allows for reeds and rushes to flourish. This humble craft has basically remained unchanged in the millennium since its been around but artisan's like Mario elevate it to an art form.

Mario studied fine art and is able to work in metal, stone and wood. Settling in the area on the shores of the lake allowed basketry to develop organically. He had not intended to work in this medium initially. While I was calling the material rattan, it is actually reeds picked from marshes in Ihuatzio.

This process varies from the basket making techniques of old. The stems of bulrushes (called chuspata) are woven tightly together into a kind of cording which covers a steel frame that has been soldered together to form the object and varnished for protection.

His pieces are coveted by collectors of mid-century modern and 20th century craft.

Most of the pieces I am seeing are from the 1970's but my research tells me, while the workshop may have fallen on hard times, Mario still creates and sells pieces to this day.

I adore their whimsical nature!

Now that Mario is on my radar, it is interesting to see that pieces can be had on several resale websites. They command a pretty penny though.

Rare table for sale at Red Modern

I love this Palm leaf chandelier on Chairish

Would kill for this pair of mirrors; less whimsy, more WOW, on hold at 1st dibs

Loving this little piggy on Ebay

designer Sasha Bikoff has a fanciful flamingo floor lamp for sale on her site

Look for the seal of authenticity under a tail or on the bottom of a piece

Oh how I would love to see the workshop!

If I am ever on the eastern shores of lake Patzcuaro...

A Blissful Hampton's Wedding

And now for something completely different....

I saw these wedding photos in Vogue.com and I just fell in love with everything! The photos themselves, the clothes, the setting, the floral design ~ you name it, I loved it. It's perfection, if you like a sophisticated, colorful, summer, country wedding in the Hamtpons that is.

The picture perfect wedding seems to truly expresses the bride and groom. The Hampton's holds a special place in this Canadian couple's hearts.

Let this be a lesson to everyone thinking about their wedding photos ~ match the outfits to the room for a major WOW factor. I wonder what came first, the suits or the knocked out rental home?

The ocean side wedding was as relaxed as it was blissful.

Guests were wisked to the Parrish Art Museum for the reception. The Parrish is a special little museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron. I have written about this architectural dynamic duo here