Thieves snatched Rapsel’s Grand Tour bathtub at a recent trade show.
Great design is coveted by, well, many. Just ask Rapsel, which had its full-sized Grand Tour bathtub stolen right off the trade show floor at last week’s Cersaie International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings in Bologna, Italy. The thieves were not just content to haul off the Carlo dal Bianco-designed tub, however. The company also discovered other products missing from its booth at the close of the show.
The question puzzling everyone: How did such a large item vanish without a trace? City police and exhibit organizers are still trying to figure that one out. As of yet, police have not charged anyone with the theft.
Furniture designer Ron Arad has become the latest recipient of the London Design Medal, joining a who’s who of talent who have worked in the capital. At a presentation dinner last month as part of the London Design Festival, the Israeli-born designer said: “I can’t imagine doing whatever it is I do anywhere else in the world.”
The London Design Medal has been awarded to many top designers including Thomas Heatherwick, Zaha Hadid, Paul Smith and Marc Newson and is one of British design’s most coveted accolades. The winners are shortlisted and selected by a distinguished panel of peers and experts.
London Design Festival director Ben Evans said: “Ron Arad defies categorisation. During his long career, he has been an architect, a product and a furniture designer and achieved a formidable reputation in each of these fields. He has carved out a market of his own and his work is now included in virtually every major collection. As professor of design products at the RCA for 10 years, his influence on design and young designers has been huge and he has contributed greatly to the current generation of talented designers now dominating design.”
A special Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Vidal Sassoon.
The task of choosing this year’s winner fell to a panel that included last year’s winner, Thomas Heatherwick, Greater London Authority’s director of arts and culture Munira Mirza, design gallerist Libby Sellers, Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota and Nadja Swarovski, creative director of Swarovski. The medal was presented at a VIP dinner held in St Paul’s Cathedral. The London Design Medal is designed by Pentagram.
Kiehl’s Since 1851 was founded on the very same East Village corner where the flagship stands today. The subsequent 160 years have seen Kiehl’s stores open around the world, selling high-quality products for skin and hair. But there had never been a spa that harnessed those products for men’s and women’s facial and body treatments. So president Chris Salgardo enlisted Allen + Killcoyne Architects to work with an in-house design team on Spa 1851. Though it may physically be on the Upper East Side, the 950-square-foot space feels decidedly downtown. Flooring is wide-plank oak reclaimed from demolished warehouses, and tin ceiling tiles are vintage, as is reception’s chandelier. Edgy artwork, everywhere including the three treatment rooms, is by the likes of David LaChapelle.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has always been keen on colourful, enthusiastic applications of paint—exuberant abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky is venerated as a saint around there, and the twisting corridors of Frank Lloyd Wright’s landmark building have been host to work from artists like Willem De Kooning and Jackson Pollock. But now, in line with a longstanding policy of canny marketing initiatives, the Guggenheim is taking their pigment prowess to a new level: next month will see the unveiling of a new line of co-branded specialty paints, released in conjunction with Vermont-based paint maker Fine Paints of Europe.
Some 200 individual shades will be available when the collection goes on sale October 13, with most of the colors drawn from or inspired by paintings in the Guggenheim’s vast holdings of modern and contemporary art. (No mention is being made yet as to particular titles of particular paints, but think “Van Gogh Yellow” or “Picasso Pink.”) A smaller portion of the line, 50 tones in all, comprises the special “Gallery Colours” group, representing specific paint colours chosen by Guggenheim curators over the years to accompany different exhibitions.
Keith Irvine, an interior designer who brought a sense of wit and unpredictability to the English country-house style that won the allegiance of clients like Jacqueline Onassis, Rex and Lady Harrison, and Pat and William F. Buckley Jr., died on May 31 in Carmel, N.Y. He was 82.
The cause was cardiac arrest, said his wife, Chippy.
Mr. Irvine learned his trade at the hands of John Fowler of Colefax & Fowler, the firm that popularized the English country-house style after World War II.
Pantone Color Institute is coming up rosy this year with Pantone 18-2120 Honeysuckle, their 2011 color of the year.
Switching gears from last year’s Turquoise, which was meant to elicit peace and relaxation, this bright new colour serves to empower with spirit and vitality. The authority on colour hopes the dynamic hue will elevate psyches and instil confidence and courage to meet the challenges of everyday life.
“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating colour that gets the adrenaline going—perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother colour red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”
Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this colour, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”
In residential and commercial interiors, Honeysuckle is an upbeat and dynamic statement. Used to shape a room as a wall colour or in short bursts with accessories, the hue will vibrantly accent any project.
