Thursday, July 20, 2006

New Work

The ceramics by Andrew DeWitt of San Francisco are here, they are just fabulous. Lots of texture with subtle hints of color. See below. We also have a few new printed products from Tenth and Grant, a new offshoot business of a commercial printer in Oregon. They are printing artists' work on cards, coasters, and notebooks are on the way too.




Music

I just read that Don Caballero is playing the Knitting Factory on Friday. Who will go with me? Yes I only listen to 10-year-old music :) but they have amazing drumming going on and I love that, second only to the late departed drummer of Silkworm and maybe tied with Unwound or Shellac. None of these bands exist anymore, sigh.

Lately at the shop: Thom Yorke or just silence, the heat somehow makes music difficult.

Elsewhere - my friend Maggie is finishing her first book about how to (and what to) blog and it seems I will have a lil art piece in there I did for 20things.org, long long ago. It makes me want to have some art projects for the fall. I am thinking of a mobile library cart to have a lending library at the shop, but not just for books...why not put out music, or maybe some of those extra scarves you made last winter, or art supplies you don't use anymore?

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Tradeshows

For me the appeal of attending a tradeshow is not so much the new lines (though when they jump out at you it is very exciting) but meeting people you already "know", perhaps, through e-mail, face to face. Highlights of Pool and Project were seeing my friend Jamie who runs Sugar Boutique in Pittsburgh, running into Karen from clothes-pin.blogspot.com, meeting Ted and Angie from Poketo who are super sweet, chatting with the Nicacelly folk who are from Oakland, my last place of residence, and meeting the nice ladies of Filly who are from Santa Cruz. Go California!

I just want to remind the NYC folk that Sodafine in Fort Greene is having a major sale on vintage (and shoes, and other things) as they are closing thop this weekend (!) so they can reopen next month in Williamsburg on Grand St. Vintage hounds, it's time to get in gear.

I am expecting lots of lovelies in the post today so there will be pictures soon. Also, congrats to Serious Gnome for making Daily Candy today - lots of luck and sales and I hope your server doesn't crash :)

Monday, July 17, 2006

Patterns

I finally broke down and bought Patterns in Design Art & Architecture and it was a good decision. It's a very interesting blend of examples from the different disciplines - not much text but a big visual feast. Of course much is made of Adolf Loos' "Ornament and Crime" and the authors take time to distinguish pattern (inherent to the structure of the piece) from ornament (added on later and without utility). I still think some of the examples in the book, especially the architecture, combines the two, but I am not quibbling. It was a joy to see expected favorites like Tord Boontje as well as up-and-comers like Hanna Werning, whose posters are flying out the door still thanks to this month's Daily Candy.

We do love pattern here at Rare Device. It started easy in realism, with photography and typography, then shifted to abstracts like stripes and dots (I have a 6 foot long stripe painting by Markus Linnenbrink sitting in a crate at home, it's simply too commanding for my little Brooklyn apartment!), moved into botanical silhouettes and currently I am loving folk and outsider art, patterns that can make you dizzy.

I think everyone has their swings in taste and without sounding too much like a shopping cheerleader, I think the act of choosing something new for you or your home really does help make you feel more like "you" at that moment in time. Sometimes I want to stare at my crazy bright stripe painting and be overwhelmed. Sometimes I just want to empty the house and meditate on the beautiful glazed black bowl I bought at Greenjeans. It is a privilege to be able to choose.

Speaking of meditation and pattern and ornament, I can't wait for my box of ceramics from Andrew DeWitt to get here. I am getting functional forms in black and white with amazing, fragile organic bubbles and holes built in. Pictures soon.