Hip-hop star and Madonna producer Pharrell is no stranger to the design world. He’s designed cans for Pepsi and sunglasses for Louis Vuitton. His latest design work, a collaboration with Domeau & Pérès, is a chair that made me blush. The design premise was sweet (true love) but the result is anything but. Sexy, yes. Sweet, not quite. The chair and other designs, including a table, will debut at Emmanuel Perrotin Galerie on October 21.
Christie’s “Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale” is one of the premier events of the New York auction world. On Tuesday, May 13, 2008, the event – which is an art auction – included a house. Listed in the catalog between auction item 41, Shot Salesman, a painting by Richard Prince, and auction item 43, I’m in Love for the First Time, a painting by Damien Hirst, was auction item 42: the Kaufmann House. Christie’s estimated the house to sell for $15–25 million, and it sold to an unnamed buyer for $15million (or $16.8m with commission). UPDATE: The sale fell through. On May 23, the president of Christie’s said that “the contract has been terminated by the seller by reason of a breach of its terms by the buyer.”
Designed by Richard Neutra in 1945, this Palm Springs, California, house was originally the home of Edgar J. Kaufmann. In 1947, Julius Shulman photographed the house, and those widely reproduced images turned the house into a symbol of mid-century California living. After Kaufmann’s death in 1955, the house went vacant for a few years, before going through a handful of owners (including Barry Manilow) and several renovations. In 1993, Beth and Brent Harris purchased the house, which was then considered a teardown, for $1.9 million. The couple spent five years restoring the house to its original condition, using Shulman’s 1947 photographs and Neutra’s original sketches as their guides.
In the spring of 2007, we photographed the Design Within Reach catalog at The Kaufmann House, and earlier this year, we were back in the neighborhood to photograph our assortment at the Loewy House, which is next door. Click here to see an aerial view. (The Kaufmann House is on the north side of the street, to the left of where Mapquest puts the red star. The Loewy House is to the left of the Kaufmann.) As for the paintings by Prince and Hirst, those were each estimated to sell between $1–2 million. Results: $1,161,000 and $1,273,000 respectively. The evening’s top seller was a 1952 painting by Mark Rothko, at $50,441,000.
Join us in welcoming David Trubridge to Los Angeles. He will be in the Beverly Blvd studio this Thursday to lead a discussion on how his time in Antarctica has inspired his recent work, including his Trubridge pendants. David is New Zealand's best known furniture designer and regularly exhibits overseas in Japan, North America and Europe. His presentation will include a slide show and Q&A.
We recently received the 5 foot Koura pendant and were delighted to find the crate is fashioned from the template for the coordinating Coral Pendant. The Koura pendant is almost as tall as the people who create it! Koura is part of a new ethical design series by David Trubridge that is being developed as a result of his Antarctica Arts Fellow experience. Koura is the Maori name for the fresh-water crayfish, whose curled shape is reflected in the light.
We will be giving away a Coral Pendant, signed and presented by David, to one lucky attendee the night of the event. If you would like to RSVP for the event please follow the link: beverlyblvd@dwr.com
Susie Cordes
Studio Proprietor, Beverly Blvd.
On Wednesday, actor Ed Norton and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom went to Congress with their principled stances on constructing sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. During the hearing with the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, it only made sense that they’d be sitting “green” chairs. Ann Blackwell, proprietor of the Georgetown Studio and LEED AP, ensured that they had comfortable, ergonomic and eco-friendly places to sit. Ed Norton is pictured in a Mirra® Task Chair (above), while Mr. Newsom was seated in a Chadwick™ Chair. Ann reported back that she and DWR were thanked by Chairman Edward J. Markey (Democrat from MA), and that Mr. Norton’s testimony was most powerful and compelling. Read the statements from the hearing and see more pictures here.
You might be headed to New York, May 16–18, to go to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). If that’s the case (or if you’ll be in the area anyway because you, you know, live there), perhaps take some respite from the convention madness in Secaucus, New Jersey, at the DWR Annex Warehouse Sale. We’re offering a free shuttle bus to the Annex, leaving on the hour from our West 14th Street Studio in Chelsea. Arrive at the Annex to find customer returns and “scratch and dents” at deeper-than-usual discounts. We’ve got a ton of product to sell, including sofas, dining tables, case goods, workspace and more. Learn more here.
May 12, 2008 | Emily Fasten
We’ve been big fans of James Victore for years, having hosted his art exhibits in several of our Studios and just this year we launched an exclusive Victore-designed surfboard for Tools for Living. And while we like the idea of keeping his designs to ourselves, we cannot help but feel a little proud when we see his work gain broader exposure. After all, he is family. Case in point: The above designed cover for Time’s issue featuring their annual list of the most influential people in the world. The magazine challenged graphic designers to submit their cover ideas and James made the top five. Even if we didn’t know him it would still be our favorite.
When I went to search for a restaurant today on Google, I knew instantly what I was seeing: Jeff Koons’ take on the Google logo. The internet powerhouse has gotten search page makeovers from designers/artists as diverse as Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Graves and Dale Chihuly. Not only can users choose news, email and games for a personalized Google homepage, but now they can play an active role in its actual design. Pretty cool. My fave: Nigo, founder and owner of hip-hop clothing label A Bathing Ape.
