THE OSTRICH OR THE EGG?

L'AUTRUCHE OU L'OEUF?

I had a few ostrich eggs at one point, brought back from Tanzania, but moving around took its toll on my collection and I am now left with only two which I try to protect as best I can by displaying them high on the mantle in the living room. One sits on a Catherine Noll bracelet, the other on an antique urn-shaped terracotta dish.

I love the look of an ostrich egg. Simplicity, perfect design, great color and a size that makes a statement even when standing alone.

Ostrich eggs in the past

Ancient Greece. simple but stunning design

George the III . classic humor.

Ostrich egg stands 

from simple 

to simpler

to simplest

to...which came 1st, the bird or the egg?

(I know, couldn't help myself)

Ostrich eggs decorated 

monogrammed

eggshell on eggshell

message board

Ostrich eggs in communication

Power in numbers in the Vuitton window on 5th Avenue.

complete with Mother Ostrich in all its tall beauty.

images christie's, paleoglot.blogspot, dargate, 1st dibs, this next, morewaystowastetime, dlc-hosting, carlos garcez, ohlafeliz

au revoir.

THE RUG THAT WAS NOT TO BE

LE TAPIS QUI NE DEVAIT PAS ETRE.

Some of you may remember my post where I described the rug I had ordered in Tangier Morocco. I was hoping the weaver would do as good a job on the final rug as he had on the sample piece he had made for me in 3 days. 
Well, it is NOT to be... 
He did make the rug, that's the good news. 
The bad news? It looked AWFUL. The final version, a 3m x 2m rug (roughly 6'x9')  was all wrong. The pile was much longer to make up for the fact that he had skimped on the number of knots (the density) required to follow the sample. It looked like some old rag dragged out of the sewer. Really. 
That's not all the bad news. I asked for the rug to be made again, according to the sample. The answer to that? For that quality I needed to pay twice as much as originally quoted. 
Needless to say I asked that my deposit be transfered to the GREAT rug my sister had ordered. That one was stunning.
And that was that.


One mishap does not necessarily mean that rugs are impossible to make in Morocco. Quite the contrary of course. I suppose creative freedom works best, if the beauty of rugs made by beginners in the Atlas mountains with left over scraps of wool is any indication. Judge for yourself.

all rugs from blog.nazmiyal.com

These are many decades old and yet so modern! 

Creative freedom and creative genius. Perfect combination.

au revoir.

THE MANTLE'S DISAPPEARING ACT

QUAND LA CHEMINEE JOUE A CACHE-CACHE

via great interior design

elle decor

image xjavierx

via vi.sualise.us

katy elliott*

There is something so subtle about a fireplace mantle that disappears into the woodwork, so to speak. What is left is the frame and some details and moldings, the true basic essence of the mantle. It's like eating yogurt without sugar or fruit. You get the real taste. 

It's a big plus only if the yogurt is great. 

Just like a great mantle. 

I know the comparison is a bit of a stretch, but you get my point.

au revoir.

* By the way, go to Katy Elliott's web site: I just discovered it; she is renovating her house and her posts showcase some of the best American design I know out there.

SEARCH FOR ART IN THE EVERYDAY

CHERCHEZ L'ART DANS LE QUOTIDIEN

KANOR

"Graffiti and graffito are from the Italian word graffiato ("scratched"). "Graffiti" is applied in art history to works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface..."- wikepedia

"With the development of large cities and urban areas after the war, in the second half of the 20th century, gangs would mark public property and walls with their gang names, titles, and tags – this would mark the gang’s territory. By the end of the 20th century graffiti, or tagging, was no longer restricted to gangs, but spread to ‘artists’ who began to leave their tags in order to create a ‘name’ and reputation as a graffiti artist" -art history guide.

DAIM
 3D graffiti. dynamic trompe l'oeil

BANSKY
 message graffiti. public irreverence

BEN SLOW
custom graffiti. museum quality

A piece of Graffiti art on the 'Icon Wall' at the Royal Albert Hall on June 15, 2009 in London, England. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty images Europe.

LOUIS VUITTON

fashion graffiti.  legitimacy and commercialization 

JIM DENEVAN
sand graffiti. ultimate ephemera

MOOSE

 reverse graffiti. welcomed improvement

Graffiti artist Moose "cleaned" San Francisco’s Broadway tunnel's walls with Green Works' plant based cleaner and large stencils. "Caked with dirt and soot...it set the perfect canvas to create a truly beautiful work of art"- Green Works.

"The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless."  Jean-Jacques Rousseau

au revoir.

MURANO GLASS BOWLS

LES BOLS DE MURANO

To say that I love Murano glass is quite an understatement. Funny that the two kinds I like the best are totally opposite in style, in feeling and originate from such different times.

I swoon over every 1950's chunk of heavy amorphous glass yet I am equally smitten with the delicate wine and water glasses and their dangerously fine ornate stems.

On a buying trip to an Antique store with one of my favorite clients last week, I spotted a group of Venetian bowls on a stunning classic bureau and immediately thought that this was just the ticket for her living room coffee table. A little 50's, albeit very "classic" 50's, would perk up the room and give it an instant shot of modernism. She totally agreed and we were happily carrying out our treasures a few moments later.

I can only wonder at the talent needed to produce these pieces, at the patience and the dexterity and at the creativity obvious in every bubble, every gold or silver speck, every layer upon layer of color.

How can one not marvel at the subtlety of this smoky, foggy, creamy, precisely sliced slab of clear glass?

What artistry.

images antiquehelper, modernistglass, afterglowretro, bigashtray, theendofhistorystore, 20thcenturyglass

au revoir.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW, THE RAIN IS GONE...

Enfin la pluie a cessé...

I was gone for exactly 17 days. 

It rained in Paris. 

It rained some more in Tangier...  

and it rained again in the south of France.

It rained ALL 17 days except 2 half days when it was gray to slightly luminous at best.

Yes, we did see some fabulous sunshine. 

In Paris. 

On the drive to the airport on our way home.

It was dry but cold and dark on my arrival at JFK.

 Eager not to disappoint, the rain did not show up in New York the next day. 

IT SNOWED...

Is spring ever coming? Does anyone know spring's ETA? 

I sure don't.

After this short and dismal weather report and as today was cool but sunny, I wish you a

bon weekend.

THE EIFFEL TOWER EVERYWHERE

La Tour, partout

Just before I left for France two weeks ago, I was asked by a kind blogger to bring her back an Eiffel Tower. 
So sorry I deleted the email, so maybe if you read this post please identify yourself again, if you wouldn't mind.

In any case here it is.

 Or are, as it were.

I brought back these two for you, seen in windows in St Germain.

Even the Parisians love their Tour.

au revoir.