The Accidental Blogger.

It's hard to believe we're on the cusp of starting a brand new year but considering how quickly this past year's flown by, it's certainly not that surprising. 2009 was an incredibly exciting time for us here at Design Therapy and we're eager to see what this next year has in store. One thing we're definitely looking forward to is our participation at the upcoming AmericasMart's Market Week in Atlanta starting next Wednesday, January 6th. We were honored when they asked us to be a part of this event and quickly jumped at the opportunity. We'll be delivering the keynote address on Friday, January 8th where we'll discuss the benefits of blogging and the importance of social networking. In addition to our involvement, there's an impressive lineup throughout the event with other talks by such notable personalities as Tyler Florence and Alton Brown from the Food Network, interior designers Kathryn M. Ireland and Thom Filicia, and Erik Qualman author of the popular book Socialnomics. We can't wait to get there and if you're planning on attending please stop by for our presentation entitled The Accidental Blogger. For more information click here!

Rock The Vote!

Hey there-hope everyone's enjoying the holidays so far! We wanted to quickly let you know that our blog has been nominated for Best Shelter Blog on ApartmentTherapy.com. We'd love for you to cast your vote and help spread the word so that we can continue to share inspiring design ideas to as many people who are as passionate about design as we are. It literally takes less than 5 seconds. All you need to do is type in http://www.designtherapy.com/ right here!

As always we appreciate your continued support and look forward to much more excitement in 2010!

UPDATE! We came in 48th out of 648 blogs....we'll take it!

'Tis The Season-Day Eight!

For those of you who are counting, we're down to the wire as far as holiday shopping is concerned. One of our favorite gifts to give (and receive) is a beautiful book. We've collected several of our recent favorites here that we find incredibly inspiring and think would be wonderful additions to any design library.

First up is HUE, the new book from Kelly Wearstler. Full of rich, vibrant images from several of her recent projects, we continue to be impressed and stimulated by her bold strokes and amazing sense of scale. We're still obsessed with this project and were happy to see even more images of it in this book. Whether you like her work or not, you can't help but applaud her risk taking and the fact that she's unapologetic about going for it. We think she knocks it out of the ball park and it doesn't hurt that she also happens to be a genuinely nice and down-to-earth person (the truly talented usually are). To learn even more about this fantastic book click here to read a great article on 1stdibs.

Our second suggestion is Kid Made Modern written by another one of our favorites Todd Oldham. Todd's got terrific talent and a recent article about him in New York magazine really made us start thinking about what's truly important. This newest DIY book of his (a great follow-up to his last book Hand Made Modern) is all about having fun with kids and mid-century design. Colorful, exciting and informative, this instructional guide is perfect for our design-within-reach generation and will bring joy to anyone who loves a craft project whether you're 5, or 55!

Our next choice makes a great stocking stuffer for anyone who's ever been a fan of modern architecture. Titled Frank Lloyd Wright: American Master, this small scale book measures just under 7" x 10" but has 400 pages of exhilarating photography and offers a stunning overview of Wright's work from the well known to the obscure. We were blown away a few months ago when we went to see one of his most famous projects Fallingwater in person, so a few of our nearest and dearest shouldn't be surprised when this adorable but highly informative book shows up under a few trees this year.

Finally, we were thrilled last year when Taschen decided to release a limited edition over-scaled book on one of our favorite artists Walton Ford entitled Pancha Tantra. However, we weren't as excited about the almost $2,000.00 price tag! So imagine our delight when a few weeks ago we walked into a store and saw that they had re-released the same book in a much more manageable size and, a much more manageable price. Ford's large-scale, highly-detailed watercolors of animals may recall the prints of 19th century illustrators such as John James Audubon. But a closer look reveals a complex universe, full of symbols and sly jokes. This book is must have for anyone who appreciates the fine arts and also enjoys a bit of clever irreverence.

'Tis The Season-Day Seven!

It's almost that time....have you got all your shopping done yet? If not, here's another gift idea we think is really cool and the perfect item to help count down to the new year! These Nixie tube desk clocks are available at nixieclock.net and have both an old-school charm as well as a hip modern edge. A nixie tube is an electronic device for displaying numerals or other information. The glass tube contains a wire-mesh anode and multiple cathodes. In most tubes, the cathodes are shaped like numerals. Applying power to one cathode surrounds it with an orange glow discharge. The tube is filled with a gas at low pressure, usually mostly neon and often a little mercury and/or argon in a Penning mixture. You can learn more about it's history here.

For a high-end version of these clocks, check out the ones below from BDDW. We've used them in a couple of our projects and love their simplistic beauty. They come in either metal or wood and can be made as a desktop, wall or standing version. Hope you like them. We better run for now .... time to get busy!

'Tis The Season-Day Six!

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to attend Interior Design Magazine's Hall of Fame dinner and witness Vladimir Kagan pick up an award for his prolific and esteemed body of work. Kagan's clearly talented and incredibly charming, but at 82 he's also a tremendous inspiration. In fact, a few days later we attended Variations on Vladimir to help celebrate one of his newest designs, a limited edition fiberglass chair which he collaborated on with Ralph Pucci, owner of the Pucci showroom here in New York and host of this particular event. Ralph always knows how to throw a good party and this evening was no exception. In addition to showcasing Kagan's latest creation, he also introduced a new line of mannequins dressed in designs by Angelo Katsapis and exhibited a collection of shadowy photographs printed on cement by Michner Spindler. As if this weren't enough to stimulate the senses, also on hand was the String Orchestra of New York City which provided the most magnificent musical backdrop imaginable.

We've always had a tremendous amount of respect for Ralph Pucci and his ability to integrate such a diverse mix of talent and fortunately for all of us he has a new book entitled Ralph Pucci Show that highlights his remarkable enterprise (see images from the book below). We think this would make a terrific holiday gift for anyone out there who considers themselves a design enthusiast and we've made it even easier for you to get a copy of it by clicking here!

We had an opportunity to ask Ralph a few questions before last week's event and wanted to share with you his answers. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

DT: Is there anything in particular that inspires you?

RP: Going to museums, galleries ,off beat fashion boutiques...listening to music...reading a great biography.....

DT: What are you most excited about right now in the world of design?

RP: I’m most excited about the freedom to explore and merge all the arts in our presentations ..furniture, sculpture, photography , fashion, dance and music.....

DT: Any new products coming down the pipeline we need to know about?

RP: On January 28th we are having a group show DISCOVERY featuring new work by Jim Zivic and Robert Bristow as well as modern minimalist quilts by Denyse Schmidt, photography on concrete by two young artists MICHNER AND SPINDLER and new paintings by Paul Mathieu. RE- DISCOVERY will feature work by the legendary 93 year old designer Jens Risom.

DT: What 3 people would you love to take to dinner?

RP: I would've loved to have had or have dinner with Miles Davis, Cy Twombly and Keith Richards.

DT: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you want to go or what would like to see?

RP: I would love to go to Easter Island off Peru to see the giant stone sculptures or go see Brancusi’s Endless Column in Targu Jiu Romania

Photos from Ralph Pucci Show

'Tis The Season-Day Five!

We're absolutely wild about these "toy" cars and were even more excited to learn that they were made by one of our favorite furniture designers Patrick Weder. Living in Brooklyn, Patrick's insanely talented and creates some of the most handsome hand-crafted furnishings to come along in some time (see more of his work below). This weekend he will be one of several designers participating in an event entitled Gift on Grand co-organized by Tamika Rivera to help raise awareness to buy local, eat local and most of all help locals get inspired by what's in their own back yard. To learn more about this event click here. It will be full of amazing talent selling one-of-a-kind creations that we're sure anyone would love to get as a gift during the holiday season. Patrick will have a few of his cars there or you can can contact him directly through his website.

Exciting News!

We couldn't be more thrilled to have the cover story for the new Lonny Magazine and it's holiday issue. When founder and former Domino staffer Michelle Adams contacted us several weeks ago and asked if we'd be interested in contributing, we jumped at the opportunity. Not only is this on-line magazine stylish and innovative, it's got some serious legs with over 10 million page views since it's debut in October. It was also recently featured in Vanity Fair which only added to the growing buzz started by bloggers around the world eager to find a fix for their Domino withdrawals. While a lot of shelter magazines continue to drop like flies, this is one potentially powerful butterfly in the "publishing" world with continued plans of flying high. We've been saying it for months now, that whoever figures out a way to create an on-line, interactive shelter magazine with beautiful and original content will eventually hit pay dirt and we believe Lonny's off to a strong start. We'd like to thank Michelle, Patrick, Shawn and Ellie for their interest, all their hard work, and the incredible opportunity. We really appreciate it and we'd love to work with you guys again anytime. (We also want to give our clients a great big Thank You!) Click here to see the entire issue (we're on page 150!) and then be sure to help spread the word about Lonny! (photos taken by Patrick Cline)

'Tis The Season-Day Four!

Our next holiday gift suggestion combines two things we absolutely love: food and design! These Molecule Dishes are part of the 'Setcast' Collection designed by London design firm, voonwong&bensonsaw, and are available here in the states from one of our favorite on-line retailers Merchant no. 4. The dish comes in three sizes (large, medium and small) and makes for a wonderful condiment display or storage dish. Setcast is handmade bone china, created at China's most distinguished china manufacturer, Asianera. Dimensions are as follows:

Large: 14.5"l x 8"d x 1"h $70.00
Medium: 8.5" x 7.5" x .5"h $56.00
Small: 6.75" x 5.5" x .5"h $48.00

We really like the idea of using all three together on our coffee table with an assortment of dips and appetizers for our next cocktail party. Be sure and check out Merchant no. 4 for some other incredible gift ideas and you'll soon discover why we're crazy about this fantastic on-line resource.

'Tis The Season-Day Three!

Oh deer! We've fallen madly in love with this wall-mounted porcelain vase designed by Japanese artist Akari Luig and we think it's a perfect addition to our holiday gift guide. Our good friend Dave Alhadeff, owner of The Future Perfect, just expanded his business with a new shop right here in Manhattan and we couldn't wait to check it over the weekend. While we were there we picked ourselves up one of these irreverent but handsome vases and we can't wait to use it during the holidays. We're going to load ours up with some red winter berry branches and a few white lilies and possibly a couple of pine sprigs. The best part is the price...only 75 dollars. We think that's a real steal considering how beautifully designed this piece is (fyi: from ear to ear the vase is 14" wide, is 8" high and extends approx. 8” from the wall). You can learn more about The Future Perfect's new store here (by the way...it's amazing!) and if by chance you call them to order one of these vases, be sure and tell them Design Therapy said hello!

Also, we got such a great response from the George Michael Christmas Song we posted, we thought we'd give you another one of our favorite holiday tunes. This is one we discovered last year and it's already become an instant classic in our book. We certainly like traditional Christmas music, but we're always on the lookout for a modern take on a traditional theme and this one really got us humming along. It's entitled Christmas Song and was recorded by Joy Zipper. We hope you enjoy it...(this video is somewhat cooky!)

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

'Tis The Season-Day Two!

Growing up we absolutely loved our Creepy Crawlers Bug Making Kit. Nothing got us more excited than heating up the oven, pouring in the goop and waiting for our latest 6 legged creature to be carefully crafted. Our love of insects continued on into adulthood (remember when we did this) and now our obsession has landed on these meticulously made life-like glass insects sculpted by artist Wesley Fleming. We first took note of Fleming's work years ago when a few of his pieces were featured in the New York Times and have been big fans ever since. In fact, we think these would make terrific holiday gifts for anyone that appreciates nature and handcrafted design. Click here to learn more about Fleming and where you can find his incredible work.

And since we've officially kicked offed the holiday season...Here's a new Christmas song and video from George Michael that we're equally wild about. The song is beautiful and the animation mesmerizing. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.