Some visuals from my four-day action-packed weekend in the Berkshires.
Germain is a very cool store that just opened along Route 7. You’ll find modern and vintage home furnishings and quirky original artwork. The store also features the Martin clothing line by Anne Johnston Albert. The designer was formerly based in the East Village and the clothes have quite a following. Check out the
press link on the website. Germain is actually a nestled right behind …
the 7-year-old
Metropolitain, a charming 2-story cottage filled with French country antiques.
Owls have an amazing ability to hunt swiftly, accurately, and silently in the dead of night. Come learn how they do it! We’ll listen to the calls of several species and try to draw them in.
I mean, how could we
not sign up for the Owl Prowl, a two-hour nighttime hike through
Bartholomew’s Cobble in Sheffield. Our very knowledgeable guide led the way with his boom box of recorded owl calls, stopping when we reached the territory of a specific species. He’d play the call and we would silently wait for a feathered predator to appear. Well, we never did get to see any owls, but it was a perfect opportunity to roam through the woods and balance ourselves as we made our way, single file, over log bridges in the dark. And there’s nothing like the ubiquitous ring of a cell phone in response to a recorded owl mating call for comic relief. All in all, dare I say, it was a hoot!
We were so curious about where exactly we had been, that we went back and hiked the next day. The green of the moss-covered bedrock outcropping was dazzling against the bare branches and dried fallen leaves. Maybe it's the angle of the sun at this time of year, but the moss surface was so sculptural, kind of like thick cut velvet upholstery.
SoCo is the beloved local ice cream of the Berkshires (and is now available in NYC at Fairway). At their store on Railroad St. we were able to hang with Elvis—that’s a flavor. I can’t really describe it; you just have to taste it. These are their new orange chairs.
A plaster wall plaque at
Real Gustavian, on Main St. in GB. Exquisite 18th and 19th century Swedish antiques and a line of reproduction classic painted furniture, direct from the land of blonde. A wonderful shelf of books on Swedish decorating and style was my excuse for taking up temporary residence in the store.
I might have to devote a separate post to all the vintage fabric I photographed at Sideshow Clothing in Sheffield. This awesome photorealistic print is from slinky vintage pants, probably from the 70s.
I absolutely swooned at this chess set on the shelf in my room. It’s aluminum and the pieces are stamped 1962 Austin Enterprises. Turns out it was a commission by ALCOA. See more images and read more about from this unusual and spectacular piece from informed fans
here,
here, and
here.
Believe it or not, the 'Campbell’s' lettering was the hardest. That is before you go into a Zen state of fitting together pure white pieces. And then of course, there was the drama of crawling on all fours to find the missing piece at the end. I was sure that I had heard the piece drop the previous day, but it was no where to be found. Then I thought back to my cat hiding in the radiator when she was just a tiny …
Black patent Pilgrim shoe by Roger Vivier, with a platform and 4 ½” heel. Buckle is embroidered with “God Save the Queen” and R.V., $1125.
The Pilgrim shoe was first recontextualized when Catherine Deneuve wore the original Roger Vivier design in her role as a prostitute in Belle du Jour. Today's version has a platform and an almost 5" heel, so the sinfulness is built right into the shoe. Leave it to RV, to once again play with the Pilgrims by invoking allegiance to the very monarchy whose rule they fled.
