Knoll Printed Matter (Part I)

Easing into 2011 with some visual, gourmet comfort food.

Way in advance of spring, and the opening of the exhibition, Knoll Textiles, at the Bard Graduate Center on May 18, I trust these Herbert Matter-designed ads, posters, and catalogs for Knoll will whet your appetite for both (spring and the show).

Matter was a design consultant to Knoll from 1946-1966. The Swiss-born designer and photographer was a pioneer of photomontage, among other darkroom techniques and a master of merging type with image. His is the Knoll identity you know so well, that you recognize it without seeing a piece of furniture or reading a word of text.

I can’t say exactly when during the next few months I’ll be posting “Part II,” but I can safely predict that there will be one. The selection here represents only a fraction of Knolliana produced over the years. And that’s before we even get to the textiles ...






































Sources: Another Design Blog, Yale Library

New Year’s Eve Infographic: Champagne-Glass Pyramid

ChampagneSabering.com offers this diagram along with a table for calculating the number of glasses needed for building pyramids of various heights. Also tips for filling the glasses and all things related to Champagne. They can be hired to build a pyramid for your next event.

There is a page of Champagne quotes, including this one from Art Buchwald: "I like Champagne because it always tastes as if my foot's asleep."

May this be the only kind of Pyramid Scheme you encounter in the new year. Wishing a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2011 to all!

Bergdorf's Windows

Bergdorf’s Holiday windows are, so over the top this year that they are a challenge to behold. ‘Labor intensive’ doesn’t even begin to describe this extravaganza of passementarie, quilling, encrustation, and taxidermy, with a dose of steampunk.


During the day, the reflections of Fifth Avenue
upon the glass offer some dreamlike surprises ...


But the general effect is dizzying.


If you visit after dark …


and get up close to explore …


you’ll be transported to a world of fantastical detail.










































Glorious, but exhausting, much like the Christmas season in New York!

Happy Dysfunctional Xmas

Had enough of It's a Wonderful Life? Here's tonight’s movie lineup on Turner Classic Movies. I’m not kidding.

8:00pm THE LION IN WINTER (1968)
Christmas 1183--an aging and conniving King Henry II plans a reunion where he hopes to name his successor. He summons the following people for the holiday: his scheming but imprisoned wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; his mistress, Princess Alais, whom he wishes to marry; his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), all of whom desire the throne; and the young but crafty King Philip of France (who is also Alais' brother). With the fate of Henry's empire at stake, everybody engages in their own brand of deception and treachery to stake their claim.


10:30pm WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966)
A bitter aging couple with the help of alcohol, use a young couple to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other.


1:00am CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.


3:00am ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father, and the guilt-ridden younger son.

Have a Ball This Christmas (or next, it's pretty late)

SPOT THE DOG and SILVERFACE THE CAT
“English Bone China with a Japanese twist,” is how these baubles by Reiko Kaneko are described by UK online retailer Rockett St. George.




PLAY MORE
Note pads by Amsterdam-based Trapped in Suburbia.




ORBS
You’ll find both 'functional' and 'decorative' items for sale at the Paul and Kate Studio on Etsy. These orbs are from the 'decorative' (completely useless) category. But who cares--they are so textural and mysterious, and absolutely perfect for someone who really doesn’t “need” anything. You might want to combine the Prehistoric Planet (top) with a copy of "The Little Prince." And you can safely assume that the recipient of the Caramel Barnacle (not really an orb, its flat bottom makes it more like a scone), doesn’t already have one.



FILAGREE BALL
This vintage pendant, from TopsyDesign on Etsy, is so Rosemary's Baby. If you're giving this to a pregnant woman, don’t forget to fill with tannis root!