Tag Archives: Resources

Wright for Me

April 23, 2013UncategorizedAntique Dealers, ResourcesMrs. Blandings

If, like Maria and Claudio Luti, you think your home might be enhanced by a Picasso drawing, you could hop over to Wright to view images from one of their next auctions, Picasso: Master Drawings from a Private Collection, which takes place this Thursday (April 25th.)

I’ve been working on a project in which Picasso plays a minor role (certainly that was never the case in real life) and I’ve developed a sort of personal attachment to the artist. The untitled etching above is one of my favorites from the sale, though certainly not expected to be the most dear.

But the piece I would want most is this photograph by Andre Villers. For me it is as if this image of Picasso’s studio mirrors the breadth of his creativity. And it’s a jumble, which is unfailingly appealing.

You can view all the lots here as well as the items in Living Contemporary, which are terrific as well. You may be surprised to find that there are many pieces that are incredibly affordable.

Image, top, New York Times Style Magazine, Spring 2013, photography Ruy Teixeira; other images via Wright.

The Wright Stuff

December 12, 2012UncategorizedResourcesMrs. Blandings

My father was a photographer for CBS and I can remember when I was little his coming home and telling me about the story he had worked on that day. Civil Rights marches and nuclear protests and sometimes really good things like an antique dealer in New Orleans who told him that he never wore socks or underwear. “He wasn’t wearing any socks,” my father smiled as he wove the tale of the gentleman’s second career. (I do not remember the dealer’s original occupation, but at the time the idea of not wearing underwear must have seemed significant.)

It was the stories of these people’s lives that made me want to go into journalism. The idea that one’s job could entail learning something new every single day seemed wonderful. He told me loads of the most unwonderful things about the business, but they did not seem to outweigh the excitement.

I am off to Chicago today to preview and attend the Wright Important Design Auction in Chicago. I am off on an adventure.

You can view the lots here. Image, via Wright20.com, is a detail of a Jean Royere Jet d’Eau floor lamp. She is elegant and unexpected; a most terrific combination. Photography, Ross Floyd.

Watch This Space

October 16, 2012UncategorizedDesigners, ResourcesMrs. Blandings

I do think good energy attracts good energy (and bad brings bad like a big ugly magnet, but that’s another story for another day.)

Crestwood Shops is home to some of the best merchants in town – no chain gangs here – and now they have a couple new kids on the block.

A particular favorite is O’Home, a labor of love from local designer Natalie O’Shaughnessy.

Chic and beautiful herself, it’s no surprise that her shop fits right in. An absolute don’t miss.

Still, don’t skip the mainstays. Rumor has it that Pear Tree’s shipment may be in as early as next weekend; I’ll be getting my coffee at Aixois and keeping a close eye out. For those of you not in town, you can check out their site here.

I’m sure they’d all just love it if you’d stop by and wish them a Happy Anniversary on Thursday, October 25th from 5:30 – 8:30. 55th and Brookside Boulevard. Where the chic meet.

Want Need Have

June 18, 2012UncategorizedMusings from the Dream House, ResourcesMrs. Blandings

I like things a lot. I don’t think of it as an admirable trait. In fact, I fear it’s shallow, too rooted in the physical world and while I don’t worry much about my status in the great beyond, I think I could be spending my energy and resources better in the here and now.

I don’t know if that is why I so often pass on something I see and want, why I pick it up and set it down thinking, “I don’t really need that.” It would be all fine and good if that is where it stayed, but what happens, a lot – more than I’d like – is that the thing takes up residence in my consciousness and refuses to leave. A squatter, noisy and with a habit of poking, it won’t go away.

So I go back. Back to the thing. There are three possible outcomes: it is there and I was right the first time – I don’t need it; it is gone and is immediately elevated to “the best thing there ever was” that I now cannot have and mourning begins; or, we meet again and angels sing and I cough up what ever it takes to bring that wonderful thing, the thing that even in the not having has already brought me both torture and delight, home.

This happened to me recently in Atlanta. Both Sid and Ann Mashburn’s shops had been recommended by every stylish person who advised me on where to go when I was there. I could not stop thinking about these black African beads at Ann Mashburn’s. I had a picture of them on my computer and I kept pulling it up and thinking, “I really do like those. I’d wear them a lot, I’m pretty sure. They’re not expensive. Three? Five?” So I went to the site and while there were lots of pretty beads, no black. Clicking further, I also realized what I really wanted, needed as well, was this lightweight wool scarf to stave off the chill of relentless air conditioning.

I do hate to be a bother, but I rang them up and was flooded with relief to know the beads were still there. A very nice young woman popped them in the mail and I had them by the end of the week.

The scarf has a lovely hand, drapes like silk and is long enough to wrap but not so wide as to be cumbersome. The beads are light as air and fall to at just the right length and I was pleased with how they look against tan skin (add vanity to greed and lust – a lot of deadly sins for three skinny strands.)

I just can’t stop thinking that maybe I need two more.

Part Two of my visit to Atlanta is now up at archdigest.com here. Do take a moment to visit Sid and Ann Mashburn’s site here.

Hand in Glove

April 19, 2012UncategorizedResourcesMrs. Blandings

I was at Dolphin Gallery last week and noticed a card for Ellen Greene’s work which had been at Birdie’s. Greene collects vintage gloves and uses them as her canvas. Seeing gloves as a symbol of a past ideal of femininity, of protection and restraint, she marries them with images of tattoos, the art of which is rooted in a male tradition. I did have my eyelids done and while I’m happy with the results, I can’t quite shake the niggling feeling that I have capitulated to two forces: personal vanity and some sort of larger mystical pressure that stresses physical beauty as ideal. I’m not torturing myself over it (in fact, I bought eye shadow for the first time in years) but it’s bugging me. Greene’s pieces hit me when I may be most vulnerable to them. You can find them here.

Image, “Omi Wise” via artbyellengreene.com.