Inspired.talk

Kravet, Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils at D&D Spring Market 2013

On Wednesday, May 15, the D&D Building in New York City is hosting a day of exciting and informative events throughout the building. In the morning, designer Michael S. Smith is celebrating the release of his latest book Building Beauty with a book signing at Brunschwig & Fils on the 12^th floor. This is a perfect opportunity to pick up a copy of this exceptional book and have a chat with one of the most renowned designers working in our industry today.

At 1:00 pm on the third floor, Kravet is hosting Thom Filicia for a book signing and meet and greet. His new book American Beauty celebrates the renovation of his beloved lake side home through personal anecdotes and breathtaking photography. The Kravet showroom is also debuting a vignette designed by Thom featuring fabric and trimmings from his second collection for Kravet, which just launched.

At 4:00 pm, Lee Jofa is celebrating the new Cole & Son Fornasetti II collection with an appearance from Barnaba Fornasetti, son of Piero Fornasetti and custodian of the Fornasetti legacy. Fornasetti is regarded as an iconic and whimsical Italian brand, and the new wallpapers are not to be missed. This is a rare public appearance in the US for Fornasetti and we’re honored to host him.

If you’re in or around New York City, we’d love to see you at any and all of these unique special events. Please take a look at the invitations below for RSVP information and more detailed information about each
event.

Kelly Wearstler for Groundworks Wallpaper and Trimmings

Kelly Wearstler, interior and fashion designer is best known for a bold, over the top style that combines art, glamour, sculpture and color for an effect that’s totally unique. The designer continues to inspire hundreds (millions!) of design blogs and Pinterest boards with her fearless approach to design. Now on her second collection of fabrics for Groundworks, Kelly is introducing two new complementary (and long-awaited) collections: wallpaper and trimmings.

Rendered using artful, hand-printed techniques in sophisticated color pairings and graphic patterns, the trimmings boast dramatic designs culled from different environmental elements, both natural and urban. Street art, brushstrokes, gradient coloring, water and wood all inspired the collections and have been interpreted in a modern and imaginative way. The seven-pattern wallpaper collection features rich gold, silver and copper mixed-metallic finishes, a Wearstler signature.

Both collections converse beautifully with Kelly’s existing fabric and trimmings collections. Wallpapers are currently available in Lee Jofa showrooms, and the trimmings will be available this month.

Tuesday’s Trends – Yellow and Grey

Welcome to the very first installment of our new series called “Tuesday's Trends”! Catchy isn't it? We certainly think so. Tuesday's Trends will cover the latest trends that our design teams in their travels have "unearthed" in home decor. The best part is, it will come to you through your inbox every week. Something to look forward to!

For this inaugural post, we would like to pay homage to Jonathan Adler, whose modern aesthetic is a mainstay and quite identifiable in the design industry, as well as Thom Filicia, another one of our favorite designers extraordinaire! The chic color combination of yellow and grey hits the nail on the head. We just can’t get enough! The marriage of these two colors can bring any decor to an entirely different level. It exudes freshness, luxury and modern sensibility.

Whether on a pillow, or a bedspread, or even a wall, yellow and grey in any setting most certainly earns a spot on Tuesday's Trends. Enjoy our "Tuesday’s Trends" today!

Jonathan Adler for Kravet trimmings

Thom Filicia for Kravet

Brunschwig & Fils

The History of Trimmings, New Introductions from Kravet

Often referred to as the jewelry of the room, passementerie or decorative trimmings are a wise investment in your décor. Passementerie is a general term that refers to a variety of trimmings including braid, cord, embroidery, colored silks, tassels, pom-poms, and a number of other options. One of the first styles was probably the tassel. Initially, tassels were both decorative and functional: they served the purpose of keeping cords from raveling with a knot. Later, tassels became valued more for their aesthetic appeal.


In the 1500s the French mastered the art of passementerie and dominated the European market. Their work was so elaborate and beautiful, and their prices so reasonable, other countries could hardly compete. Initially, as with many fancy ornamentations and techniques, passementerie was reserved for the nobility and high-ranking military officers.

Kravet actually began as a trimmings company in 1918 and eventually expanded to include all of the products available today. Our commitment to offering the most innovative and beautiful designs translates to each product we offer. Our trimmings collection is one that embodies every style and every budget, and we continually expand the selection based on trends in the marketplace and the needs of our customers. 

This spring, Kravet is proud to introduce two exciting new trimmings collections.

Burnished Metals is the perfect trimmings collection to accessorize and accentuate modern styles with a metallic punch and bring a sense of antiquity and authenticity to any room setting. Fashion and interiors have seen a resurgence in natural earthen metals as accents; they continue to surface as an important element that adds a spark of light, warmth and richness to any interior space. Trim styles include metallic beaded cord, sequin bandings and a subtle intermix of metallic yarns that make up the luxurious brush fringe.

Casual in nature, the Nomad Chic trimmings collection was designed to depart from tradition and formality and find new avenues to utilize trimmings in a casual setting. The collection, inspired by nomadic culture both in the US and abroad, is primarily made of jute and linen fibers, accentuating the rough rope-like textures found in nature. A wide variety of styles encompass the collection, offering versatility and options including cords, brush fringe, pom pom fringe and border bandings.

For more on the trimmings collections available through Kravet, visit http://www.kravet.com/kravet_trimmings.htm.

-CZ

In Memoriam: Lilly Pulitzer

Over the weekend many of us heard the sad news that, at the age of 81, Lilly Pulitzer passed away. There are many ways a fashion designer can, in theory, leave a legacy, and I’m at a loss for words in this case. Did she define a style for a generation? For jet-setting elites? For a region? In the case of Lilly Pulitzer, it was so much more than that.

Her iconic prints span multiple generations, and will for many more to come. Lilly’s tropical designs defy not only age but social strata, and can be found all over the world, in climates warm and cold, injecting a dose of cheerfulness and whimsy into any locale. 

These days, many designers aspire to create a “lifestyle” brand, a point of view that’s narrow enough to be easily identified, yet broad enough to apply across multiple consumer categories. Lilly was the very embodiment of a lifestyle brand long before it became a marketing buzzword.

If you know the story of Lilly Pulitzer, then you know she ran a juice stand in Palm Beach, and designed a few lively print dresses simply as a way to hide the juice stains that were a daily occupational hazard. Soon, customers were more interested in her dresses than her juice and the rest is history. 

Today, her simple shift dress has come to represent so much more, and we remember Lilly Pulitzer for all she has contributed to making the world a happier, more colorful place. 

    A recent photo of Lilly Pulitzer, pictured with Kravet sales representative Chris Zitelli.

Photos 1-4 courtesy of Lilly Pulitzer.