Inspired.talk

Suzanne Rheinstein’s Hollyhock in West Hollywood

To celebrate the great group of designers and bloggers in town for the Design Blogger’s Conference, Suzanne Rheinstein hosted a cocktail party at her store in West Hollywood. Hollyhock is the retail arm of Rheinstein’s thriving design practice, and it captures her aesthetic perfectly.

Beautifully styled vignettes appear throughout the store featuring Rheinstein’s traditional Southern California vibe. One-of-a-kind objects mix with her Lee Jofa fabrics and custom furniture and lighting.

Rheinstein herself is a wonderful hostess, greeting each guest at the door and offering a great selection of Southern-inspired bites and cocktails. Check out our photos of the store, and see her fabric collection at www.leejofa.com.

Maison de Luxe – His and Hers Part Two

Suzanne Rheinstein (Screen, Sofa)

The history of Greystone Mansion, particularly that of its original owners, the Dohenys, was much buzzed about during the opening of Maison de Luxe, the Luxe Interiors + Design show house now on display in the home. The lady of the house, Mrs. Doheny, occupied Greystone Mansion after the untimely death of her husband, a rare unsolved murder.

While the rooms in the last post reflected a more masculine feel, these rooms portray a softer side of the home. The quiet, feminine color palette of Suzanne Rheinstein’s guest suite employs her latest Lee Jofa fabric collection, Hollyhock II. Bright, bold color in the first floor living room and deeply saturated, romantic red in the grand center hall invites guests to feel at home in the vast space.

Enjoy our photos and, if you have a chance, visit Maison de Luxe now through Dec. 22. Click here for more information.

-JP

Michelle Nussbaumer

Woodson & Rummerfield House of Design 

Grace Design Associates

Timothy Corrigan

Woodson & Rummerfield House of Design

Jamie Drake

Timothy Corrigan


Suzanne Rheinstein

Michelle Nussbaumer

ELLE DECOR A-List Luncheon in NYC

By Beth Greene

Me with Michael Boodro and Karen Marx from ELLE DECOR

Last week, I had the great pleasure of being invited to ELLE DECOR’s exclusive lunch honoring its annual A-List Designers. The list pays tribute to 25 top designers, plus it recognizes 5 up-and-coming design talents that have caught the magazine’s eye. To celebrate this year’s honorees, ELLE DECOR transformed the posh restaurant Modern, located within the Museum of Modern Art in New York City into an oasis of peonies overlooking the MoMA Sculpture Garden. With flash bulbs popping from the design paparazzi, the Modern provided the perfect backdrop on that beautiful summer day. While I was not definitely camera worthy at this event, I managed to have my picture taken with the likes of Thom Filicia, Jamie Drake, Michael Boodro and many more.

Jamie Drake, Thom Filicia, Ernest de la Torre, Michael Boodro

Million Dollar Decorators Jeffrey Alan Marks, Kathryn Ireland and Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

A bit Design Royalty star struck I was, as the who’s who of interior design made this luncheon clearly a not to miss event! Even the members of the new Bravo show “Million Dollar Decorators” entertained us with their candid conversations and tales and perils of television production. 

Old guard and new mingled in an environment that was relaxed yet filled with a fresh energy. Well known names such as Juan Montoya, Sheila Bridges, Ernest De La Torre, Kathryn Ireland and Martyn Lawrence-Bullard mingled with their peers, including Aerin Lauder, who announced earlier this year she’s starting her own lifestyle brand.

Sheila Bridges with Michael Boodro

Ray Booth, David Kleinberg, Richard Keith Langham, Michael Boodro

 
Aerin Lauder and Michael Boodro

Anita Sarsidi from ELLE DECOR, Thom Filicia, Ellen Levine from Hearst, Jeffrey Alan Marks

In attendance was one of my very favorite TV personalities and interior designer extraordinaire, Thom Filicia, who secured a coveted spot on this year’s A-List after a string of professional achievements, including a successful fabric collection with Kravet. Other Kravet licensors missing from the luncheon but definitely on the A-list are Alexa Hampton and Suzanne Rheinstein. And let me not forget to mention my luncheon partner, Aurelien Gallet, of course charmingly French, handsome and fresh off his two successful show house rooms at this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House and ELLE DECOR Modern Life Concept House. I hear his Hampton Designer Showhouse room, opening in July, should not be missed.

The festive celebration also marked the first official event hosted by ELLE DECOR as part of Hearst Corporation, which now owns the brand along with several other home shelter and lifestyle titles. It was an honor to be invited to dine among such an elite group, and a joy to feel the renewed spirit of our industry as we all came together to celebrate beautiful design and inspiration.

All photos courtesy of ELLE DECOR.



Lee Jofa and Traditional Home Celebrate Heritage Launch at Blogfest 2011

 

To celebrate the launch of the Heritage collection for Lee Jofa, Traditional Home and Lee Jofa invited bloggers from the Blogfest 2011 event to preview six styled vignettes featuring the fabrics each designer chose to recolor for the collection. Designers were in attendance to answer questions and sign copies of Inspired Styles (Assouline) a beautiful book featuring many prominent Kravet and Lee Jofa designers.

The Heritage collection features classic fabrics from the Lee Jofa archive that have been reimagined and reinterpreted by the designers, who sought to update the designs for today’s market. Designers David Easton, Diamond & Baratta, Eric Cohler, Suzanne Kasler, Suzanne Rheinstein and Thomas O’Brien each brought his or her own unique aesthetic to the project, creating a beautiful juxtaposition and a tribute to the past.

 

David Easton selected Gaddesden, a screen adaptation of a Jacobean tree of life block dating from the 1920s, with the intent of adding texture to the background and softening the look for today’s market. “Gaddesden utilized the typical vine pattern current to its era that I have always liked, said Easton. “I wanted to make an older, historic pattern fresh and new and I thought this specific design leant itself to this.”

 

William Diamond and Anthony Baratta of Diamond & Baratta selected Rosebank, which originated in the 1850s during the heyday of Victorian floral design. The handblocked pattern was introduced to Lee Jofa in 1913 and remains in the line to this day as a screen print. Diamond and Baratta love classic floral English chintzes and jumped at the opportunity to recolor this classic print for today’s market.

 

Eric Cohler was inspired by the Treyes Handblock pattern, printed with 20 handblocks, which was first introduced to Lee Jofa in 1963. Inspired by an Indian tree of life design dating back to the 1920s, the original documentary version was on linen union, but Eric Cohler felt that it would be beautifully presented on glazed cotton as a true English country house chintz.

 

Suzanne Kasler chose to reimagine the Shiraz print, a popular multicolored floral inspired by an antique rug design, which was developed by Lee Jofa in 1996. “In reworking the color palette, I continued to go back to the basic pattern and how it translated into two colors,” said Kasler. By tracing the outline of the design and recoloring it with one color on white and natural linen, she transformed the pattern and gave it an entirely new look.

 

Suzanne Rheinstein chose to recolor the classic English documentary floral Clarendon, which was created in the 19^th century when the Victorians delighted in bringing the outdoors in. “One of the things I love in my design work is the chance to use things from the past in ways that are suited for the way we live now,” she said. Rheinstein updated the classic design on linen.

 

Thomas O’Brien chose to work with a favorite handblock, called Nympheus, which dates back to 1915. He added signature elements of deep indigo to the coloration of the classic design. Says O’Brien of his preference for featuring the reverse side of the print, “The rich bleed-through is more abstract on the reverse side, and the pattern is softer. It takes on the feeling of a watercolor.”

These updated and transformed fabrics are now available in Lee Jofa showrooms throughout the country. Thank you to Traditional Home for giving our blogging friends the opportunity to many of their design idols!

Blogfest 2011 Initial Recap - More to Come!

This week we hosted more than 100 interior design bloggers in New York City for the first annual Blogfest 2011. Joining us from 29 states and 5 Canadian provinces, these bloggers brought with them a level of enthusiasm and excitement that made this event an experience for all to remember. Kravet organized the three day event, coordinating travel between venues and getting top licensed designers to host events that showcase our products.

We’d love to share with you some of the highlights of the event. We do plan to host a similar event next year, so stay connected with Kravet on our social media sites to get information for next year’s Blogfest 2012. In the meantime, here are some of the highlights of Blogfest 2011:

From left: Mark Rozzo, Town&Country; Newell Turner, House Beautiful; Dara Caponigro, Veranda; Beth Greene, Kravet

Panel discussion and magazine presentations at Hearst:

House Beautiful, Veranda and Town&Country introduced bloggers to their editors and gave everyone an inside look into their magazines during an afternoon at Hearst Tower.

 

 

ELLE DECOR Modern Life Concept House:

ELLE DECOR opened it’s first-ever show house a day early to host bloggers for a cocktail party and give them the first look into the Modern Life Concept House in West Chelsea.

 

 

Lilly Pulitzer Debut at Lee Jofa:

Bloggers attended a luncheon at Lee Jofa at the NYC showroom where they previewed the Lilly Pulitzer collection and saw the designer room decorated by our merchandising team in all Lilly.

 

 

Barbara Barry presented Indochine at Kravet:

Barbara Barry presented the inspiration for her latest collection for Kravet, called Indochine, and hosted a tea at the Kravet NYC showroom where bloggers got to speak with her one-on-one and snap photos.

 

From left: Ann Maine, Traditional Home; Thomas O'Brien; Suzanne Kasler

Traditional Home and Lee Jofa host Heritage Collection party:

To launch the Heritage collection for Lee Jofa, Traditional Home threw a party for bloggers where they mixed and mingled with Thomas O’Brien, Eric Cohler, Diamond & Baratta, Suzanne Kasler, Suzanne Rheinstein and David Easton. The party featured styled vignettes by each designer where their featured fabric was used.

 

 

Sub Zero and Wolf Wine Down Art Live after-party:

Kitchen brands Sub Zero and Wolf hosted our bloggers at an event in their NYC showroom that featured wine experts and chefs doing tastings and cooking demonstrations for bloggers.

Arch Digest editor-in-chief Margaret Russell hosts bloggers at Conde Nast building:

Following an intimate breakfast at Conde Nast, Architectural Digest EIC Margaret Russell presented her thoughts on blogging, design, and the future of AD to our Blogfest bloggers.

 

 

Studio Tours of Kravet, Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils:

Bloggers took guided tours of our NYC studio space where we do merchandising and product development for all three brands.

 

 
Thom Filicia with Kravet's Beth Greene

Tours of the New York Design Center and Sweet Endings party:

New York Design Center offered guided tours of the building, followed by a cocktail party featuring Kravet license designer Thom Filicia during which we said goodbye to bloggers and concluded our event.

For more on Blogfest, visit www.blogfest2011.com, www.facebook.com/blogfest2011, http://kravet.typepad.com and www.facebook.com/kravetinc.