Birthday wishes

It's my husband and my son's birthday today - isn't that amazing? After giving my husband the "best birthday present ever" 11 years ago, it's kind of hard to top!

This is where my friend, James Bacchi, came to the rescue. I had the pleasure of meeting James last year at the Icons of Design, Millenium Towers where his gallery, ArtHaus, provided stunning pieces for the entryway. We hit it off straight away and I feel so proud that we now have the start of a mini collection of our own.

When I was a young girl working in Mayfair, I was so intimidated by the art galleries of Bond Street and Jermyn Street, I'd peer through their windows instead. This is not the case with ArtHaus. The space is so warm and inviting. I had called James and said I wanted to purchase a small piece, I arrived the next day at the gallery and James, knowing my taste already, had pulled a number of paintings for me to view. I was made to feel like royalty and my budget wasn't laughed at!!

Just take a look at the piece I chose:

El Nino by Carolyn Meyer, 1995

Here are a few of the beautiful pieces currently on show. I have my eye on this fabulous painting by Kenney Mencher - I'm sure if the majority of us look through our parents or grandparents photo albums then we would find something similar:

Adam Kurtzman's sexy Kewpie:

Another of my favourite artists: Marc Lambrechts:

More stunning paintings by Carolyn Meyer:

Pamela Dernham's "Pink Ladies":

Currently on exhibition at ArtHaus: The Backyard by Chris Schiavo:

James and I

Fred, from the HR Dept., dealing with two young customers!

For further information please contact:
James Bacchi

ArtHaus
411 Brannan Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

Tel. 415-977-0223

Living Green, San Francisco

One of my favourite places to find unusual antique, vintage and new pieces, and not just outdoor goodies either, is Living Green in San Francisco, right behind the Design Center on 15th Street. Just take a look at a few of the stunning items I came across last week:

http://www.livinggreen.com/

Stoke-on-Trent, England

We're a nice bunch really!!!

As many of you know, I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent - slap bang in the middle of England. Also called "The Potteries", which since the 17th century has been known for its industrial-scale pottery manufacturing, with such world renowned names as Royal Doulton, Dudson, Spode, Wedgwood and Minton. The once abundant supplies of coal and the construction of the Trent and Mersey canal enabled the import of china clay from Cornwall together with other materials and facilitated the production of creamware and bone china.

Spode teacup

Trent & Mersey canal

Great to see that Middleport Pottery Banks are being restored finally!

Stoke-on-Trent has six main towns: Tunstall, Burslem, Hanley, Stoke, Longton and Fenton, all have the feel of smoky industrial-ness although local councils are now cleaning up the disused pot-banks and coal mines and replacing them with with retail parks!! Interestingly, through the works of Arnold Bennett (also from Stoke) 'Six Towns' was sometimes known as the 'Five Towns'. In his novels Bennett wrote about local events in the 19th century and consistently changed all proper names - e.g., Hanley became Hanbridge, Burslem became Bursley. It is thought that Bennett chose to write about five towns, rather than six because he refused to acknowledge Fenton as a proper town. The six towns weren't federated until 1910 but Fenton was still relatively new by that time, it was also the smallest in terms of population and area. As well as this Bennett changed the name of the towns' newspaper from the Sentinel to the Signal, an identity that was subsequently adopted by the city's commercial radio station.

Approach to Stoke railway station, 1975
(I remember this so well as you always went
by train to Durham to see my Grand-parents)

Longport kiln

Burslem factory gates

If you are ever passing through Stoke - try one of our local delicacies: the much loved Potteries Oatcakes (traditionally filled with bacon and cheese and grilled). Oatcakes can be bought any day of the week now but when I was little we had to wait until Saturday morning to buy them from local corner stores. The recipe has never been revealed either!

Oatcakes

When I go back to visit it always makes me smile when I see friends and they call me "duck" or "shug". Duck is used as a greeting to either men or women and is believed to be derived from the Saxon word ‘ducas’ used to indicate respect. Shug or sugar is usually used when closing a sentence as in "Ta Shug" (thank you sugar).

A Victorian folly on the outskirts of town (Mow Cop)

Farmer's land

The Backyard Exhibition, San Francisco

ArtHaus Gallerists, and my lovely friends, James Bacchi and Annette Schutz, are pleased to present an exhibition of select photographs from the acclaimed series, The Backyard, by New York Artist Chris Schiavo. This installation, in association with award winning garden and landscape designer Deanna Glory, opens on Thursday evening, July 1, 2010 at ArtHaus, with a reception from 6-8pm.

For the past 25 years, The Backyard has, and continues, to capture the attention of the art world. This series of colour photographs was created over a span of 12 years, in various locations in Queens, New York. The Backyard takes a humorous look at the compact worlds and eccentricities created by the human presence within these tiny plots of nature.


Schiavo handles photography with the sensibility of a painter. These photographed environments are manipulated and enhanced on site with painted light and shadows, bright colours, exaggerated flora and fauna, carefully positioned props and live presences. These mysterious tableaus of fractured narratives transform common backyards into personalized and emotionally charged hyper-realities built of childhood memories and adult longings. At once eerie and familiar, these photographs offer a timeless glimpse of an American scene.

The Backyard premiered at Yale University in an exhibition curated by Michael Spano, and later traveled to On the Wall Gallery in New York. Schiavo is represented in San Francisco by ArtHaus. Select works from The Backyard are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of art In New York City.

Chris Schiavo is a multi-media artist born and based in New York City. She works in photography, film, installation art, drawing and sound pieces, often incorporating several media simultaneously to create experimental films, theater and performance art. Schiavo is a recipient of awards including; New York Foundation of the Arts, New York State Council of the Arts and BCAT.

To complete The Backyard, Deanna Glory creates an installation which draws from her passion for art and design. She is the recipient of two Gold Medals at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, while her firm was voted #1 in San Francisco by the Chronicle’s SF GATE BEST OF THE BAY. The designer and her work have appeared in the New York Times, Sunset Magazine and Fine Gardening Magazine.

The Backyard is on exhibit at ArtHaus through September 25, 2010

ArtHaus is located at 411 Brannan Street, San Francisco

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11am – 6pm and on Saturdays from Noon-5pm

http://www.arthaus-sf.com/

For further information phone: (415) 977-0223

Beautiful cottages

One of my favourite magazines is Canada's "House and Home" and their online gallery is also really inspirational. I particularly like these cottages - they're not twee or full of rose prints either:

Industrial chic

Mixing old and new, vintage and modern, antique and minimalist always appeals to me.

Take this scheme for instance, the bright, sunny settee paired with a rustic wooden table with iron legs just says loft-style living.




Add a couple of parson's chair covered in linen:


An antique rug, faded to perfection:

Even a reproduction cinema flood light:

The sparkle of an art deco inspired floor mirror:

Even a hint of the Orient:

Items from Restoration Hardware, Laura Ashley & Horchow.