From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, there’s always something new happening in the world of design. In this biweekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
In the News
Corey Damen Jenkins to headline Sotheby’s Visions of America celebration
Come January 12, Americana devotees can immerse themselves in the fine art, decorative furnishings, fashion ensembles, literary works, libations, and more of the 17th century to now at Sotheby’s inaugural Visions of America celebration. The interactive experience comes courtesy AD100 designer Corey Damen Jenkins, who is collaborating with Sotheby’s to create a richly layered exhibition tying in works from the Americana art and design auctions with his own designs plus decorations from American labels including John Rosselli & Associates, Stark, Schumacher, Kravet, and more.
Jenkins's multi-room installation, envisioned as a pied-á-terre to encourage roaming and ruminating, will also host the eight-day celebration’s educational programming featuring discussions with AD100 Hall of Fame designer Alexa Hampton, decorative arts curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Alexandra Kirtley, and more. In addition to Jenkins, Visions of America has named Thom Browne as a guest of honor, tapping the American fashion designer to curate a special edit of works from the 11 dedicated auctions.
A new collectible design resource from the Walker Art Center
Design has long been central to the Walker Art Center’s mission, but it’s being taken to new heights with the arrival of Idea House 3 at the Minneapolis multidisciplinary arts institution. The 1,500-square-foot retail and events destination, developed in collaboration with London’s Zak Group, is arranged like rooms in a welcoming home, brimming with furniture, lighting, textiles, tableware, and objects from some 50 designers and makers around the world, such as the Mexican pottery collective Cooperativa 1050°, the Venice-and-Beirut-based studio T Sakhi, and Hudson, New York, glass artist Deborah Ehrlich. In the “Guest Room,” creatives from different disciplines will organize thematic exhibitions like “Midwest Design Here & Now,” the inaugural presentation overseen by curator Wava Carpenter that comprises pieces by leading and on-the-rise talents from across the region.
Product
House of RoRo puts the limelight on multifunctional children’s furniture
When shopping for her young son Iggy, Belgian-born, New York-based designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel grew frustrated by the too-precious, space-hogging furniture she encountered that would inevitably wind up in a landfill sooner rather than later once outgrown. With sustainability and longevity at the forefront, Rosseel embarked on House of RoRo, a brand centered on versatile, gender-neutral designs that adapt to the needs of fast-growing kids. Interlockables, the brand’s debut flat-pack collection of seating, tables, and storage, includes a playful rocker, a double-sided book tower, and a stool that stands in for a box or side table finished in food-grade vegan wood stains created by Audrey Louise Reynolds. The best part? Reminiscent of puzzles, the slotted pieces are easy for little ones to assemble with an assist from their parents and a soft rubber mallet.
The Six Bells rolls out private label dinnerware
At the Six Bells, Audrey Gelman’s Brooklyn-based country mercantile, fans pore over quilts, throw pillows, and soaps that transport them to the English countryside. But it’s Italy that the Edith collection, a private-label of tableware, decidedly evokes. The majolica earthenware bowl, serving platter, pitcher, and dinner and side plates were hand-painted with petite blooms by a family-owned studio dating back to the 16th century in Grottaglie, Puglia’s ceramics haven, and they are bolstered by tablecloths and napkins emblazoned with bright orange- and cornflower blue–hued florals block-printed in India.
Openings
The James showroom, now open at the Interior Arts Building in New York
The James showroom, now open at the Interior Arts Building in New York
The James showroom, now open at the Interior Arts Building in New York
The James showroom, now open at the Interior Arts Building in New York
James debuts New York showroom in tandem with new textiles brand from founder Meredith Ellis
Back in 1998, a decade before establishing her own firm, Meredith Ellis kicked off her career working for Bunny Williams at the Interior Arts Building on New York’s Upper East Side. Now, kismet has brought Ellis back to East 61st Street, where she recently unveiled a 4,000-square-foot outpost of James, tertiary to locations in Dallas and Houston. Along with standouts like Madeline Stuart’s two-tiered round coffee table and Mia Reay’s wanderlust-inspired wallpapers, the airy, loftlike setting is home to Ellis’s newly launched eponymous textiles collection that draws from her wondrous childhood in Texas Hill Country. Geometric Agate, French-tinged Alden, and Rayen’s cascading botanicals all exude an air of nostalgia.
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Roxy Hotel penthouse by William Sofield
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Roxy Hotel penthouse by William Sofield
Roxy Hotel rooftop terrace
Roxy Hotel rooftop terrace
New York’s Roxy Hotel reveals Studio Sofield penthouse renovation
A glamorous, cinematic ambience awaits guests who check into the newly refreshed penthouse on the eighth floor of the buzzy Roxy Hotel in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. Past the custom white oak entry doors, AD100 Hall of Fame designer William Sofield outfitted the 2,470-square-foot space with marble and travertine and melded antiques and 1960s artworks with bespoke furniture, including his midcentury-style sofa and hand-hewn mahogany coffee table. Between the fully stocked red onyx and lacquer wet bar, TEAC turntable accompanied by a stash of vinyl, and Warren Platner dining table, there is little reason to leave—other than to climb the staircase, crowned by a Bocci glass pendant, to the expansive rooftop terrace and savor the scenic downtown Manhattan views.
