Ceramics in Finland and tea cups for a cold day

On a recent visit to Helsinki Finland, I had the great pleasure to visit the Arabia Ceramics factory. For those not familiar, Arabia is a Finnish ceramics company, founded in 1873 and renowned in the history of Finnish design. Arabia became known in this country for its mid-century modern designs. Still in operation today and marketed around the world, they are now owned by Fiskars (as in scissors). 

The Arabia pattern, Ruska, shown below was one of my first and favorite dinnerware patterns. Also one of my earliest design memories/influences. The designer of the 'Ruska' series was Ulla Procopé (1921–1968), who worked for Arabia from 1948 to 1968. Ruska was in production from 1978–99

Today the original factory building functions in part as a museum, and visiting was full of visual treats. Among the most memorable, was their collection of teacups. Still looking modern today all of these designs are vintage Arabia patterns. They were pioneers in the production of rice grain porcelain (top row, center) which was in production between 1945–75 and for a short time in the 80’s. They also formed an innovative design department in the 1930s and over the years collaborated with many designers and artists to produce much of the work below. 

Grand by Design

Sunlight streams through the windows in the concourse at Grand Central Terminal in New York City in 1954. (AP)

Grand Central Terminal turned 100 years old last Friday. The doors first opened on February 2, 1913 and there is currently a year-long celebration in the terminal including a show organized by the New York Transit Museum called Grand by Design: A Centennial Celebration of Grand Central Terminal.

A little background: The terminal was designed by the architectural firms of Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore. Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heyday of American long-distance passenger rail travel, it is the largest train station in the world by number of platforms.

Reed & Stem were responsible for the overall design of the station, Warren and Wetmore added architectural details in the Beaux Arts Style. The French sculptor Jules-Alexis Coutan created what was, considered the largest sculptural group in the world at the time. Seen below, it is 48 feet (15 m) high, the clock in the center having a circumference of 13 feet (4.0 m). It depicts Mercury flanked by Hercules and Minerva and was carved by the John Donnelly Company.


If you have a moment head over to this terrific building and enjoy the many beautiful architectural and design details. In fact, the counter at the Oyster Bar on the lower level (see picture, bottom left), is a wonderful place for a quick lunch. Enjoy some oysters or a panroast and you won't believe the vaulted ceiling. Still a marvel, 100 years young, Grand Central is definitely a great example of enduring design!

Hurry....Dont miss this show !

The World of D.D. and Leslie Tillett -- Oct 17 through Feb 3

The World of D.D. and Leslie Tillett is the first retrospective of the work of textile designers D.D. Tillett (1917-2008) and Leslie Tillett (1915-1992), two important figures in the history of post-war American design. The exhibition introduces the work of these remarkable designers to a new generation.

A few weeks ago I heard about this show and dashed over to see it. What a treat! D.D. and Leslie Tillett were certainly unknown to me but as I learned, they were favorites of many such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper and Harry Truman. Their textiles often graced the pages of Diana Vreeland's Vogue. 

The New York Times explains the history behind this colorful couple best: "In 1944, the legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch, then working for Harper’s Bazaar, heard about beautiful textiles coming out of Cuernavaca, Mexico, and sent D.D. Doctorow to shoot a feature for the magazine...Abandoning her assignment, Ms. Doctorow canceled her return home, married Leslie, learned dye-mixing and silk-screening and joined a circle of artists that included Diego Rivera and the silversmith Bill Spratling...The Tillets moved to Manhattan in 1946, accruing a level of recognition all but unheard-of in the fabric world. Their best-known pattern is a luscious, painterly mass of chrysanthemums bursting like fireworks."

On view at the Museum of the City of New York it is a must see-- and it's only opened a few more days!

Who says you can't go home again?

 A couple weeks ago, my sister Pam and I got invited to lunch at the house we grew up in.

Rob Mandolene photographer

The house is located north of New York City in a Frank Lloyd Wright community called Usonia. Usonia Homes was founded In 1945, a 100-acre rural tract was purchased by a cooperative of young couples from New York City, who were able to enlist Frank Lloyd Wright to build his Broadacre City concept. Wright decided where each house should be placed. Wright designed three homes himself and approved architectural plans of the other 44, which were designed by such architects as Paul Schweikher, Theodore Dixon Bower, Ulrich Franzen, Kaneji Domoto, Aaron Resnick and David Henken - an engineer and Wright apprentice.

The layout of the community was planned by Wright with circular plots, preserving most of the original trees and "encouraging the flow of the land". The community was named "Usonia" in homage to Wright, whose ideas on the way Americans should live together guided their plan.

My family moved to Usonia in 1962. It was the first resale of a home in Usonia and for my parents it was like winning the lottery. The house designed by Aaron Resnick, was everything a modern enthusiast could dream of. Resnick summed it up nicely in this New York Times piece. ''We were united on several concepts: we wanted natural or organic houses, we wanted a sense of community spirit and we needed homes that could be built inexpensively. And, of course, we were all admirers of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.''

 Smilow Home, Usonia, 1965. 

The new owners had generously offered to have us over for lunch. They were curious what it had been like to grow up in the house they now owned. As the day approached I was nervous to visit and remembered how hard it had been to leave this wonderful house and community.

My sister Pam is an artist and I am a product and graphic designer. Pam and I  count Usonia, both for its architecture and for the close knit community as a major influences in our lives, art and style. Obviously the fact that we were surrounded by our father, Mel Smilow's furniture (Smilow Furniture) and artwork–as seen in the above picture–was also a major influence. 

Here I am, on the right, with my sister Pam, sitting on the concrete ledge (our favorite spot in the house) in front of a roaring fire. After a really lovely lunch, I was charmed and impressed by the new owners interest and dedication to the house and community. This time it was easier to say goodbye.

Looking back on 2012

It's been an interesting and visually exciting year. We compiled some of the highlights below...

We finished off 2011 with a trip to Berlin-- and exciting and vibrant city. We saw some amazing street art.

I had an exciting opportunity to re-connect with the glass world through a workshop put on by the Corning Museum 'Glass Lab'. The event took place on Governor's Island in coordination with the Cooper Hewitt museum; master glass blowers partnered up with designers to create original works of art. 

In the fall of 2012 we look the designers dream trip to Helsinki Finland for Design Week-- the World Design Capital for 2012. The Design Museum is a feast for the eyes. From Marimekko and Alvar Aalto to Arabia and Kaj Franck the museum was filled with many amazing examples of design.

While strolling through a mid-city park in Helsinki we encountered a wonderful public art instillation called "Knit'N'Tag" in which trees got 'knit bombed' with gorgeous coverings. For more info on how these were made watch this video.

This past winter I had the pleasure to attend the re-opening of the Yale University Art Gallery thanks to a great expansion in their collection and space. We were pleasantly surprised to find Smilow Glass on permanent display in the Decorative Arts Since 1950 section. The entire museum is filled with incredible artwork and their collection is amazing-- a definite must see. 

Looking forward to the new year and its inevitable visual finds.. stay tuned!