2013 It's A Wrap

We had a fantastic 2013 and we are looking forward to an even more productive and exciting 2014. Here is a round up of Smilow Design and Smilow Furniture’s accomplishments in 2013 and a look forward.

2013 Was Action-Packed!

We Reintroduced Smilow Furniture - including 2 signature collections - the Woven Rush and Railback Collections featuring 10 pieces.
Branded & Launched SmilowDesign.com
Got a lot of great Press - Dwell, Elle Decor, Treehugger, Worth Magazine, Dering Hall & WGSN and received many heartwarming testimonials from legions of lifelong fans of Smilow Furniture.

More Great Things In 2014

Smilow Furniture is proud to announce the next pieces in our expanding furniture offerings with the reissued WLC22 Woven Leather Lounge and WO22 Woven Leather Ottoman originally designed in 1956 and the Classic Pedestal Extension Table PDT48 designed in the late 1950’s.

The furniture continues to be on display and available at reGeneration on Renwick Street, NYC and available online and through select dealers. Inquire for specifics and don't forget about our custom capabilities. Email: info@smilowdesign.com

We have recently become a proud member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and are part of an invited group of manufacturers in PORTE-COCHÈRE, the members-only online marketplace for interior design firms as well as continuing on 1st Dibs. Online we are also featured on the new website MadeClose.com.

Please follow us and stay tuned for more exciting news about smilow furniture and its enduring, modern classic furnishings and design.

November continues to be an exciting month for Smilow Furniture

This month, Worth Magazine in their Curator section, features the Smilow Furniture
Rail Back Collection.

We are thrilled to be featured in this terrific piece by Editor in Chief, Richard Bradley. By the way... the Art Direction is beautiful as well.

Thanks to the entire Worth crew. You can read the Curator section of the Magazine and see this page online here

History of an Ottoman

In 1955 the Woven Rush Smilow- Thielle Ottoman was chosen and included in the Pratt Institute's exhibition featuring well designed objects.Today the newly reintroduced ottoman proves the smilow furniture motto: enduring, modern, classics.

Now almost 60 years later, in the current issue of Elle Decor Nov, 2013/ "Truth in Decorating column, Smilow Furniture's Woven Rush Ottoman (RLO44) was chosen as 1 of the 10 best ottomans by designers Bernie de Le Cuona and Brian J. McCarthy.

To watch a fun video of the designers describing and enjoying the ottomans (especially coveting the Smilow funiture ottoman! click here

Smilow Furniture, RLO 44 Woven Rush Ottoman

Almost 50 years later...

It was a horrible day in 1963 and a pivotal point in the Civil Rights movement when the “four little girls” were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Today almost 50 years later Congressional leaders hosted a ceremony at the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on the four girl killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, on Sept. 15, 1963.

In that same year, my father Mel Smilow, active in the movement for civil rights was inspired to make this woodcut, "Four Birmingham Mothers" to commemorate that horrific event.

Mel Smilow's woodcuts can be seen and are available online and at the Annex Gallery in Santa Rosa California.

Smilow Furniture in the News

A mid century re-introduction. Authentic design by Mel Smilow

It has been an exciting month since the Relaunch of Smilow Furniture at the ICFF. Read about Smilow Furniture in the News. Mid-Century Designer Focus: Mel Smilow Magazine July/August 2013 An unsung mid-century designer is poised for a triumphant revival. MORE >> Dwell Magazine Slide Show >> Smilow at ICFF 2013 A notable trend among the smaller makers is domestic manufacturing. East Coast factories are partnering with designers to bring back skill sets that have been handed down through the generations, reviving some long lost disciplines in the process. One of our favourite finds this show was the American company Smilow. An authentic mid-century brand that started as a retailer in NYC in 1949, Smilow has created a collection of enduring modern classics in a very accessible way.  MORE >> 50 Years In the Making: A Mid-Century Modern Master Debuts at ICFF Perhaps there’s no better testament to the enduring power of a designer and his designs than celebrating the relaunch of his signature pieces half a century after they were first produced. For Judy Smilow, who is launching a capsule collection of furniture based on Mel Smilow’s original designs at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, this enormous undertaking was much more than reintroducing the world to some of the best examples of mid-20th century modern furniture, it was a labor of love. MORE >> Old Is New Again Mel Smilow (1922–2002) was an American furniture designer, manufacturer and retailer whose seating, case goods and lighting are widely regarded as among the very best of the mid 20th century. The works were entirely crafted by hand (in America) of solid walnut, birch and oak, rather than the more common teak of the time. Known for clean lines and impeccable proportions, they were sold under the name Smilow-Thielle and offered through namesake retail stores, from the late 1940s through the 1970s. MORE >> For more information contact us at info@smilowdesign.com or visitsmilowfurniture.com. Additionally you can see and purchase the Smilow Furniture collection at reGeneration Furniture at 38 Renwick Street in New York City and DeringHall.com

ANNOUNCING the Smilow Furniture re-launch!

This spring, look for and visit the re-launch of Smilow Furniture at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair...booth # 2039!

Rush Woven Lounge Chair part of the WR Collection, Made in Solid American Walnut, design c. 1955

So pleased to announce that we have chosen reGeneration to host the re-launch of the Smilow Furniture line in their booth 2039 at ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) May 18-21 in New York City. In addition, at an event co-hosted by Dering Hall, reGeneration will be featuring an additional selection of Smilow Furniture at their 38 Renwick Street showroom concurrent with the show.

Smilow Design has sourced a 50-year old family-run factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where the furniture will be hand crafted and made from the original Mel Smilow drawings.

reGenerations's 20 year reputation selling the finest vintage mid century modern furniture as well as their keen eye for the current market (they have their own line of contemporary pieces, "re") make them a perfect fit to partner with, for the reintroduction of the Smilow Furniture line .

"Mel Smilow's iconic work is familiar to design enthusiasts and collectors, but because most of it was unsigned, we are particularly excited to let people know whose work this is after so many years of misattributions". - Val Guariglia, co-owner reGeneration

The same Rush Lounge chair as it appeared on the cover of the New York Times Home Magazine in 1975

Between the store on Renwick street and the booth at ICFF, there will be a selection of Smilow Furniture on view, both vintage and new, including lounge chairs, tables, sofa, table and pillows with Smilow Textiles. 

Appropriate for residential, hospitality, contract, institutional and retail applications, Smilow Furniture is fully customizable and made to order.  It will be available beginning this spring to consumers and design professionals through ReGenerationFurniture, and Smilow Design.

Register for ICFF and visit us at the booth or email me if you'd like an invitation to the Smilow Furniture launch party at reGeneration on the evening of Monday May 20th. 

 

More of the  furniture that will be on view from the Smilow Furniture RB Collection. design c. 1950
These pieces will all have upholstered cushions with Pollack Fabrics inspired by the mid-century 

Go See ..... at the Brooklyn Museum...

El Anatsui (Ghanaian, born 1944). Gli (Wall), 2010

Gravity and Grace, Monumental Works by El Anatsui

Last week I had the great pleasure to visit the Brooklyn Museum to see the exhibit Gravity and Grace, Monumental Works by El Anatsui. It's on view through August 4th.

I am a lover of all crafts and especially love art where you can see and feel the makers hand. El Anatsui creates just that kind of art.

"This is the first solo exhibition in a New York museum by the globally renowned contemporary artist El Anatsui, The show features over 30 works in metal and wood.  Anatsui converts found materials (for example bottle caps and discarded printing plates) into a new type of art that lies between sculpture and painting. The curtain wall above made from folded, twisted and linked liquor-bottle caps, combines aesthetic traditions from his native country, Ghana; his home in Nigeria; and the global history of abstraction." (from the Brooklyn Museum)

The installation process is flexible, which is crucial to Mr Anatsui's  art; curators may ruffle 
the surfaces of the wall hangings as they please, smoothing old wrinkles or developing new ones. You can fall in love with a piece in one show and not even recognize it in its next venue.(from the NY Times)

Each of his works, although macro in scale, reveals itself as a series of micro-events. See and enjoy the details below.

Folded, twisted, flattened and linked liquor-bottle caps 

To get an idea of scale, Here I am standing next to one of the giant walls.

Below, one of my favorites, a monochromatic version.

Below is one of his earlier works in wood. Note that the strips of wood are flexible and can be rearranged to show different points of view, just like the walls.

smilow glass...back to the beginning and new again

Back in the mid 80's, while experimenting with sandblasting on metal and glass, an idea for a tabletop line of decorated bent glass serving pieces was hatched. smilow glass started out with handmade pieces made one by one.  Soon after this I found a factory in Pennsylvania that could produce them in quantity. Bending factories were once more common in America, but by the time I found this one in Pennsylvania they were one of the last remaining factories.

   My first glass design, Dots and Dashes, 3 Piece Plate Set

   Platinum Plaid

   Fern Pattern

Over the years, my glass designs sold in many shops, a few fancy hotels (the Four Seasons is my favorite) and even found their way into some museum collections including the Cooper Hewitt National Museum for Design, Yale University Art Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum.

Except for half a dozen years at the beginning, smilow glass had been licensed to another company that marketed for me under their own name. Since last spring, I have been gearing up to reintroduce the line.

I'm excited to once again be offering my glass line under the smilow glass name.  I wanted to share that here first.

So. . . If you're reading this and are interested in purchasing the glass, Please contact me!

You can also like my page on facebook and
as soon as there are additional ways and places to find smilow glass, you'll be the first to know.

To see the whole collection of smilowglass check the smilowdesign website

   NEW for 2013:  Faux Bois in green and brown

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.

Smilow Chairs on Display!

We have a major milestone to report. I was excited to see the very first Smilow Furniture custom order on display today.

Last year at a museum opening I had the pleasure of meeting Adam Rolston, a partner at Incorporated. It was through that meeting that he discovered that I was attempting to reestablish and reintroduce my father Mel Smilow's designs from the mid century. Adam–an architect– was an instant admirer of the designs and has since became our first customer. These newly reissued Smilow WAC 33 Arm chairs have been installed in the model apartment of a new luxury building on west 87th street condo  in Manhattan that Incorporated, designed the interiors for. Check out the pictures below.

 

 

Photographs by Maia Schoenfelder

These gorgeous chairs can be ordered in many types of wood and custom upholstery. Pictured above in american walnut, with leather cushions.
Send us an email for inquiries.

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!

A New Year...

Hoping to start off the new year in 2013 with our  new blog smilow|design:notes. We plan to update and share our news, new work, experiences, design findings and visual treats with you. Welcome and happy new year!