Dallas Design News February 2012

At Shop Ten/25, a cast aluminum horse head, $315

Spring . . . Dallas interior designer Abbe Fenimore's online emporium, Shop Ten/25 has a fresh new look for the new year, including favorite finds like this cast aluminum horse head . . . .

Custom silk pillows at Laura Lee Clark, $275-725

Dallas interior designer Laura Lee Clark has one of the best pillow collections in town at her Dragon Street store, and I love some of the colors for spring like these pinks, corals, and lavenders. See more of her pillows here. . . .

Designer's Guild's new Havana Collection at ID Collection

I'm always delighted by the bright colors and patterns from Designer's Guild each season, and there's nothing like fresh green to get you in the mood for spring. This particular group is part of their new Havana Collection, and it's on the floor now at ID Collection. . . .

Peacock Alley's new Rio Collection for spring in nude and graphite

Peacock Alley's new Carmel pillow in coral for spring

If pink is pretty, nude's a knock-out. Peacock Alley's newest bedding for spring comes in the kind of colors you associate with this time of year. I like it especially when paired with their new graphite color, which keeps the paleness from being too sweet.

Glass technologist James Carpenter will speak at the Dallas Architecture Forum

$20 will get you in to hear glass master artist James Carpenter, who created the moving glass screen inside the Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House in Dallas, along with glass for the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and the exterior and lobby for Seven World Trade Center. February 8 at 7 pm, go here for more information.

Bentwood rocking chair by Blue Dot, new at Nest

Nest just picked up the amazing furniture line Blue Dot, and will have more than a dozen pieces for sale. Everyone loves Blue Dot for the architecture-inspired design and affordability. And while you're at Nest this month, bring in non-perishable food/can goods and receive up to 20% off during the store's annual Furnish & Feed benefit. . . .

Dara Mark's new art at Smink

Smink is getting new works of art by Dara Mark and other artists throughout the spring, so stop by and see what's hanging on the walls . . . .

Faux Furniture Rehab, new from Holden Art Studio

Holden Art Studio's new custom paint finish service, Faux Furniture Rehab, transforms existing furniture and cabinetry (like the gorgeous table above, which is painted to look like an exotic wood) into something fresh and beautiful without stripping or chemicals. Their new website is up with lots of examples of their work, including kitchen cabinets . . . .

Dallas Design News: October Part 3

Qui Anxiong: Animated Narratives

Moving Pictures . . . Shanghai-based artist Qiu Anxiong's stop-motion, black and white paintings are animated and beautiful. He's turned the acrylic-on-canvas paintings into a provocative video that references his Chinese roots and comments on his native country's industrialized, often polluted landscape. Qui Anxiong: Animated Narratives is free at the Crow Collection of Asian Art and runs through February 5.

i-pezzi at Nest

Mix & Match . . . i-pezzi is Heather Wiese-Alexander's newest stationery brainstorm, which allows you to create your own customizable invitations from various design elements sold at The Paper Store, Heather's reincarnation of a shop-in-a-shop inside Nest, which sells her luxury stationery line, Bell'Invito. Everything that store does is cool, so it's worth the trip just to see what Heather and buyer Donald Fowler have up their creative sleeves. (i-pezzi, in case you're curious, means "the pieces" in Italian.)

Artwork by Linda Guy

Re-decorate . . . Linda Guy's exhibition, Re-Orient, combines historical design patterns and her own imagination to create works of art that are beautiful and smart. They also look gorgeous on your walls.

Some artists cringe when people describe their works as decorative, but Guy, who uses drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, computer applications and inkjet printing to create her collages, is as fascinated with design and decoration as we are.

Art doesn't have to be gritty to be serious, it just has to be good. And I love what Guy's done with these canvases, breaking things down into their basic design elements, then corralling them into a whole new idea. The show only runs through October 22 at Ro2 Art Uptown, so don't miss it.

Thrift Studio, benefitting Dwell with Dignity.

Photo credit: Unique Exposure Photography

Success! On opening night, Thrift Studio hauled in a whopping $20,000. Thousands more have been raised in the 15 days since the pop-up shop opened on October 1, with all of the proceeds going to benefit the s0-worthy programs of Dwell with Dignity.

There's still time to find great bargains before Thrift Studio closes on October 30. Director Kim Turner tells me they're replenishing as fast as they can.

If you haven't heard, the stylish popup shop known as Thrift Studio sells the overstock of donated, gently used furniture, housewares, accessories, and high-end designer finds to the public. It's located at 1615 Hi Line and is open Monday-Saturday 10-5:30.

To give you an idea of the level of the goods you can buy (at a fraction of wholesale), some of the top showrooms and designers in Dallas who donated include Jan Showers, Janus et Cie, Scott + Cooner, and David Sutherland.

To make things even more enticing, five talented interior designers created incredibly beautiful room vignettes done entirely with items from Dwell with Dignity's warehouse (many were recovered, repainted, or refurnished). They are Abbe Fenimore of Studio Ten/25; Beth Dotolo and Carolina Gentry of Pulp Design Studios; Samantha Reitmayer Sano of Style/Swoon; Emily Johnston of EJ Interiors (The Material Girls); and William Baker of Jones Baker.

Everything in these rooms and at Thrift Studio is for sale, and it all goes into Dwell with Dignity's worthy coffers.

STUDIO TEN/25

JONES BAKER

EJ INTERIORS

STYLE/SWOON

PULP DESIGN STUDIOS

MORE STOCK FOR SALE AT THRIFT STUDIO

Note: All photos of Thrift Studio courtesy of Lance Selgo at Unique Exposure Photography, who regularly donates his time and talent to promote Dwell with Dignity's causes.

Shopping Dallas: Nest

Let's Go Clubbing

Photos/Text Rebecca Sherman

The new NEST store reminds me of a cool nightspot. Nest moved from its previous digs in Snider Plaza to this sleek, loft-like space on McKinney Avenue in October, and the whole vibe is different. Donald Fowler, who is the store's manager and buyer, rigged the extra long counter with LED lights. If you ask, he might let you play with the remote control and have some fun with the colors.

That's Donald behind the counter, helping a customer. He's usually got something cool playing on the sound system, a collection he mixes himself. In fact, his DINNER PARY PLAYLIST is one of the best in town. He'll share it with you if you ask him.

The new store has a bit of COLETTE's quirky European dash (e.g., Cire Trudon's huge wax candle bust of Marie Antoinette in tears) and a bit of MOSS's informed, sophisticated design savvy, with its cache of MODERN FURNITURE, and Italian glassware, lighting, and jewelry.

Everything is displayed on pedestals, platforms, and tables with museum-like prominence, except without the highbrow stuffiness. I love the section with pint-sized classic furniture for kids.

Lady in a Bottle, $1,450. Hand blown in Seattle.

Beautifully packaged gift foods from Paris and Italy.

See that jar of salt tablets up top, right? Donald explains that those are what Italians often use to perfectly salt the boiling water for pasta. I'd love to see what kind of gift box Nest would create from all these ingredients for making the perfect pasta: oils, dried noodles, etc...

I spy a little bit of ABC Carpet and Home's exotic flair in the new Nest, too.

Italian gold and enamel cuffs. The one on the far left is $360.

Throws, including some from MISSONI.

MR. IMPOSSIBLE, meet Mondrian.

SELETTI's porcelain dinnerware is made in Italy to resemble classic palazzi, the impressive public and private buildings often found in Florence. Each modular, stackable tower contains soup bowls, plates, and serving platters. $125-$520.

BELL'INVITO's letter press stationery is displayed like fine china in cupboards and on the table.

Nest still carries a huge selection of JONATHAN ADLER's whimsical accessories.

Adler's pipe with matches, $36

Adler's dachshund bookends are $150

Donald is known for buying a fantastic selection of COFFEE TABLE BOOKS on style, design, and fashion, many by TASCHEN.

Considering how amazing the new COWBOYS STADIUM is, this book should be a great GIFT for a Dallas Cowboys fan.

THE FACE OF TEXAS has portraits of famous and not-so-famous Texans, $34. Taschen's limited edition book of AUDREY HEPBURN photos is $500.

Set of gold encrusted shot glasses, $180.

Nest has some of the best GIFTS FOR MEN in town, including these beautiful coffee beans from PUNCH, an Australia company that sources fine beans from around the globe. Their beautiful leather containers can be used after the beans are gone. $60 each.

Coffee beans in polished wood canisters, $218.

Gorgeous exotic wood cufflink box, $150.

This YUBZ travel iPod speaker system doesn't photograph well, but it's very cool and compact. Also comes in cream and green, $135.

I love these bottles of cologne because you'll want to keep them long after they run empty. Wouldn't they make a beautiful collection in a man's dressing room? $125 - $138.

This gift tin with lychee flower soap and hand cream from MOR is the best deal anywhere, $20. It's a lovely look for a girl, with a charming box to boot.

When you shop at Nest, you come away with packages delightfully tied up in brown paper and twine.

This is one of the prettiest counters I've ever seen in a retail shop...