From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, there’s always something new happening in the world of design. In this weekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
Product Launches
Lindsey Adelman Designs a Mural-Style Wallpaper
The product, which is titled Eden, shows off a different side of the lighting designer’s capabilities. It’s come to fruition thanks to a collaboration with Calico Wallpaper, with whom Adelman first partnered in 2018. “Collaborating with Lindsey on this project was a delight,” Calico Wallpaper’s Rachel Cope comments to AD PRO. “We have a similar approach to the creative process in that we see beauty in imperfection. Eden celebrates that—it has an organic quality, like it’s handmade.”
The Rug Company Celebrates 20 Years of Collaborating with Paul Smith
In 2000, designer Paul Smith happened to meet Christopher Sharp, founder of The Rug Company. Flash-forward to today, and Smith has created 10 collections for the company over the course of two decades. Now, to mark the momentous anniversary, Smith is releasing Modern Swirl, which riffs on his previous swirl designs for the brand. Rainbow-toned and irreverent, it would brighten up any home.
Paul Smith’s Modern Swirl rug for The Rug Company.
Photo: Courtesy of The Rug Company
In Pursuit of a More Just World
Object Permanence Returns to L.A. to Benefit Black Art Futures Fund
This Saturday, Object Permanence will open a socially distant show at Los Angeles’s Rad Furniture. The exhibition is partially in lieu of the organization’s usual spring offering, which was canceled this past March. (An online exhibition that raised money for the L.A. Food Bank has also taken place.) This weekend’s IRL offering will support the Black Art Futures Fund.
Charitable Efforts Arrive in Gee’s Bend and Online
Souls Grown Deep has taken action in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, home of numerous well-known quilted works. (Mary Margaret Pettway, Souls Grown Deep board chair, and Mary McCarthy, a research associate for the organization, are both members of the community’s group of quilters.) In addition to spearheading efforts related to COVID-19 masks, the nonprofit has announced the creation of the Gee’s Bend Resource Center, which they hope will increase 2020 census participation, voting registration, and economic stimulus check payments. The facility will be staffed and offer free internet.
Elsewhere, designers such as Nathalie du Pasquier and Max Lamb recently teamed up to participate in Superhouse Raffle, whose goal was to raise funds for organizations that seek to end systemic racism and fight injustice, such as The Loveland Foundation and The Okra Project. By the close of the raffle, more than $17,000 had been raised in one week.
Fairs
Design Miami/ Launches a Shop
This week, Design Miami/ announced its launch of a new commercial platform. Design Miami/ Shop is set to include pieces from more than 50 international galleries while helping to raise money for GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Design Miami/, says to AD PRO: “We’re excited to be able to share the expertise [of these galleries] on a truly global scale. Whether you’re looking to find ceramics from the most vanguard emerging designers or classic pieces from French masters like Perriand and Prouvé, the impressive list of design galleries on Design Miami/ Shop will be able to advise. We’re also building out our platform to help educate people on the collectible design market by drawing on the diverse range of experts from our galleries and letting them share their knowledge and insights in their own words.”
NAADAA Debuts Its First Online Art and Antiques Fair
It’s a new day for the The National Antique & Art Dealers Association of America. The organization has launched its first online fair, which will run through July 8, and was the initial brainchild of Mark Schaffer, NAADAA’s former president. Mark Jacoby, the current first vice president of the organization, says to AD PRO: “We wanted to turn the pandemic on its head and create a fresh opportunity. Most of our members conduct some business via the internet, but mostly through direct personal relationships with collectors, museums, and designers. This show will allow us to expand our reach and introduce a new audience to the extraordinary things that we love and get to handle every day.” Also of note, as reported by the New York Times, Masterpiece London also just went digital—while simultaneously helping out museums.
A full dinner service set to be on offer at Christie’s London.
Photo: Courtesy of Christie’s London
Sales
A Glamorous Single-Owner Sale Is Ready for Christie’s London
Anglophiles would be well advised to get their auction paddles ready come this July. That’s because Christie’s London has announced its upcoming sale, “Gloria: Property from the late Dowager Countess Bathurst.” With everything from porcelain to portraits, the July 22 sale of the former Vogue and Dior model’s personal possessions is sure to make for a midsummer’s dream. Adrian Hume-Sayer, head of the sale, elaborates to AD PRO, “It is very rare for a collection of this type to come up for sale. With works of art which have never before come to market dating back more than 300 years, this represents a unique opportunity for collectors as well as a snapshot of modern British history witnessed through the objects they collected.”
Show Houses
The Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts Provides a Preview
The Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts is going live with a sneak peek into the show house tonight at 6 p.m. PST. The behind-the-scenes virtual event will include interviews with some of this year’s featured designers, among them Kassy Dieujuste, Fiona Lau, and Laura Muller. The event—which this year takes place in the Gerard R. Colcord–designed Locke House, a Federal-country home located in the historic Santa Anita Oaks neighborhood of Arcadia—benefits music and arts programs throughout Southern California, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The organization hopes to host an in-person show house in the fall, and will announce further plans by July 31.
Business
Leta Austin Foster and David Phoenix Announce a Partnership
Leta Austin Foster and David Phoenix have joined forces to launch their new Palm Beach–based interior design firm, Foster Phoenix. “Creative banter and the desire to learn from each other’s rich histories in design will underpin this practice,” Phoenix said in a press release. Foster recently made national news herself for being the sole resident of the Florida city to join in worldwide Black Lives Matter protests.
Hires
TEFAF Gets a New Chairman
Hidde van Seggelen is officially the new chairman of TEFAF’s executive committee, replacing Nanne Dekking. In a statement, the organization said, “We would like to thank Nanne Dekking for his tremendous efforts in bringing the organization towards its global goals with a forward-thinking strategy while maintaining its exclusive position in an ever-changing landscape. Advocating for transparency, TEFAF developed under the leadership of Dekking the most stringent vetting procedures to date.” Its Board of Trustees has also gained five new members: Alessandra di Castro, Laura Kugel, Filip Moerman, Catherine Walsh, and Vanessa Wildenstein.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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