WHIMSICAL CHARACTERS FROM THE CREATIVE MIND OF JAIME HAYON

The Guest is a ground breaking character conceived by Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon for Lladrò Atelier. Lladrò's thorough understanding of porcelain coupled with the work on invited artists has resulted in a series of pieces that are as elegant as they are amusing and unique. The Guest is six spectacular creations reflecting the personal universe of each collaborating artists: Jaime Hayon, American artist Tim Biskup and Japanese studio Devilrobots. We also love the black and white versions - look for these and the smaller numbered editions arriving in April at Provide. The large, limited edition piece sare available by special order.

Hope Bird from Bosa is a table top sculpture designed by Jaime Hayon that symbolizes the importance of an optimistic  approach to what lies ahead. Bosa is an Italian ceramics company with a wide collection that caught our attention at the recent Maison & Objet show in Paris. More details on this coming soon.

Also from famed designer Jaime Hayon comes Baccarat Zoo. Halfway between a glamorous sweet box and a decorative object, the Baccarat Zoo combines the sparkle of crystal with tinted porcelain to create a menagerie of whimsical characters. Provide is currently working with Baccarat – look for these special pieces as well as more arriving soon. And look for our visit to the Baccarat Maison in a previous post.

LEATHER ACCESSORIES FOR A STYLISH HOME OFFICE

Oscar Maschera is a master artisan that manipulates leather – giving beautiful form to quality and functional things. The collection consists of baskets, boxes, trays, writing-desk items, small pieces of furniture, bags and cases. Warmth and functionality, naturalness and purity of lines characterize these beautifully hand-crafted pieces.

The leather is robust, soft and matures overtime like wood or wine. Genuine Italian leather is tanned exclusively with vegetable extracts without the use of harmful chemicals and greased in barrels – methods which give it body and renders it soft to the touch. Veins and small scars are confirmation of the unique nature of a totally natural hide – of excellent quality, still worked today in one of the most ancient and noble Italian traditions.

To view more from Oscar Maschera, please visit providehome.com.

THE MAISON BACCARAT IN PARIS

One of our last stops while we were in Paris was the Maison Baccarat located near the Eiffel Tower. We had the pleasure of receiving a special private tour and were given much insight and history into this most special place. The Mansion was formerly the private residence of Marie-Laure de Noailles (who we were told was infamous for her magical parties) and was remade into Baccarat's headquarters by Philippe Starck.  Starck was given carte blanche and developed a extravagant design scheme full of wonderment and surprise for this leading international luxury brand.

The 3000 square meters of the Mansion accommodates the Baccarat headquarters, a boutique, a museum, a restaurant and the original ballroom. We loved seeing the world of Baccarat all in one place – it was truly breathtaking. Merci Karine.