Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A FULL SPECTRUM EXPERIENCE AT MAISON ET OBJET IN PARIS

 





Robert and I have just experienced three inspiring days of walking the immense halls of Maison et Objet in Paris, where leading designers and brands from around the globe converge twice a year to showcase their latest collections.

Always a great experience, this year the Maison et Objet show inspired us with beautiful and colourful objects for the home – some of which we have hand selected and will be offering at Provide in the coming months. Colour was important this season and a few brands in particular fully embraced this trend of offering their designs in a full spectrum of options.

A highlight of the show was Klaar Prims (pictured at top), a Belgium based glass artist that showcased a wide range of her elegant and sophisticated work including these mouth blown crystal bowls that are made in a variety of colours.

Bethan Gray (second from the top) recently won best British Designer from Elle Decoration UK and her Brogue tables that made their debut at Maison et Objet confirmed this prestigious acknowledgement. With three legs, these wood tables feature coloured, hand crafted leather tops with brogue detailing – so simple and incredibly stylish.

The brand Zuzunaga (third from the top) is synonyms with colour – in fact they were recently awarded with the best pixilation prize in the Wallpaper Design Awards 2014. Their "Integrate Time and Space" collection features handwoven pillows, throws and blankets in over scaled designs from the pixel theme – now with a black base that gives the coloured wool yarns real pop.

UK's True Grace (pictured at bottom) is a boutique candle maker and has long been part of Provide's offering. At the show, we were very excited to see their new "Curious" collection that features amazing new scents in a variety of coloured glass containers and packages. We placed an immediate order and know these will be a hit for spring and summer 2014.

Overall the show ran the full spectrum with many ideas and concepts on display, but the theme of colour multiples was what inspired us most.



Posted by David



Tuesday, January 21, 2014

NEW DESIGNS THAT MAKE THE CUT (AND THE TABLE) FROM CANADA'S ON OUR TABLE

 
Our friends over at On Our Table have introduced their 2014 'Template' tray collection as well as their 'Ray' boards collection.

The Template trays feature a 1/2" lip around the perimeter that make these trays perfect for serving your...well what ever you fancy! I thought it might be nice to have one perched on top of a console table by the front door to collect keys and mail. These five contemporary oblong forms are milled out of edge grain walnut.

The Ray boards feature a distinct angular profile and etched lines throughout the surface. Beveled edges make the boards easy to pick up off the table. Perfect as a charcuterie, cheese, or bread serving board, available in two sizes.

Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for updates on these collections arriving at Provide.

For more from On Our Table, please visit our website www.providehome.com

Posted by Megan


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

EMBROIDERED ART BY BROOKLYN'S DOUG JOHNSTON






































Doug Johnston's work has been a favorite of Provide and many of our clients since receiving his collection last year. These vessels take on a sculptural quality using the simplest of materials. I recently had the opportunity to ask Johnston about his new 'Density' series, which explores an embroidery technique to create graphic, colourful patterns, here is what he had to say:

"The pieces in this series were a development of the simple baskets I had been making by coiling and stitching cotton rope. We found that altering between regular stitching and very dense zig-zags stitching we were able to introduce embroidery-like patterns onto the baskets.

Because my primary focus had been on the overall shapes of the baskets and sculptural vessels, I hadn't thought much about decorating the surface of the baskets. In fact, It was something I was pretty resistant to because in my work I like to focus on the inherent qualities of materials and let the natural variations and glitches in the production act as the sole decoration. The first patterns I made were kind of reminiscent of Native American or African baskets, and I think I was just reproducing generic patterns from my mind. While I had spent a lot of time with those kinds of pieces (my parents collect Native American rugs and baskets), I didn't feel that it made any sense for me to reproduce those patterns. It took a lot of experimenting to develop pattern designs that were more unique to my personal interests in the technique. Many of them relate to sketches and doodles I have been doing for many years, some try to really work with the cylindrical form of the baskets, and others are purely improvisations based on the stitching process. With the patterns I like to emphasize the proportions and 3-dimensional nature of the baskets, encouraging one to look around the entire surface to view the entire patterns, with asymmetrical or improvised designs." - Doug Johnston

For special commissions from Doug Johnston, please contact Provide at info@providehome.com

Posted by Megan