http://www.anditeran.com/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 01 May 2008 00:47:00 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Luke Pearson creates inventive objects that challenge conventional design. Pearson and Tom Lloyd, his partner at PearsonLloyd studio, focus on furniture, transport, and product design--objects often in need of reinvention to suit rapidly advancing technologies. For Virgin Atlantic, the team created multi functional upper-class airline seats that convert from a chair and table to a fully flat bed, and their Twist table for MO by Martínez Otero is a sculptural, geometric piece crafted from gloss lacquered laminated medium-density fi berboard, which curves to create smooth flowing surfaces for the legs and tabletop. The duo's new modular screen system, called Link, will be exhibited for the fi rst time in North America at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York from May 17 to 20. We spoke to Pearson about where he finds inspiration. What are PearsonLloyd's core design values? I think the fact that we are not trying to perfect a style but simply approach each design with fresh eyes and with integrity is key. We are interested in technology, the future, and our legacy, which inevitably means we don't want to fi ll the world with ill-considered rubbish. What makes the new Link system so special? Link is very interesting because we were approached by Arpro, a company that manufactures expanded polypropylene [commonly used for packaging], and they told us about this wonderful material and what it can do. It enables you to build structures that you can use repeatedly. It has long wear characteristics. They wanted us initially to produce something with a double function, because they wanted to promote the idea of packaging having a second life. We're showing what this material can do in a very pure way. Where do you get inspired? Well, we both have broad inspiration. We're industrial designers. We're optimists. We believe in the future. We both love cities and get an incredible thrill from traveling. The cultural differences influence us continually and change our perception of the world and response to product. We have this crazy world based on traveling around and burning fossil fuels, which is pure madness. Recently, in Britain, there was an announce ment on TV that somebody had produced a car that ran on compressed air, which is a beautiful idea. It's like those toy boats you get in the bath where you blow up a balloon and stick it on the back of the boat and off it chugs! This idea of the future isn't always based on highly technical or NASA-like advances. Sometimes it's a little solution that is staring you right in the face that has been there all along. It just needs somebody to apply [himself] to it. Infl uences come from everywhere. They have as much to do with historical understanding as they do with future gazing. Hero Worship Forget about reality--this spring and summer, larger-than-life themes dominate the big screen. Take, for example, the dark, steely backdrops in Marvel Studios' gritty good-versus-evil tale of comic-book hero Iron Man, which opens May 2. The Wachowski brothers (creators of The Matrix) revamp Japanese anime series in Warner Brothers' Speed Racer, a liveaction film chock full of neon palettes, which opens May 9. And an oldschool adventurer makes a comeback on May 22 in Paramount Pictures' Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which pits Indy against Communism in the 1950s. And the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (www.metmuseum.org) explores legendary looks in its "Super heroes: Fashion and Fantasy" exhibition, with nearly 60 ensembles of sensational movie costumes and superhero-inspired fashion designs, which opens May 7. Modern Masters Two 20th-century visionaries are revisited in new oversize art books. Oliver Wick's Mark Rothko, available May 13 from Skira/Rizzoli (www.rizzoliusa.com), traces the evolution of the artist's work, culminating with the strong, colorful paintings that mark his singular style. In June, Phaidon Press (www.phaidon.com) releases Le Corbusier Le Grand, which explores the life of the famous modernist architect and delves into his artistic endeavors beyond the design of buildings.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/05/influences-shaping-up.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/05/influences-shaping-up.html The Written Word BizBash Design Film Thu, 01 May 2008 00:47:00 -0500 Andi Teran is a New York-based writer and performer from El Paso, Texas.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/04/cordarounds-vs-bonobos-pants-war.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/04/cordarounds-vs-bonobos-pants-war.html The Written Word Fashion Vanity Fair Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:17:20 -0500 Julia Rothman]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/04/icon-the-minibar.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/04/icon-the-minibar.html The Written Word CITY Icon Travel Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:18:33 -0500 The English Patient, and my dad mentioned that the director and writer of the film had started out as a playwright. Being a theater major at the time, I proceeded to ingest everything the man had done up until that point. This led to repeated viewings of Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990), the first feature he wrote and directed. If you’ve seen the film, you must remember what I like to call “The Scene,” with the actress Juliet Stevenson. It can absolutely break you. The first time Mr. Minghella approached me at the front desk, to pick up a package, I desperately wanted to ask him about The Scene. I was a new employee, and he smiled as if he’d known me my whole life. He must have known that I was excited to meet him, because he quickly asked me my name and inquired how my day was going. This was not typical behavior from hotel guests of his stature, I can assure you, and it instantly put me at ease. I remember handing the package over while sputtering, “Here you are, Mr. Minghella!” He smiled and replied, “Please, call me Anthony.” When Anthony stayed at the hotel, he would come down to the lobby and make the front desk his first stop before breakfast. Before long, we were all well acquainted with him. “Good morning, Andi and Jeffrey!” he would bellow. “And how are we this morning?” He would listen attentively to our stories of late nights in the East Village or take recommendations on the latest “awesome!” Off-Broadway plays. He never forgot our names and never failed to spin a yarn. His favorite subject was always his “lovely” wife and children. As my colleague and friend Jeffrey Long puts it, “He was nothing but graceful, calm, and gentlemanly … and genuinely interested in what you had to say.” As comfortable as we felt around him, we were careful not to cross the line. At least most of us were. When Mr. Minghella (I have a hard time calling him Anthony) was in town casting the film Cold Mountain, one bellman, an aspiring model and actor, caught him on his way out the door and hit him up for an audition. All of us in the lobby recoiled in horror, but Mr. Minghella, ever cheerful, said “Sure!” He gave the bellman an appointment the next day. I admired my colleague’s audacity—however uncouth—and was inspired to cross my own line. Mr. Minghella was standing at the desk one late afternoon chatting with another hotel employee about film. I joined in on the conversation, hoping to finally say what I needed to say to him. When the moment arose, I blurted, “That scene! In your movie. The one with Juliet Stevenson? It … changed my life. It made me want to write in order to make people feel.” Anthony smiled, “Ah, yes, I know that scene.” He grabbed my hand, eyes twinkling. “And I have faith in you. So just write!” I’ve spoken to a few of my former colleagues from The Mercer since getting the news. We each have a story to tell, but Serena Lightner, the director of sales, sums it up for all of us best: “Anthony has stayed with us regularly since 1999 (he was one of our most frequent guests), and instantly became part of the family. We all loved him for his warmth, that open and beautiful smile, and for his genuine fondness for people. There was such an ease and sincere sweetness in the way he dealt with everyone. We will miss him very much.”]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/anthony-minghella-a-remembered-guest.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/anthony-minghella-a-remembered-guest.html The Written Word Film Vanity Fair Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0500 Julia Rothman]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/icon-the-pocket-square.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/icon-the-pocket-square.html The Written Word CITY Fashion Icon Sun, 09 Mar 2008 12:28:33 -0500 The Stones, Two Ways After more than 40 years, the Rolling Stones are still causing a stir, with the National Ballet of Canada (416.345.9595, www.national.ballet.ca) presenting its company premiere of choreographer Christopher Bruce's Rooster. While ballet and Mick Jagger may seem an unlikely match, the performance weaves together modern dance and early songs--from "Paint It Black" to "Sympathy for the Devil"--infused with the spirit of the '60s. (The performance is presented with Soldiers' Mass and 24 Preludes by Chopin, from March 8 to 16.) In April, Martin Scorsese's documentary Shine a Light (www.shinealightmovie.com) comes to select theaters in the U.S. and Canada.The film captures two intimate 2006 performances by the band. Exploring Environments Two big Los Angeles exhibitions opening in March delve into art forms that are grounded in and have inspired elements of events. With "Allan Kaprow--Art as Life," the Museum of Contemporary Art (213.626.6222, www.moca.org) takes a look at the artist's collages, paintings, drawings, and sculpture, but also digs into his happenings, which held that the action in an environment is the art itself. Controversial contemporary artist--and Kaprow's longtime friend--Paul McCarthy will handle reinventions of site-specific happenings. The exhibit runs from March 23 to June 30. With "California Video," the Getty Center (310.440.7300, www.getty.edu) examines the impact of 58 new and established West Coast artists. Look for works by Tony Oursler, Bill Viola, Bruce Nauman--and even from Allan Kaprow. The show runs from March 15 to June 8. New York's Art Blockbusters The spring brings two monumental exhibitions to Manhattan. The Whitney Biennial's (800.944.8639, www.whitney.org) vast survey of the state of contemporary art kicks off on March 6, bringing together 81 artists as diverse as performance-art band the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black and filmmaker Spike Lee; the show, which runs through June 1, sprawls beyond the museum, with installations and performances also at the Seventh Regiment Armory. "Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson" comes to the Museum of Modern Art (212.708.9400, www.moma.org) and its sister museum P.S.1 in Queens from April 20 through June 30 with immersive environments from the Scandinavian artist, who takes a cue from his native landscapes. Music in Art Two of America's contributions to the history of music--jazz and hip-hop--make appearances outside of clubs and concert venues this spring. Washington's National Portrait Gallery (202.633.8300, www.npg.si.edu) celebrates rap and hip-hop with "Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture," which pulls together David Scheinbaum's concert photos of Public Enemy and De La Soul, as well as Kehinde Wiley's portraits of LL Cool J and Ice-T, which mimic 17th- and 19th- century masterpieces. Poems transcribed on walls and graffi ti murals connect galleries. The exhibit runs through October 26. In Chicago, the jazz-inspired production Carter's Way from the Steppenwolf Theatre Company (312.335.1650, www.steppenwolf.org) tells the tale of Oriole Carter, a saxophonist in 1930s Kansas City; it unfolds amid a backdrop of smoky clubs and shady dealings. Written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker and company member Eric Simonson, the play runs through April 27.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/influences-where-to-get-inspired-this-spring.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/03/influences-where-to-get-inspired-this-spring.html The Written Word Art BizBash Film Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:33:47 -0500 Alex Timbers and his New York based theater company, Les Freres Corbusier (www.lesfreres.org), dissect and reinvent historical figures, infusing the subject matter with equal parts academia and punk rock--and staging it with a good dose of madcap multimedia effects. In January, Los Angeles's Center Theatre Group (www.centertheatregroup.org) will debut the company's Wild West-infused rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Timbers talked to us about the production, which mixes historical events with bordello decor and a live soundtrack of emo rock. How did you start the theater company? Les Freres Corbusier was established in 2003 with the goal of creating work about historical figures and subject matter through irreverent contexts and idioms. The work was intended to lampoon academia while simultaneously celebrating it, and in the same way, lampooning avant-gardist theater troupes while also embracing them. We focus on historical figures whom people might know two sentences about. How did you conceive of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson? I wrote the book, and Michael Friedman from the terrifi c experimental theater company the Civilians wrote all the songs. This is our fi rst collaboration. It started with an interest in emo music--we were interested in that as a stylistic trope. [Emo] songs are so sincere that they're hilarious, but they're also moving and truthful. We're interested in investigating highly emotive expression as a theatrical style. We started thinking, Who is an emo figure from history? Andrew Jackson is the ultimate emo president! He would literally bleed himself with his wife. He was angry and angsty. That was our jumping-off point. How does that influence the look of the play? It's going to be Wild West-emo couture. It's going to have a period vibe with contemporary style. A Wild West brothel fi lled with taxidermy. Like if Deadwood were a music video: big red velour curtains, a deer head. It's going to be fun. Is there multimedia? Yes, there's video, but it's more textural. It will hopefully confuse the audience as to how we pull it off. We aren't doing big concert visuals, but there will be battle smoke and live music. There's a three-piece rock band, and everyone sings. It started off as a play with music, and it's turned into having songs at regular intervals. But it isn't really a musical--just a really good play with really good music. --Andi Teran]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/01/bloody-interesting.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2008/01/bloody-interesting.html The Written Word BizBash Q&A Theater Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:04:18 -0500 Philomena Keet was so inspired by what she encountered there that she pursued academic studies in the topic of Tokyo street fashion and teamed up with local music and fashion photographer Yuri Manabe to explore Tokyo's uniquely diverse urban style. In The Tokyo Look Book, Keet showcases kids in Victorian garb juxtaposed with office and construction workers, and madcap fashion designers with the Harajuku hipsters who wear their bold creations. You wrote your Ph.D. dissertation on Tokyo street fashion. Are you the first? I think I might be the first to do a Ph.D. on the subject; that would be nice. When I lived in Osaka, I was intrigued by a mass gathering of Cosplayers--people dressed as characters from anime or video games--and Gothic Lolitas, [who dress in] childlike styles in black and white with Victorian touches. When I returned to England, my fascination was fueled by the Fruits books, which document kooky Harajuku fashions. At the same time, I had been studying the anthropology of material culture and consumption, [and] all these elements fit together to inspire me. In The Tokyo Look Book, you include the experience of being styled every day by the staff of a popular Tokyo boutique. What was that like? They chose my outfi ts by going through the available clothes and picking things seemingly at random. One of my favorite outfits was a skirt that the staff made out of a parachute--with wires still attached--plus a secondhand cowboy shirt and a leather-and-silver belt attached by wires to leather cuffs on my ankles! At first I found it hilarious to be wearing this kind of stuff, but after a while, I started to choose things myself and wear some of my own clothes, too. Are these boutiques equally as outlandish and creative in decor? Many of them are. They are also a touch on the gruesome side. Heaven by H. Naoto uses black and white pencil drawings of body parts on the walls and has outfits hanging from the ceiling. Candy has an '80s theme with amazing customized Ken dolls stuck all around the changing rooms. What were some of the best customized street looks that you came upon? I must say that I love the parachute skirts. Other customized things I've seen are bags covered in studs, headbands made of foxes--rather controversial--and lots of rips and tears, but there aren't many outfi ts and looks that are entirely customized. You would usually team something that either you or a shop had customized with some uncustomized brand goods. If you were to throw a Japanese street fashion party, how would you decorate? A lot of the fashion parties in Tokyo now have a sort of neon-color, New Rave theme. Bright pink is always good, of course, like the book cover. DJing [and] VJing is essential, and [maybe] a band. I guess the best decorations for these parties are the clothes that people wear themselves. --Andi Teran Purchase The Tokyo Look Book from Amazon.com]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/11/tokyo-pop.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/11/tokyo-pop.html The Written Word BizBash Fashion Q&A Tokyo Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:21:35 -0500 Dear Tower Records, Speaking on behalf of those mourning your hallowed presence on our city streets let it be known--for the record--that we miss you. Whether browsing the new releases or listening to a CD because of the cover art; whether killing time on the floor with a music magazine or impulse-buying an Edward Scissorhands doll just because it looked lonely next to the cash register; whether we were there for discovery or escape, purpose or inspiration, your doors were open for all of us.... Tower Records was the first, and most famous, mammoth music store. From humble beginnings in 1960s Sacramento, where record seller Russ Solomon named the store after his father's drugstore, it later expanded to San Francisco and then continued to grow--coast to coast and continent to continent--into the music behemoth it's remembered as today. Instantly recognizable with oblique red letters atop a background of sunshine yellow, Tower sold music from every genre and every country, for every denomination and every age range. Soccer moms brought kids interested in the new Ace of Base, teenagers hung out and honed their "cool" palettes with The Cure, and foreign visitors always found a section devoted to their homeland. In addition to vinyl, tapes, and CDs, Tower added cultured books and periodicals. In bigger cities, Tower Video provided a double whammy, selling mainstream and independent films--not to mention those lurking behind the doors marked "18 and Over Only." Tower Records brought us closer to music; it also brought the music to us. In stores world wide, local and touring bands would roll up to play live. There was Aerosmith or New Kids on the Block wrapping people around the block at Tower Boston. Jeff Buckley memorably shook the windowpanes--a capella, mind you--in Austin. That all ended in the United States last December when, suffering since the birth of conveniently downloadable music, Tower Records closed its doors just months after filing for bankruptcy. While a victim to the tangible product it sold, Tower Records was one of the first music purveyors to take its business to the Internet, albeit not very successfully. Tower.com continues to operate online under a separate entity, and standing stores still thrive in Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Columbia, and Ireland. Those of us in the States, however, hold on to our memories. The White Stripes tapped into that nostalgia last June, playing an intimate show in the shuttered remains of the renowned Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. Singer Jack White was said to be in awe of performing in the empty shell-of-a-store. "Can I get an amen for records you can hold in your hands?" he shouted to the crowd. Amen, Tower, Amen.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/11/icon-tower-records.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/11/icon-tower-records.html The Written Word CITY Icon Music Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:40:18 -0500 BEEP! The slideshow first took shape in Victorian times when the well-to-do man of the house " journeyed" to exotic locales by viewing successive images taken by hired photographers who did the traveling--and thus the hefting of cumbersome cameras--for him. Around the same time, intrepid explorers shared their discoveries with a curious public through lively lectures illustrated with fantastical stories and the photographs that seemingly lended some truth to those tales. In the 1890s, Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson's Kinetoscope, essentially functioning as a sped-up slideshow, became one of the first methods of motion picture projection. Eventually, the advent of the home slide projector would revolutionize, among many other fields, travel photography. A vacation in the 1950s wasn't officially over until your neighbors assembled to see you mugging for the camera in front of Niagara Falls. BEEP! Slideshows have had educational and artistic purpose, too. Museums and galleries used slides to catalog and chronicle all of the works contained within their walls. Artists themselves turned to multiple images rather than single photographs to communicate more complex stories. Robert Smithson was a pioneer with his 1969 slideshow work Hotel Palenque, and Nan Goldin's controversial photographs of New York's Bowery subculture was presented similarly in The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. BEEP! Today, thanks to digital cameras and Web 2.0, the slideshow is back with a vengeance. From home design blogs featuring slideshow house tours to last night's party pics on Facebook, it seems everyone needs to showcase their lives online. The need to connect with others through photos hasn't changed, but the immediacy certainly has. Those photos you took of the Golden Gate Bridge with your camera phone this morning? They can be uploaded and shared instantly by pressing just few buttons. While we're all about the latest gadgets, we still like to inject some old-school flavor: Why not invite your friends over, load up on chips and dip, and keep the good old fashioned slideshow alive? Huddle around the laptop and relive your journey all over again. Minus the beep, of course.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/10/icon-the-slideshow.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/10/icon-the-slideshow.html The Written Word CITY Icon Travel Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:03:07 -0500 Part of your business is making custom crests. What is your process? Meyers: Well, I ask the person to make a list of 10 things they would want to see in their family crest, in order of importance. Then I'll put those things together in a way that looks fun. I just fi nished one that's a bike chain that goes up to form the Eiffel Tower. [The client's] family owns a company that makes bike chains, and she loves France and lions. So there are lions, too. Their tails form a cursive monogram. You recently designed a series of plates for Urban Outfitters. How did you select subject matter? Meyers: Basically, we could do anything we wanted. We had a conversation about the old Wella Girl advertisements, fairy tales by Arthur Rackham, [designer] Milton Glaser, and [the novel] The Golden Compass. There were no parameters--just whatever we were thinking at the time. What are your sources of inspiration? What do you always go back to? Meyers: Really good art and design--not what's trendy or what goes in and out of style right now. There are a few design books we go to for information. We don't have anything newer than 1975, like the Terence Conran house book [The Ultimate House Book] and other odd interior books. Also, Barbara Plumb. She used to write for The New York Times Magazine. She put out three books that are all about the coolest late '60s and early '70s design from Europe. Wary: There are two aesthetics at that time to which I fi nd myself always referencing in something or another. The first is the influence of the Space Age on the designers of the time, notably Pierre Cardin, André Courrèges, and the Italians of the "new domestic landscape" like Mario Bellini, the Vignellis, and Kartell. The other style I love is the hippie handmade aesthetic. It's quite different from the last one, but sometimes the combination of high and low is pretty pleasing. If you had an event to design, what or where would it be? Meyers: I'm thinking about the restaurant El Bulli. I was blown away by this book [of theirs], and I imagine you could be so creative designing an event around them. Everyone gets their own waiter there, and they use a lot of foam [in their cooking]. Wary: It would be so fun to cover the exterior in foam, like an El Bulli dish, and have bellinis served in hibiscus fl owers and phosphorescent truffl e pigs roaming around outside, making the restaurant look like it's inside a frothy aurora borealis. Mayers: You'd need to rename the bellinis Fellinis.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/09/twos-company.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/09/twos-company.html The Written Word BizBash Design Q&A Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:13:58 -0500 What do Al Capone, Michael Jackson, William S. Burroughs, and Freddy Kruger have in common? Okay, we'll throw in Tom's Wolfe, Landry, and Waits, too. Oh, and then there's Justin Timberlake. Got it now? Dignified and functional, sleek and debonair, the fedora has been a contenda from the gangster days through film noir right up to this year's Ralph Lauren women's wear collection. Did we mention Run DMC? Walk this way! The fedora first popped up back in an 1882 play by Victorien Sardou, when a heroine named Princess Fedora Romazova first donned the "fedora"-style hat. Typically made of felt, straw, or twill with a pliable rim and lengthwise crease that is pinched on both sides, this distinctive looking topper became an essential part of both formal and business attire in the earlier part of the 20th century. In Britain, the fedora has a shorter brim and is called the trilby. Flatten it out and you have a porkpie. Worn primarily in metropolitan settings to protect against the elements, it was compact enough to fit easily within the confines of expanding technologies such as the automobile. The fedora went on to gain notoriety of a different sort during the Prohibition era when it became the signature style of the mafia. It would also become the fashion of a mobster's foe, the trench coat donning detective. Thank Hollywood for keeping the hat in the pictures. Humphrey Bogart never went anywhere without one, and Indiana Jones would risk (or at least his outstretched arm) to save his. Rocky Balboa's fedora off-set his ubiquitous leather jacket suddenly turning him into a tough guy with something interesting simmering beneath the surface. So grasp yours properly by its crown, and remember to remove it when in an elevator. Here's looking at you, kid. http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/09/icon-the-fedora.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2007/09/icon-the-fedora.html The Written Word CITY Fashion Icon Sun, 09 Sep 2007 12:58:32 -0500 Visitations. Lacing speedy guitars with bursts of gentle melodica, these surgical-masked Liverpudlians continue to defy categorization. The Shins return from their runaway debut and stellar sophomoric effort with more balmy Beach Boys-esque stylings on their third album Wincing the Night Away. Pair that with the platinum-selling Modest Mouse, who fully intend to surpass their indie street-cred with the hotly anticipated We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Singer Isaac Brock's trademark verbal virtuosity and bouncing melodic anthems are enhanced this time around with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, who shares both guitar and co-writer duty. We're melting already.]]> http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/clinic-the-shins-modest-mouse.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/clinic-the-shins-modest-mouse.html The Written Word CITY Music Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:33:55 -0500 Cabins on roofs, paintings transformed into rugs, and furniture resembling a praying mantis. This is commonplace for Dan Friedlander's San Francisco-based store LIMN, the West Coast's biggest champion of contemporary design, furniture, and accessories. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, LIMN opens a 9,000-square-foot Seattle location this winter (629 Western Ave.). Not to miss: the revolutionary credenzas by Italian design company Ceccotti. http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/limn-seattle.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/limn-seattle.html The Written Word CITY Design Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:30:54 -0500 Paris' favorite couture confectioner, Christian Lacroix, is turning heads stateside with the debut of his first U.S. store at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace (3500 S. Las Vegas Blvd.). Melding crimson flecked minimalism with luxurious floridity, Lacroix teamed with the Kreo Gallery to create a bold space that echoes his label's dramatic style. A Murano glass and Swarovski crystal totem commands the entrance while a futuristic red couch snakes in and out of baroque consoles and off-balance vitrines. These are must-see clothes in a must-see environment in a city befitting their grandeur. http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/christian-lacroix-las-vegas.html http://www.anditeran.com/the-written-word/2006/12/christian-lacroix-las-vegas.html The Written Word CITY Fashion Sat, 09 Dec 2006 13:23:59 -0500