Editor’s Miscellany: New England in New York

By Kyle Hoepner

Hopping the Acela to New York City recently for the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, I expected to see lots of exhibitors who needed only to make a quick jaunt to Pier 94 from downtown Manhattan or Brooklyn. And they were certainly there in force. Wandering the show’s design-packed aisles, though, I was happily surprised by the number of booths whose occupants hailed from my home turf. Literally dozens of New England–based artists, artisans, designers and producers of home goods were in evidence, proving that proximity to Williamsburg isn’t the only gauge of aesthetic interest. A few notable encounters? Read on…

Audrey Sterk
This Nantucket-based decorative painter also produces collections of wall coverings, floor cloths, trays and tables based on her mural designs.

Coastal Grasses floor cloth; photo courtesy of Audrey Sterk

Koo de Monde
John Altobello of Boston-based Koo de Monde had a large booth featuring many of the designers and artists represented in his international online collection

A coffee table by JG Custom Design; photo courtesy of Koo de Monde

Dominic Fusco Studios
Connecticut Venetian-plaster artisan Dominic Fusco displayed some unique modular paneled wall finishes, alternating textured plaster with sleek aluminum channels.

Dominic Fusco’s booth at the 2012 Arch Digest show; photo courtesy of Dominic Fusco Studios

O&G Studio
I was happy, too, to see former RISD-ites Sara Ossana and Jonathan Glatt, who make a line of deliciously candy-colored, Windsor-inspired furniture at their Warren, Rhode Island, studio.

Atlantic low-back armchair; photo courtesy of O&G Studio

bius
Mary Little and Peter Wheeler create some of the coolest custom seating–extremely custom, given their intensively personal working method–you’ve ever seen.

Luna stool; photo courtesy of bius

dbO Home
Dana Brandwein Oates and husband Daniel Oates were also on hand, showing both custom-crafted wood furniture and Dana’s signature ceramics.

Chunky little bud vases with elegant floral motifs; photo courtesy of dbO Home

Fordham Architectural Products
A Connecticut company I had formerly known as Fordham Marble now also carries a really interesting recycled aluminum product called Alulife. Tough enough for use on floors, it can also add a contemporary sheen to walls and furniture.

Alulife recycled aluminum paving tiles; photo courtesy of Alulife

Studio Borealis
This partnership from Vermont was showing sculpted glass by Devin Burgess and ceramic pieces by Jerilyn Virden.

Devin Burgess: Black Wheel Cut Asymmetries, blown glass with wheel-cut surface. Photo courtesy of Studio Borealis

Jerilyn Virden: Aperture, handbuilt earthenware (2010). Photo courtesy of Studio Borealis

Rock River Studio
Christine Triebert of Rock River Studio was represented by a wonderful series of botanical photograms (camera-less pictures made by setting objects directly on photographic paper and then exposing it to light).

Photogram by Christine Triebert; image courtesy of Rock River Studio

Cabinetry and Millwork
I came across no less than three different New England companies that produce highly-crafted kitchens and other built-ins.

The Kennebec Company

Kochman, Reidt + Haigh Cabinetmakers

Crown Point Cabinetry

People
And, of course, no trip to New York would be complete without running into many friends and associates from out of town. In addition to tête-à-têtes expected in advance (photographer Eric Roth and interior designer Frank Roop, for example, were at the Koo de Monde booth for a signing of Frank’s book, The New Bespoke), there were many tap-tap-on-the-back encounters.

New England designers Yvonne Blacker, Roseanne Palazola and Katherine Hawkins

A final pleasure for the weekend: designer Dwayne Clark of RDYC Interior Design + Architectural Development invited me to sit at his gorgeous table for DIFFA’s Dining By Design benefit. Isn’t it great when business and pleasure coincide?

Hosts Bob Gaynor and Dwayne Clark of RDYC Interior Design + Architectural Development flank fellow table-guest, choreographer Jerry Mitchell