DC Design: The 2nd Annual Creative Black Tie

Hey, DC Designers! Don't forget to buy your tickets for next week's Creative Black Tie sponsored by the District Design Society. This year's soirée will be held at one of my favorite venues, Longview Gallery, with proceeds benefiting The Washington Architectural Foundation. Should be a fantastic event! The deets:

The District Design Society's 2nd Annual Creative Black Tie
Thursday, November 3, 2011 from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Longview Gallery, 1234 9th St NW (Metro Accessible)
Tickets: $40
Click for more info

Here are some pics from last year. So nice to see fellow designers looking snazzy!

Image credit: DDS

DC Design: DC Design*Sponge Soirée

On Saturday, I headed to Anthropologie Georgetown for one of two highly anticipated book signing events by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge. I wasn't sure what to expect. A 10am book signing and "party" seemed a little out of the ordinary, but the cheery spread and pleasant company made for a terrific morning!

While Grace Bonney was busy signing books (Bless her little heart! She must have been exhausted), we chatted over lemonade and morning pastries. It was great seeing some familiar faces and making new acquaintances.

I didn't have a chance to connect with Grace or hear her words of wisdom (bummer!), but the atypical format made for a fabulous networking event. Everyone I met had a true passion for design. I look forward to keeping in touch with my new pals!

 Images via me

DC Design: West Elm Georgetown

Dear Friends: I attended the opening of West Elm’s Pop-Up in Georgetown with every intention of taking beautiful photos to show the world. However, my camera had a different plan. So, I hope my words, along with a few smartphone pics, adequately capture Williams-Sonoma’s latest experiment.

The space is noticeably small – approximately one third the size of the Tysons Corner location – making each product all the more memorable. I was immediately struck by the sophistication of the company’s latest collection. Leather, tufting, sheen, and shine… There’s a product for every personality. However, West Elm made some deliberate choices based on geography like a healthy dose of bed and bath for nearby Georgetown University students as well as globally-inspired accessories for DC’s diverse community.

Despite the lack of square footage, the shop makes room for a few special touches. For example, the Design Lab allows customers to see and touch fabric options for upholstered furniture. There are also limited edition pieces like glass and plaster artwork from India. The space is perfectly styled – showcasing an array of products in beautiful vignettes throughout.

Why call it an experiment? This is not only West Elm’s first pop up shop but also its first venture in the District since closing the massive 10th and G location. With a trial period of just 6-8 months, West Elm is testing the waters in hopes that Georgetown may become a permanent home.

West Elm Georgetown
3333 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

Image credit: The Interior Design Resource Agency, Sukio

DC Design: Eames Demetrios

On Thursday, June 9th, I headed to our local Room and Board for an evening with Eames Demtrios, grandson of famed designers Charles and Ray Eames. The evening was billed as a special viewing of the Eames' short film Powers of Ten with accompanying lecture. However, Demetrios broke free from formalities to provide a glimpse into the genius of Charles and Ray through artifacts and anecdotes.

Room and Board transformed into the neighborhood lecture hall

I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, but especially eager to hear insights from design royalty. Though I know their furniture well, I never learned of the philosophy behind Charles' and Ray's design process. For example, Demetrios explained a sketch by Charles that illustrates their design sweet spot - where the collective interests of the Eames' office, the client, and society intersect.

Eames Demetrios explaining Charles' and Ray's design process (below)

The evening was chock full of similarly simple-but-powerful ideas that governed the Eames' approach. If I may paraphrase:

• The role of a designer is that of a host anticipating the needs of his/her guests. The Eames called this the guest-host relationship. Their goal was to create a repeatable guest-host experience with every product.
• Iterate, iterate, iterate. The Eames constantly evolved and improved upon their designs.
• Though we now categorize their work as mid-century modern, the Eames never professed a particular style. Rather, what others perceive as a style is "a series of problems solved."

This last point really captures the essence of the evening in my mind. During his talk, Demetrios repeatedly underscored Charles' and Ray's problem-solving tendencies, or should I say tenacity.  I now imagine them as busy bees working tirelessly until the perfect solution is revealed.

Post-lecture chat with Eames Demetrios

The recognition and understanding of the need was the primary condition of the creative act. When people feel they had to express themselves for originality for its own sake, that tends not to be creativity. Only when you get into the problem and the problem becomes clear, can creativity take over. - Charles Eames

Out and About: Show House Season

Ok. I feel the need to write one last, obligatory post about my recent trip to New York. On May 20th, I headed up I-95 with design pal V. Carr of the Interior Design Resource Agency for the opening weekend of the Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House and the closing weekend of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Yes, I’ve posted a few blurbs here and there, but I never detailed the experience. In short, it was a blast!

Imagine two sleep-deprived designers traipsing around NYC in the pouring rain all the while giddy from various forms of caffeine. Perhaps, more accurately, we were giddy from inspiration! The show houses, though very different, offered everything from the "that’s nice" to the "whoa!" to the "what the…???"

The Kips Bay show house was a four-story, mega home complete with elevator, terraces, and spiraling staircases. It had the feel of a museum – lots of people, velvet ropes, docents, a gift shop, and unfortunately, no cameras. Contrastingly, the Elle Decor show house, located in an undeveloped part of Chelsea, occupied two modest units of a newly constructed condo building. There, we were able to view rooms at our leisure. We even made friends with the show house’s security guard, Brandon, and had a dynamo convo with designer Beth Martin.

They allowed photography (we think), so, here are just a few pics from both of our cameras:

VIP Lounge 

Unit 10B

Unit 10C

Of course, I must mention a couple of celebrity sightings including Robert Verdi, who designed a space in last year’s Kips Bay show house, and some chick from Gossip Girl or The Hills or someplace (you’ll have to ask V.) During the trip, I also had my first iced cappuccino. The jury's still out on that one. Anywho...

..til soon, NYC!