We've enjoyed seeing the new offerings being rolled out for the hospitality design industry at HD Expo, our time spent with Larry Lazin, founder and CEO of Global Lighting, Sandtro Tothill and Marivi Calvo of LZF Lamps, Harriet Ibarretxe of Grupo B.Lux, and all of the talent that surrounds the three brands has been inspiring.

As I roamed the floor armed with my iPad, I found myself being drawn into abstractions of material, color and texture, and I thought it would be fun to share the results on a Pinterest board. Letting the Lone Ranger serve as our lead-in, off we go!

"We Will Defend Your Right To Low Quality Processed Foods" from the We Are Modern Series (w/ detail); Acrylic & Silk Screen on Wood (Unique); 72" x 30"; ©2000-2011 Napkin Art Studos / Jonathon Kimbrell. All Rights Reserved.

We'll be at WantedDesign with Global Lighting and LZF tomorrow evening. Look to the Global Lighting blog today for news of Secto Design, a new collection also debuting at the fair; and tomorrow for news of a two-fixture give-away. We're heading back east in a few hours, and ever bucking the trends, what has happened in Vegas won't stay in Vegas: we are social media blabber-mouths after all!

"You lookin at me?"

We're on the ground at last (irrigated and illuminated like there's no tomorrow), having flown in on Delta from JFK last night for HD Expo 2012; we're here with Global Lighting, LZF Lamps, and Grupo B.Lux, showing off their latest in refined lighting designs for the hospitality sector. We thought we'd share a few photos from our latest adventure - all #iphoneography of course (we must have our personal challenges). See you soon with the next chapter!

The view from the cabin...

Checked into the Palazzo at sundown in the desert

An hour later (go away Donald. Please!)

The LakeSide Lobby at the Wynn, dinner time!

Dining al fresco with Global Lighting and Y Lighting, ambience included

It's Vegas! Crazy waterside light show during dinner

The palazzo from our table. Impressive, no?

This being an opportunistic, devil-may-care, winner-take-all multi-media blog, we like to mix it up just when you most expect it. So, on a lighter note and with any further ado, we introduce Pikkel (occasionally, Pikkelz - that happens when the morning is blurry; uh, apparently the selected days qualify). Jeepers.

This cartoon is one of the therapeutic actions Rich takes when he's suffered a social media overdose (sadly, he has a weakened [weekend?] immune system). It's been said by some that it seems overtly autobiographical; he denies this categorically and asks, rhetorically, 'What does German ancestry, middle-aged ruminations, an odd sense of humor, a non-discerning palate, and a preoccupation with connecting random discoveries have to do with pickles?" Answer that, Monkey Boy. 

For the record, all of the above "artwork" is © adroyt. God, I love little letters in circles!! they're so... so... smooth... Yeah, that's it. I wish I could get a whole flippin box of them.

Robert Brown (left) and Todd Davis; photo credit Gary James

Early clients of the design firm Brown Davis Interiors might be surprised to see what the duo is up to these days. Originally Washington, DC-based, the pair has opened a Miami Beach office, a move that has brought their style an entirely new flavor. The Corcoran Gallery and The Washington Design Center is hosting an event tonight exploring the trajectory of Robert Brown’s and Todd Davis’ career that has seen them design residences for former President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the British Embassy in D.C., and the home used in the original Miami Vice television series in Miami Beach.

The Britsh Embassy Residence in Washington, D.C.

Sumptious style in the drawing room at the British Embassy

I asked the designers for a hint of what’s in store for attendees and here’s a peek:

“The movement we’ve had from traditional D.C. interiors to the lush, contemporary styles we’re designing in Miami Beach is really the artist’s drive to be ever moving forward—for instance, we were very comfortable in D.C. but we were lured by Miami’s unrestrained atmosphere, which allowed us to stretch and grow.

Quintessential indulgence: the Miami Vice house

“It is far from subtle when you think about it: we’ve gone from oriental rugs in D.C. to vintage rugs in Miami, then back to an intermingling of both styles with custom rugs we design and have made in the far east. That said, the classic fundamentals of scale, proportion, function and beauty still prevail whether designing for a D.C. embassy or a sexy lounge in Miami Beach.”

Villa Nirvana on Biscayne Bay by Brown Davis

The event kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. Be there or be square if you’re in D.C. tonight! You can see Brown Davis Interiors online on their site, their blog and on Facebook. Follow them on Twitter @brown_davis. 

 

Amanda Nisbet; the designer's got style!

This evening, Housing Works’ “Design on a Dime” event kicks off at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. Fifty of the world’s top interior designers have created room vignettes with new, donated merchandise, which will be sold for up to 50 to 70 percent off. The proceeds from "Design on a Dime" (#DOAD on Twitter) help Housing Works "Get a Room" for homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. The organization's latest housing development, The Jefferson Avenue Residence, consists of 12 units of supportive housing and will open in summer 2012. The project will involve the substantial renovation of a three-story brick building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, so the monies are for an excellent cause. 

A taste of Nisbet's design sensibilities.

One of the participants, Amanda Nisbet, happens to be one of our favorite designers whose career we’ve followed with admiration. We first interviewed the sophisticate for HOME magazine in 2004, a fun story to write as the article featured Nisbet’s design of long-time pal comedienne Caroline Rhea’s Los Angeles home. Having tea at Sarabeth’s with the two of them during an in-person interview was like having a front row at one of the city’s best comedy clubs!

Francesca, one of Nisbet's fabric designs in her AND collection.

Nisbet’s grasp of luxurious classicism combined with an eye for colors that pop won us over so we thought we’d see if these talents figure in her #DOAD space. We’ll put photos on our Facebook page and google+ page in the next few days so you can see how her ideas came to life. We asked her if there was one piece that set the theme for her design. “We had a great looking desk in our repertoire and I felt it was time to use it,” she explains. “The color made it perfect—it’s pea green—and I decided to combine it with one of my new linen fabric patterns, Francesca, which is my version of an Ikat. I decided to line the walls with a new colorway in my textile collection, which I call neo-camo because it’s reminiscent of camouflage with a hint of neon.” 

Nisbet's Alannah fabric, available on Dering Hall.

There will be real neon in the space as well, and Barbie will have a place amongst the finely crafted elements. We’ll leave those particulars for later—after all if we give everything away, there won’t be any surprises for our pages! We asked Nisbet if she felt good about contributing to a project with philanthropy at its core. “Absolutely: in this world, especially in New York, there are so many people who can write large checks without even thinking about it,” she answers. “Sometimes I feel like the amount I can give doesn’t make such a difference but I feel this type of project does. I’m using my talents, and donating time, energy and products to help make the world a better place for some people who can truly use a break.” 

For those of you who would like to attend the opening night reception tonight—Amanda will be there—click here for ticket information. The founding chair of this year’s “Design on a Dime,” is interior designer James Huniford. Co-chairs include Evette Rios, a craft, design and entertainment expert; Lara Spencer, “Good Morning America” co-anchor and author of “I Brake for Yard Sales”; and acclaimed designer and author Charlotte Moss. If you make it by the event, make sure and tell Amanda you heard about it here! Her new fabric and wallcoverings collections are available on Dering Hall, and she has a book coming out in September titled Dazzling Design—and we’re betting it will dazzle. 

Stewart, Tabori & Chang will publish Nisbet's book in September, 2012.

For a sneak peek at the products another talented designer, Tyler Wisler, will have in his space, stop by our client’s blog, Global Lighting Blog. Follow news of the event on Facebook and Twitter, and follow #DOAD on Twitter for breaking news.

Marilyn Monroe, by Warhol, snagged more than 15 minutes of fame.

Including video in your social media platform is one way to enhance your platform and your SEO. Because bounce rates and time spent on your site are weighing factors when your blog is being ranked, the longer you keep someone on a post or a page, the better you will fare. It was in 2007 when sites like ComputerWorld and InformationWeek began publicizing that online video popularity was escalating, with video sites doubling in popularity according to the latter.

In January 2010, the Nielsen Company reported that online video usage was up 13% in their year-by-year statistics; and by January of 2011, a significant increase of 45% was reported by NielsenWire. A company's clips should set an appropriate tone for their social media platforms, of course. Sadly not everyone has as interesting a philosophical slant as Tony Hsieh, who put Zappos on the map and is featured in this Nightline interview, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find creative elements of your brand to feature in dynamic motion. The extra seconds spent on your platform just might be worth the nerves and the makeup!

Celebrities have an immediate advantage with their cache of video clips, which can be used to further their fame. Maybe that’s not always a good thing: videos posted online will live on whether the clips flatter, fluster or downright frighten the interviewee. We might have said the latter about this Patti Smith clip but we are guessing the spontenaiety with which she approaches life shows her that quirkiness can be appealing!

As a company investing great amounts of time and resources creating and maintaining digital platforms for design and architecture clients, we at adroyt hold a handful of visionaries in high esteem. Michael Bruno, who launched 1stdibs in 2001, falls solidly within this category. He was early in the digital design game, and he was intelligent in building his presence on the World Wide Web. All things virtual have certainly changed since he founded the site and he’s kept apace, embracing new dynamics as they have emerged. 

Michael Bruno

This is why we weren’t surprised when Bruno was tapped to receive Soane Foundation Honours at the organization’s Innovators Gala on April 24. The award is being given in recognition of Bruno’s achievements in transforming the way antiques and collectibles are sourced and sold internationally. 

From the Sir John Soane Museum: Bank of England

“I am delighted to receive such an important award,” Bruno remarks. “The Sir John Soane’s Museum is like no other. I remember visiting just last year and the experience still resonates with me. It’s rare to find a hidden gem like this where the spirit of the owner still lives. Everyone should experience the thrill of being in these rooms and communing with the genius that created such a wondrous space. I feel very honored.”

An evocative detail at the Museum

The genius Bruno mentions is Sir John Soane, R.A., an English architect who bequeathed his home and the extraordinary collections within it to the U.K. to become the museum housing the Foundation. Other honorees this year include Elizabeth Diller, Richard Scofidio and Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the firm responsible for the design of one of our favorite outdoor experiences—the High Line on the west side of Manhattan. We congratulate them and Michael Bruno for the recognition they’re receiving next week!

We have disappointing news for those of you who are combing the halls of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan today. The long-awaited guidebook Secret Milan is not being released until next month. We have had the pleasure of using other JonGlez Publishing guides when traveling—Secret Venice shed light on aspects of the drenched city we would never have noticed, like the tidbit below this image of columns flanking the Pescheria Nuova. 

Secret Venice includes an entry about the capitals on the columns in Pescheria Nuova, the Rialto fish market. Lovers of Neo-Gothic architecture should always remember to look up in this watery town!

Here’s the publisher’s copy they've released to tantalize travelers looking to discover the lesser-known aspects of Milan: “Discover a canal lock designed by Leonardo da Vinci as well as the secrets of his Last Supper, find out where Mussolini’s hidden bunker lies, marry beneath frescoes by Tiepolo, visit artists’ houses usually closed to the public, see exceptional private collections, admire the sculpture of a young girl shaving her pudenda, look for the boxers carved on the roof terraces of the cathedral...

Cover image of Secret Milan

“Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Milan goes unrecognized as one of the Italian cities with the greatest cultural heritage. Yet it only reveals its hidden treasures to residents and visitors who venture off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Milan well or for those wishing to discover another facet of the city.”

JonGlez (find them here on Facebook) is also releasing Secret New York: An Unusual Guide and Secret London: Unusual Bars & Restaurants, a follow-up to their Secret London: An Unusual Guide in May. Something to anticipate, intrepid travelers! 

We'll be featuring new products we see as worthy of attention here on adroyt from time to time through our Productrazzi lens. If you'd like to be one of our merry band of eager design-spotters, snap a photo of something cool you come across, get the info and we'll feature it on one of our blogs if it turns us on! Off we go chasing after design delights!

The 4801 then.

We know what you’re thinking: this groovy chair must have sprung from the imagination of the likes of Marcel Wanders or Ron Arad—designers creating some of today’s boldest products. Did we guess your viewpoint correctly? Well, we don’t fault you for your error since the 4801 Armchair certainly seems as contemporary as products come. But its vintage birth would tell you differently; yes, we said vintage! Joe Colombo designed the curvy beauty in 1965 and we salute Kartell for re-releasing it 46 years after its original debut.

The 4801 now.

During the nearly five decades it has existed, the 4801 has made its way into the collections of a renowned list of museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It is the only armchair to have been made entirely of wood ever produced by Kartell, and though it doesn’t seem that long ago, the limited technologies at the time required the company to create molds to form the chair from three layers of pressed plywood in three sections—the seat, the back and the load-bearing frame. Back in the day, the chair was coated with polyester paints and fitted together without any metal parts or glue. Very clever for its time, my dear Watson!

Joe Colombo.

The colors listed in the catalogs from the 1960s were white, orange, green and black. There was also a version with a white or black cushion covered in white, beaver, green and black PVC fabric. The manufacturer is now able to make the chair from plastic (PMMA), reproducing the curving sinuous lines of the piece in the original proportions. A numbered series of Colombo's 2011 version of the armchair is now available in crystal, white and black. Let’s hear it for the Milanese designer, who died in 1971! Given the array of avant-garde products he designed while alive, we’re betting the encores will keep on coming! 

A true original!

Follow Kartell on Twitter or Like the Kartell Facebook page to keep up with other product launches and news! Marcel Wanders is on Facebook and on Twitter; find Ron Arad on Facebook and his new line of eyewear on Twitter as well. MoMA is on Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare; V&A is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; and Centre Pompidou is on Facebook, Twitter and DailyMotion.

Cleto Munari with Carlo Scarpa and Ettore Sottsass.

It’s remarkable to think that Cleto Munari has seen as much design history as he has. We say this because his vibrant sensibilities and lively curiosity make the fact that he is 84 years old a surprising one. He’s pictured here, as a young man, with Carlo Scarpa and Ettore Sottsass. If you know anything about design, you recognize those names as iconic; ironically, you may be less likely to know Munari’s name because he has always been the force behind making sure that cutting-edge designs find their way into the marketplace rather than the face associated with the products. This doesn’t mean he’s not a dreamer and a designer, though as he so pointedly told JoAnn Locktov—founder of Bella Figura Communications and a leading light in the social media and public relations arenas—he calls himself neither. 

Alessandro Mendini designed many pieces for Munari; this one will be included in the auction.

“Many years ago when I met Cleto for the first time, I tried to figure out what he was exactly. A designer? A producer? An impresario? A dreamer? An inventor?” Locktov explains. “I finally just asked him, ‘Cleto, what are you?’ He answered me quickly, not hesitating for a second: ‘I am a poet.’ He may express his ideas with color and shape and material instead of words, but I do believe my friend has the soul of a poet.”

This piece by Carlo Scarpa will be included in the auction at Pierre Bergé in Brussels on April 24.

Her meeting him is a story in itself: “In 2006, I was celebrating my birthday in Venice with eight American friends and eight Italian friends (it was a big birthday!) and my friend Eric Engstrom discovered that Cleto had worked with Carlo Scarpa. Being a Scarpa fanatic, Eric found the address of Cleto’s studio in Vicenza and all of us Americans went to visit! Can you imagine? Eight Americans up three flights of stairs, knocking on the door of this enchanting studio and being greeted by Cleto amidst the most stunningly designed glass, silver and furniture you could imagine! It was like a museum exhibit that started with the most beautiful Italian design of the seventies (with Scarpa and Sottsass), and continued through Botta, Mendini, Graves, Meier, Hollein, Ho, Malevic, Portoghesi, Palterer, Vieira, Ito, Tusquets and, of course, Cleto’s own magnificent designs. It was like strolling along the architecture walk of fame!”

Ettore Sottsass was known for his whimsical sensibilities, which Munari fostered brilliantly.

Imagine JoAnn’s surprise when she learned last week that Cleto would be putting his personal collection up for auction on April 24 at Pierre Bergé in Brussels. “Work by Scarpa, Sottsass, Palladino, Mendini, and many other architects and artists will be auctioned off,” she remarks. “The Warhol portrait of Scarpa was a revelation to me: I didn’t know it existed! Apparently after Scarpa died, Cleto asked Warhol to paint the portrait in homage to his dear friend. Warhol agreed, using a photo of the lauded architect. I can't even imagine how many other stories there are, and the fact that Cleto is starting anew at 84 is a clear sign there is no stopping this man!”

Andy Warhol's portrait of Carlo Scarpa, 1981.

For a peek into the literary tastes of the design connoisseur, read his booklist and the interview conducted by Steve Kroeter on his site Designers & Books. If you haven’t visited Designers & Books before—or even if you have—you might want to take some time on the site. It’s a varied survey of what’s on designers’ and architects’ bookshelves. There are offerings aplenty, as Cleto Munari’s picks represent the 99th list posted on the site. Congratulations to Kroeter and managing editor Stephanie Salomon for a job well done when it comes to tapping fascinating creatives to share their insights. We at adroyt have had the pleasure of meeting both of them and hearing about the passion with which they approach their site. Time to curl up and read for a while!

If you are fortunate enough to make it to the auction, we’d love to hear about it firsthand. We’ll be stuck here in social media land: *sigh*! Of course, you don't have to be in Belgium to acquire these iconic objects d'art, simply bid online!

For a wider variety of images, visit The Curated Object, one of our favorite sites for news about the curated world!