I love these fabulous and interesting ceramic vases, especially grouped together!

An innovative exhibit from DIFFA’s Dining By Design, which was exhibited at the show’s end

A wonderful source for orchids…that’s all they do…from Orchids by Karen!

Two fabulous light fixtures from one of our very favorite vendors, Tanmatra!

These sculptural walnut chairs from Wren & Cooper are beautiful.  I love the “laced up” feeling of the chair!

Innovation from a new company…Mudwall!  Mud room on the wall designs that are both stylish and functional!  They come in many variations and can even be customized.  Perfect for any Manhattan apartment!

]]> http://www.robinbarondesign.com/2010/03/2321/feed/ 1 http://www.robinbarondesign.com/2010/03/alpha-gets-an-a/ http://www.robinbarondesign.com/2010/03/alpha-gets-an-a/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:00:33 +0000 robin http://www.robinbarondesign.com/?p=2263 My staff and I went to a special Alpha Workshops presentation showcasing their new products and finishes for 2010.  Wow!  What a fantastic company!  Not only do they create incredibly beautiful hand-painted wallpapers…they also do decorative painting on walls, custom carvings, and now have a collection of lighting and furniture finishes.

To top it off, while my clients and I benefit from their talented painters and their finishes, Alpha Workshops benefits local artisans living with HIV/AIDs.  What a wonderful way for everyone to be giving back to each other!

Here are some of their special Japanese metallic paint colors

This finish, Negoro Nuri, a Japanese technique that uses multiple layers of different color paint, is one of Alpha Workshop’s specialties

Known for their custom hand-painted wallpaper, here is a selection from their latest collection

A wonderfully different faceted, metallic floor lamp…this unique finish is gold blending into silver

The fun for me is never knowing what I’ll be inspired by.  This time, I left with a great mix of papers, tapes, ribbons, and flowers that I’ll use to decorate my Thanksgiving tables and make some fabulous place cards for my 29 guests.  I know…29!

I have a lot of work to do, but it’s going to be fun!!!  Spending the holidays with family and friends is what it’s all about.  Do you do anything special or homemade for the holidays?

Shino-tsukuri, or “driving rain”, is grown in thirteen pots arranged in two rows with exactly 27 branches in each pot.  The three varieties of petals, each growing in a different direction, give a sense of falling rain.

Ozukuri, or “thousand bloom”, appears to be several plants when, in reality, all the blooms come from one single stem.  With over 200 blooms in each pot, each shoot is trained to grow completely straight.  It’s truly an art!

Ogiku, or “single-stem”, grow up to six feet tall with one, large bloom on the very top.  They are typically displayed in lavender, yellow, and white…colors that symbolize royalty in the Japanese court. [Not pictured]

Kengai, or “overhanging cliff”, features hundreds of tiny chrysanthemums designed to evoke the look of flowers growing on the side of a cliff/mountain.

Our visit was a lovely respite from city living.  It regenerated our spirits and our souls.  If you live in the NY area, take a trip up to these gorgeous gardens.  It’s inspirational.

Here’s a fantastic alternative to paint…Tempaper, an adhesive-backed, temporary wallpaper!  For renters, or commitment phobes, these rolls of wallpaper are as easy to apply as they are to take off.  No glues, no residue…no major commitment.  Affordably priced, they even come in fabulous patterns and colors!

And like all wallpapers, it’s not just for walls…you can line a shelf or kitchen cabinets, dress up the inside of a closet, frame as artwork, or cover your ceiling (I dare you!).

Budapest, the last and final stop of our Eastern European trip, was my favorite!  It was urban, while still maintaining a sense of Old World European elegance and beauty.  The Danube River—the views, the architecture—was all visually beautiful and romantic.  Even the manhole covers were well-designed!

This being our third city, we decided to take it easy and take a leisurely cruise on the Danube.  This day tour and afternoon boat ride led us to Margaret Island where we took a horse-drawn carriage ride while enjoying the culture and scenery.

We visited the Ludwig Muzeum to see the Robert Capa’s exhibit.  He was the preeminent photojournalist of the twentieth century.  When important things were happening through both world wars, he was there.

We thought we’d relax the day before we left and visit the Gellert Baths.  The building is beautiful and the mineral baths world famous, but being a Canyon Ranch girl, it wasn’t my favorite experience.  What I did love were the Thai massage studios all around town which my husband and I took advantage of several times.

The food in Budapest was delicious.  One of our favorites was one that a friend recommended, Café Kor.  If you’re planning a trip to Eastern Europe, plan on making a stop to Budapest—it will not disappoint!

In the charming Old Town Square, we found magnificent buildings and the Prague Orloj, better known as the Prague Astromonical Clock.  It was stunning and dates all the way back to 1410.  It’s been rumored that the government purposely gouged out the original clockmaker’s eyes in order to prevent him from making a similar clock for any other country!  That’s how much they treasured this clock…and still do.

At first glance, I thought the Prague Castle could’ve been the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle!  There are no words to describe how remarkable this structure is in person.  From a design standpoint, the castle buildings represent almost every architectural style of the last millennium—truly a time capsule in and of itself.

We ate dinner overlooking the Charles Bridge in a restaurant that, like many of the restaurants in Prague and Budapest, was surprisingly sophisticated.  They were elegant, contemporary, and beautifully designed.  Shopping abounds in Prague, usually one of my favorite pastimes, but in this case was a bit too touristy.  I did, however, make time to shop for some beautiful, blood red Czech garnets!

To cap off our experience in this interesting city, we managed to get tickets to the sold out Leonard Cohen concert.  Funny, we traveled all the way to Eastern Europe to see him!  He is a wonderful entertainer with fabulous musicians…we had a great time.

Join me later in the week for my report on Budapest!

Bauhaus was all about bringing art to the masses by finding utility in architecture and craft.  It was about breaking down a piece to its essential components, finding what elements were necessary for function.  One school of thought stressed mass production of these “simplified” home furnishings, making them available to all people, not just the elite.  Even in the early part of the 20th century, they recognized that everyone should have a beautiful home!

On our hunt for the smaller, more contemporary art exhibits, we went to the Hamburger Bahnhof, a “museum of the present day”.  It is housed in an old train station like the d’Orsay in Paris, but not anywhere near as grand!  It shows modern paintings, installations and multi-media art from artists like Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Anselm Kiefer and Joseph Beuys.  I have no photos, alas!

These two exhibits are, in many ways, in stark contrast to each other–the Bauhaus and the Hamburger Banhof.  In my opinion, they illustrate the juxtaposition that is so much of Berlin.  Bauhaus found utility in art and strived to make art a part of everyday life through industry, while pop art deconstructed objects and images to create art.  Despite the differences, art is one of the greatest experiences in life and Berlin did not disappoint!

To expand our experience in the arts even further, we chose a classical Baroque concert at the Great Orangery of Charlottenburg Palace.  It was beautifully performed by candlelight to fully capture the effect…and even the musicians were in full costume!

We were transported to the courtly days of the Prussian kings, with every detail of the performance taken from the Baroque period, even down to the smallest movements of the singers and musicians.  We listened to works by Mozart, Handel, Bach and even Luigi Boccherini.  It was a fabulous experience to round out our Berlin visit!

Next stop, Prague!  I’ll check in soon with more updates and photos.  Have a fantastic weekend!

Like true die-hards, we hit two fleas back-to-back on Sunday, both unique in their own ways.  Straße des 17 Juni, an established “higher-end” flea was chock full of antique home furnishings, vintage clothing and even handmade crafts, while the second, Flohmarkt Mauerpark, was definitely younger, more hip and a bit cooler.

On our down time, we ate!  In true “foodie” fashion, we tried as many wonderful restaurants as we could in Berlin. The most recommended by our friends, Restaurant Maxwell, was set in a beautiful courtyard and was surrounded by a gorgeous art gallery.  Definitely, very cool!  What else happened in our foodie adventures?  Beer and…chocolate, of course!

I always find that the best parts of traveling are the ones that are completely unplanned. We were walking along, minding our own business, when we found this hot air balloon ride!  How could we resist an aerial view of Berlin!?  Though I am so terrified of heights, we jumped on, and had an unforgettable time!  I even managed to take out my camera for pictures!

More on Berlin tomorrow, and for a full view to the first part of our trip, visit my Flickr page!