R. P. Miller…New Japanese Inspired Fabrics From Rodman Primack Debut at Hollywood at Home

Los Angelinos, take note. Peter Dunham’s Hollywood at Home, his one stop shop for some of the hottest hand-printed textile lines around (Carolina Irving, Lisa Fine, John Robshaw, Martyn Lawrence-Bullard and his own), custom furniture and vintage finds has opened a second branch, also on La Cienega Boulevard.

Of even bigger news in my book, Hollywood at Home will be carrying Rodman Primack’s new line of Japanese inspired fabrics, hand-printed on Belgian linen, simply called R.P. Miller. Since childhood, Primack has been influenced by his grandparents extensive collection of Japanese art and antiques gathered on their travels. Based on 18th and 19th century ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), his new textiles are modern interpretations of traditional patterns. “In the fabrics various themes and details have been abstracted to create something new that is meant to evoke, not literally replicate.” I am still waiting on some live samples, but the showroom did send me some close-up photos.

You can see the four main patterns in the indigo blue colorway stacked up here. The one I find particularly interesting is the second one down, hard to see in just this small bit. It is an expanded and simplified rendering of the angled and foreshortened perspective seen in the depiction of wooden fences, bridges and walkways in woodblock prints and folding screens (byobu).

Here you can see it much better on the sofa in this photo from the showroom via Stylebeat. A pattern like this works best for a large-scale project with a horizontal view like this.

Here ia a 17th century masterpiece by Ogata Korin in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum that has just the kind of bridge and perspective I was referring to.

And again, in a woodblock print by Kitao Shigemasa, you can even see the grain of the wood on the floorboards. For more on Japanese perspective and its influence on Western art, see here and here (and make sure to compare this print to Whistler’s Caprice in Purple and Gold shown there).

It would have been a perfect lead-in for the next fabric if the motif on the doorway in the print above had been asanoha (hemp) instead of sayagata (key fret), as the classic hemp pattern is the boldest of the graphic prints in the line. It comes in numerous colors including the red, grey, green and indigo shown here. The truth is, the hemp motif needs its own post one of these days!

The sweetest pattern is this petals in the river motif, shown in red below and blue up at the top.

I was trying to find a yukata (cotton kimono) photo in my files with a similar pattern, as I know I have seen them, but the best I could come up with was this grass pattern. But it could easily be part of his collection, don’t you think? You can see why I am always wishing the fabrics of traditional Japanese dress were upholstery weight!

There is also a cute pattern of tiny stars and perhaps some others, I am not sure. More when I get my samples!

Image Credits: 1, 5-6. courtesy of Hollywood at Home, 2. via Stylebeat, 3. via The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 4. via The Library of Congress, 7. me.

Apr 21, 2011 By tokyojinja in Interior Design, Textiles 6 Comments Tags: Hollywood at Home, Japanese design, japanese prints, Ogata Korin, Peter Dunham, R.P. Miller, Rodman Primack

What’s Cooking? Red Lacquer Jewel Box Kitchens

Since today is both Chinese New Year and Japanese Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival), I feel like a dose of red is in order. Coupled with requests for more Asian inspired kitchens, I have two sleek modern kitchens to show – both hinging on the color red – and both quite different from the rustic mizuya tansu (kitchen chests) I have shown in the past.

Designed by the architect Winthrop Faulkner for playwright Barbara McConagha, this first kitchen has many literal Japanese references and details. Inspired by Japanese jewelry cases, the red cabinets were custom-built and lacquered and traditional pull handles, like those found on tansu chests, were ordered from Japan. Upper storage is hidden behind shoji screens which can be lit from behind. Maple cabinetry and small shadow boxes are highlighted by painting their interiors black and filling them with ceramics. A witty touch is the classic farmhouse table – in this case painted black and sealed to look like lacquer.

Storage for extra books was squeezed in below the ceiling and a library ladder, designed to taper like a pair of chopsticks, was built for access.

This second kitchen in a historic 1915 Chicago building was renovated by architect Lawrence Booth. It’s keystone is the bright red Aga stove, set for cooking worship in its own altar-like niche. The shiny finish looks almost like lacquer and its stalwart British shape could almost be a tansu base.

Again we see the contrast between the light maple cabinetry and the dark black honed granite with touches of stainless steel. There are also great details, like the flip down drawers hiding all the electrical outlets and disposal switches and the pot filling faucet at the stove.

The adjacent sitting area has cabinetry filled with Asian display items, including Chinese and Burmese lacquer pieces and a kimono box, an unusual glossy red ceramic garden stool and a richly colored Persian rug. And speaking of molded plywood the other day, how great is that Frank Gehry Ribbon chair? The contrast of textures, finishes and periods makes this space sing.

Definitely two kitchens that would keep any evil spirits at bay…

Image credits: 1 & 2. House & Garden, February 1998, 3-6. House & Garden, date unknown.

Feb 3, 2011 By tokyojinja in Color, Interior Design, Kitchens 9 Comments Tags: Japanese design, kitchens, lacquer

Butterflies in Japan and New York…Sori Yanagi’s 1954 Classic Plywood Stool at MOMA

Opening tomorrow at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the exhibition Plywood: Material, Process, Form showcases “modern designs that take advantage of the formal and aesthetic possibilities offered by plywood, from around 1930 through the 1950s.” Long queued up in my files, this gives me the perfect excuse to showcase one of my favorite design items of the 1950s, Sori Yanagi’s brilliant Butterfly Stool. A piece coveted by collectors and displayed world-wide in museums, I have always had a soft spot for this modern Japanese classic.

A masterpiece of curved plywood wings, almost in flight, made by steaming and pressing layers of wood into a mold, the stool is an accent piece that works in almost any design or interior. We see ceramic garden stools constantly, in every issue of every magazine these days. The butterfly stool serves all the same functions and I am all for some more butterflies.

It is perfect as a seat or a place for a stack of books in modern rustic bedroom.

Kids can’t reach the milk? Want a stylish boost?

To those of you in Japan, doesn’t this feel familiar?

For many years, the stool, made by a Japanese manufacturer called Tendo, was only available in Japan and it is currently available in their on-line shop. But since the 1990s, Vitra, a Swiss company already making many Charles & Ray Eames and George Nelson pieces, has had a license to produce them as well. Currently available from Hive, Design Within Reach, and other retailers around the world, the stool continues to be offered in pressed maple or rosewood.

If you are loving the molded plywood vibe, check out Lonny Magazine’s Trend Alert! Cool, but none of these do it for me like the butterfly…

Image credits: 1. MOMA, 2 & 4. via designroof, 3. House & Garden, date unknown, 5. Lonny Magazine blog

Feb 1, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Furniture 1 Comment Tags: butterfly stool, Japanese design, MOMA, plywood, Sori Yanagi

Divide and Conquer…Thomas Hamel, Jalis and Shoji Screens

While great rooms with exposed kitchens have become the norm, and loft living has it advantages, I can still see the need to shut the cooking area off from the dining area sometimes. Designer Thomas Hamel has come up with one of the loveliest and most ingenious ways of doing this that I have seen in a while. Using lacy fretwork Indian style jalis – in this case laser cut stained oak panels – he has installed sliding doors that can be used to separate the two rooms, while allowing light and air to flow between them. Jalis are common in both Indian and Islamic architecture, and Hamel’s project has influences from all over the globe – he calls his style “international eclecticism”.

This design is very reminiscent of Japanese architecture too – reminding me of the shoji screens used as room dividers in traditional Japanese houses. As space is at such a premium here, most rooms have multifunctional purposes, and space is highly configurable. Shoji screens are covered with rice paper, which also lets light and sound flow through. One of the “go to” books on everyone’s’ coffee tables here is Japan Style: Architecture Interiors Design by Geeta Mehta and Kimie Tada, with great photos by Noburo Murata. I highly recommend it!