whoops, forgot one

i unintentioanlly left out a wonderful designer by the name of john pomp. i had heard a podcast with him a while back on design*sponge and was delighted to see his work in person at the fair. i especially like the bullseye vases above. they look like a fried egg captured in the galss ;o) lovely, lovely, lovely.

nyigf, part 2

i had promised a pillow roundup, but it's a crazy day and there are SO many pillows, so you'll have to settle for glass today. it's not a discipline i've ever had too much interest in, but one day at the fair and i was hooked. these super talented designers blew me away with their work. and we just loved talking with them about their processes. it's truly remarkable design.

my favorite had to be the chalkboard vases from lbk studio. they unveiled a bunch of spring colors like pink, green and blue that are so fun. i don't have an image of those, so i've just posted the black chalkboard versions.

enjoy! and stay tuned all week. we still have pillows, bedding, and miscellaneous design treats to share. k&m

michael ruh:







esque studio:





furtherdesign:







lbk studio:

nyigf, part 1

we had a whirlwind 30 hours in nyc this weekend (thanks to bad weather and cancelled flights). but we managed to scope out hundreds of talented designers in a sea of, well, stuff. loved, loved, loved meeting some of the openhouse family: joanna from looolo, jenny from three sheets 2 the wind, shoshana from john robshaw, amy from perch!, the wonderful creator of our yummy kobo candles (pardon me for forgetting your name!), shelly from k studio and the oh so creative ladies of dermond peterson. so lovely to put a face with everything that fills our shop.

i'm going to let the images speak for themselves. today's installment will focus on ceramic and porcelain objects and tableware. some are old favorites and others new. we didn't take our own shots, so these are all from the catalogues and websites of the designers. sorry if the quality is a bit shoddy. enjoy!

sweet bella:

we're not sure exactly what this is all about, but we loved their booth. some sort of cooperative? an indie rep group? whatever is, these letters caught our eye. handmade in england, each one is created from casts of vintage originals. we also loved the porcelain fruits and stunning ceramic tiles. we might see these popping up at openhouse one day soon...









kleinreid:

a perennial favorite. i was just psyched to meet the design-duo and talk eva zeisel, as we have both worked with her in the past. they are just as charming as their designs. loved this collection especially...



cristina salusti:

cristina is full of personality and she really puts so much passion into her work. we were floored by her renascent object collection. she takes vitage glass and ceramic thrift store finds and brings them back to life with shimmery gold designs. each piece is unique and in person they are truly breathtaking.





höganäs keramik:

mary berin introduced us to this classic swedish design house. their philosophy is not unlike ours, that everyday objects must be functional, but it doesn't mean they needn't be beautiful.





perch!:

amy is adorable and we just love her new vases. the black bird light is a stunning addition as well to her popular white bird light. she also debuted a new bird feeder and i got to see her kiki vase in person, which i am now coveting! look to see that, along with a number of her other items in openhouse this week.











xenia taler:

i've seen xenia taler's tiles online and in magazines. but i just loved the wooden boxes and frames at the show. such fun, yet sophisticated designs. sorry i don't have a pic of the frame. i'll try and get one this week.

dbo home:

dana from dbo home is too cute! and we totally want her life ;o) she brought a number of wonderful new treats to the fair this weekend. our favorite was this lamp below. truly a labor of love, dana creates the ceramic base while her husband turns the walnut top and does the wiring. beautiful! we also swooned over her new gilt collection. i don't have a picture yet, but it's the joining of two of my design obsessions; all things white and ceramic, with a touch of gold.



back tomorrow with pillows!!!!!!!

we're back...

we're sore, we're weary and we're over-stimulated! the nyigf was a blast and i'm bubbling over with new designers and new trends to share. but due to the MASSIVENESS of the javitts center and the piers i'm somewhat paralyzed from the neck down ;o) so check back after 2:00pm (est) for the first of 5 installments this week highlighting the best and the brightest of what we saw in nyc. k&m

etsy love...

so our flight was cancelled :o( high winds in NYC are too much for our little plane from richmond. no worries, though. we're re-scheduled to take off tonight, so although we'll now miss a whole day of scoping out the fair, at least we're not missing it altogether.

here's a little etsy love to get you through the weekend. i wish i could remember where i found this particular artist, cause i'd give credit where it's due. i've ordered a couple of prints for myself and as a gift for a friend and they are just lovely. check out polaroids and pinholes on etsy. oh, and the customer service is great! enjoy the weekend and we'll see you monday. k&m

bright lights, big city

we're off to NYC, my old stomping ground, for the gift fair this weekend. heading up to scope out the best of the best (or at least the ones who can afford a booth ;o) the handmade section is huge this year, so we're really hoping to find some unknown (to us at least) treasures for the shop. looking forward to meeting a lot of our openhouse designers as well.

we'll be back monday with pics from the trip and highlights on what we saw, what we loved and maybe even what we thought was awful (kidding, that would be cruel).

enjoy the weekend and happy shopping! k&m

bookhou design

i'd love to be writing this post introducing bookhou designs as the newest family member at openhouse...but we're still on the waiting list. in the meantime, i just couldn't wait to show you some great items that you can buy online right here in the meantime.

i love the simplicity of their designs. it all has a wonderful worn feeling to it. delicate, yet substanital at the same time. fingers crossed they start taking new wholesale accounts soon and we can get these to richmond! enjoy and happy shopping! k&m

postcards for lindsay

if you're in richmond, head on over to corporate & museum frame tomorrow night during first fridays from 7-10. you can grab some inexpensive art and do a good thing at the same time. postcards for lindsay is anexhibition and sale to benefit Lindsay Aronson Ess, a recent VCU grad who suffered severe complications following surgery for Crohn's disease that resulted in quadruple amputations. her medical expenses have far exceeded insurance coverage and this sale will go toward making her recovery and therapy a little easier for everyone.

the idea is this: 4 x 6, 8.5 x 11 and 11 x 14 works of art have been donated by both famous and no-so-famous artists. each work is unframed and signed on the back. for $25, $35 and $50 (dependeding on size) you can purchase something that you love that may be a valuable piece for a small price that goes to help a local family in need. how cool is that?

the show goes on all month, so if you're like us and you won't be in town tomorrow night, head over to corporate & museum frame anytime between 10-5 during the week and grab some goodness.

k&m

spotlight on john robshaw

it occurred to me that we've never really posted much about our line of john robshaw bedding and pillows. we just got in 2 new pillows from the pichhwai collection (one of which was featured in the january issue of domino :o) pichhwai paintings are traditionally used to adorn temple walls behind gods and goddesses. these linen pillows are each hand painted and wonderfully delicate while at the same time practical.

we are also carrying the full line of sheets. printed on the finest cotton, pre-washed, and rewashed after printing to make them exceptionally soft and chemical-free, each sheet and pillowcase is hand embroidered by a patient seamstresses in India. 300 thread count cotton. i'm personally using the diggi sea glass in my master and looking to add the pondicherry sage to my guest room. they are just such a luxury! oh, and don't forget the seriously beautiful queen quilt we have in store as well. hand quilted on the finest indian voile and filled with natural cotton, the quilts are so cozy. and as delicate as they look, they are machine washable! too cool.

[clockwise from top left: samode pink, pondicherry sage, diggi sea glass, cinde coffee]

come in and check them out. happy shopping! k&m

guest lecture at VCU this afternoon

i meant to post this friday and it slipped my mind. a bit last minute, i know, but andrew wagner and jeanette abbink will be speaking at 4:30 this afternoon at the grace street theatre.

per estherknows.com:

Craft/Material Studies, Graphic Design, Interior Design, and the “the Terry Noack Fund for the Arts” present Andrew Wagner and Jeanette Abbink Monday January 28, at the Grace Street Theatre. Andrew Wagner and Jeanette Abbink, founding members of the architecture and design magazine Dwell, were charged with revamping the 66 year-old publication American Craft. Wagner and Abbink will describe their discoveries leading up to the re-launch of American Craft this past October. They will sum up their views of the craft world now and their search for the beautiful blurring the superficial boundaries that have been erected across disciplines in the past thirty years.

January 28th

Grace Street Theatre
930-934 West Grace Street
4:30 - 5:30 pm

see you there! k&m

delightful blogs

i'm so excited that openhouse has been chosen to be a part of delightful blogs, an edited directory of stylish blogs for women including shopping, fashion, design, travel, family and pop culture. i've already found a few new ones to add to my morning reading list. head on over and check out the site and be sure to stop in to the openhouse listing on the new blog page and rate our blog! thanks! k&m

martha, martha, martha

if you read this blog regularly, you know i have a love/hate relationship with martha stewart. but my feelings aside, the woman comes up with some seriously cool collaborations.

martha's collection of area rugs, in association with safavieh, has been on the market since last spring, but it just came on to my radar and i thought it was worthy of sharing. i love how these rugs look worn and comfortable and easily at home with a traditional decor as much as a modern one. oh how i LOVE the faux bois tibetan rug! it's destined for my dining room. anyway, if you're interested you can go on the safavieh website to find a retailer near you. if you're in richmond, the collection is available at rugs direct, 9862 west broad street, glen allen, va. 804.273.0844