Chihuly Collection St. Petersburg - A Private Tour


As an Interior Designer and an artist - Amazing and spectacular!!  The Chihuly Collection is a must see.


I had the pleasure recently to meet up with some fellow blogger and twitter friends for dinner and a special private tour of the Morean Art Center’s Chihuly Collection.   Upon our arrival at the Chihuly Collection, we were greeted by Wayne David Atherholt, Director of Marketing & Communications at The Morean Arts Center.  Our tour began as we were escorted thru the large over-sized metal pivoting door, as a lover of architecture and all things design, my attention was captured and was I was immediately drawn into the Chihuly Collection exhibition space.


As Atherholt began our private tour he explained to us that the exhibit space was designed using only natural materials for all the surfaces inside the Chihuly space, as was visually evident accompanied by the light scent from the beautiful raw cedar walls.  Each room flowed into the next and as you walked thru the space you were drawn to the next gallery space in a circular manner with glimpses of what was ahead leading you forward and peeking thru openings behind you.


It is an amazing exhibit and truly a marvel to see in person!

Our Group (left to right)- Kenna Miller, Eric Miller, Carmen Christensen, Paul Anater, Tom Wiebe, Michelle Wiebe, Jeremy Parcels & Ginny Powell.

DALE CHIHULY – Biography 
(Biography compliments of Chihuly website)
Born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington, Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.

In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today. In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art.

His work is included in more than 200 hundred museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including ten honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Chihuly has created more than a dozen well-known series of works, among them Cylinders and Baskets in the 1970s; Seaforms, Macchia, Venetians, and Persians in the 1980s; Niijima Floats and Chandeliers in the 1990s; and Fiori in the 2000s. He is also celebrated for large architectural installations. In 1986, he was honored with a solo exhibition, Dale Chihuly objets de verre, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Palais du Louvre, in Paris. In 1995, he began Chihuly Over Venice, for which he created sculptures at glass factories in Finland, Ireland, and Mexico, then installed them over the canals and piazzas of Venice. 

In 1999, Chihuly mounted a challenging exhibition, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem; more than 1 million visitors attended the Tower of David Museum to view his installations. In 2001, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London curated the exhibition Chihuly at the V&A. Chihuly’s lifelong affinity for glasshouses has grown into a series of exhibitions within botanical settings. His Garden Cycle began in 2001 at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. Chihuly exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, near London, in 2005. Other major exhibition venues include the de Young Museum in San Francisco, in 2008, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011.




My Home, My Time2Design


This Brew Express coffee maker arrived today for Time2Design's new Model Showroom installation.  It hooks directly to a water line, all you have to do is add coffee.  Great way to save counter space and not have to fuss with getting water to make coffee.  Available for purchase from Time2Design.

















Red Penguins, Cooking, Friends & Iron Chef



I have returned from my trip to GE Monogram's Experience Center and wow what fun.  Not only did I have the pleasure of being GE's guest at their state of the art Monogram Experience Center, I had the distinct honor to share that experience with my Dream Team friends.


 When I arrived in Louisville, I never expected that any part of my trip would involve Red Penguins.  Though it was clear when we pulled up to the 21cHotel and I saw the large Red Penguin's lined up along the hotel roof that my experience in Louisville was not going to be what I had expected. 

There was a car walking down the sidewalk, a stretch limo totally bedazzled in red marbles and the interactive falling letters in elevator lobby and that is but a glimpse at the spectacularly designed 21c Museum Hotel.  
It was so seriously cool to be sleeping in a building filled with art, I had to pinch myself to be sure it was real. 
 
The first evening in Louisville the GE Monogram Team treated hosted a meet and greet dinner and drinks in the 21c hotel exhibition space.  During our visit we had the pleasure of viewing their current Cuba Now installation.  It was a wonderful evening reconnecting with The Dream Team and meeting some soon to be new Dream Team members.  What an amazing group of talented industry professionals and designers.

For the next three days we were whisked away to the sprawling land mass known in Louisville as GE’s appliance park, so large they have their own zip code – virtually a city within a city. We spent time learning about GE Monogram Appliances and more importantly we spent a majority of our time in their state of the art cooking facility with GE’s very own world class Chef Brian Logsdon and Chef Joe Castro.  
Basically we listened, we learned, we cooked and we ate – over and over and over again.  And let me say I am looking forward to sharing Chef Joe and Chef Brian’s recipes with you; every spoonful in each meal we prepared and ate was spectacularly tasty and aromatically mouthwatering with every bite.





And the highlight of our trip was our very own Iron Chef Breakfast competition among each of the 5 kitchen’s.  We were to create a meal with the remaining ingredients from the week and would be given one mystery ingredient to incorporate into our meal.  We could only use the ingredients that were available and we had to prepare the meal on the fly and were given 45 minutes to complete. 

We were to make one plate for each member of our team, one plate for the judges and our kitchen area needed to be clean.  As part of Team #1 I had the pleasure of cooking each day with Michelle Jennings Weibe, Jonathan Legate, Deb Corning and Meredith Heron.

The mystery food was unveiled – LEMONS! And the competition began.  So off we were to gather our provisions and cook up a meal - Our meal was Croque Madame (“Southern Style” as Jonathan would say), micro greens with a lemon oil, Dijon, and apple cider vinaigrette and a warm Lemon curd on a cashew graham crust.


At the end of 45 minutes each of the five teams presented their meal, and wow I have to say it was truly amazing what everyone had prepared in such a short time.  It was sure to be a close call and it was up to the chef’s to determine who the winner would be.  


We all sat down to enjoy our meals as the chef’s stayed in the kitchen to sample the meals and determine who the winning team would be.
And the Winning Team Was!!!!! 
TEAM #1  WOO HOO!!!!

Thank you GE Monogram for a wonderful experience! 

What is #GEJune?


For the past month or more I have made reference to #GEJune, and I apologize for not giving you the 411 earlier.  #GEJune is in Twitter land a Hashtag that was created to designate an elite group, selected by GE Monogram, myself included, to attend a 4 day session at the GE Monogram Experience Center in Louisville, Kentucky.


The week will consist of in-depth, hands on training sessions at GE's state of the art  GE Monogram Experience Center, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.  As a kitchen designer and a cooking enthusiast the highlight of my trip is sure to be meeting the GE Chef's, Chef Joe & Chef Brian. 
Chef Joe Castro & Chef Brian Logsdan


I am anxiously looking forward to all the culinary tips and tricks they will be sharing during our hands on appliance training at the GE Monogram Experience Center's live kitchen training facility. 

GE's long history speaks for itself and when I found this video it reminded me that GE is one of the ICONS in our appliance history.
And the super cool part is I will be joined by many of The Dream Team members whom I also shared my Brizo Fashion Week Experience with.  So excited to be selected for this amazing experience and how great to reconnect with my new global friends.
The Dream Team w/Jason Wu

Bracelet Became a Lamp...

For some time now I have found myself specifying Light Fixtures from a very stylish and contemporary line of light fixtures from Minka Group - George Kovacs.  I have had the pleasure of using George Kovacs fixtures on multiple jobs and the sophisticated timeless style is a compliment to a multitude of design situations.

During my visit to NYDC, during Blogfest2011, one of the stops on our tour was at the Metropolitan Lighting Fixture Company, where I was immediately drawn to this fixture.
I thought to myself, out loud, "wow that reminds me so much of the George Kovacs Light fixtures"... The words had no more than come out of my mouth when I heard a voice confirm that yes in fact I was getting a sneak peak at the newest collection added to the George Kovacs Line.  Much to my surprise I learned that those words were spoken directly from the Designer herself Alecia Wesner.


With an Architectural and industrial design background Alecia found her calling when she became Design Director for the George Kovacs Company.  She pursued her own artistic talents as a silversmith and jewelry designer.  This amazing bracelet was the inpiration for the Alecia's Necklace collection. (How the Bracelet Became a Lamp! - so cool!)

 
I had the honor to meet Alecia Wesner and it only further inspires my admiration for the George Kovacs Modern and Contemporary Light Fixtures.  Bravo Jewelry Designer Extraordinaire Alecia Wesner and kudos to George Kovacs Company