Figure Eight
Welcome back to another exciting issue of the newsletter. It’s a big one so sit back, relax and enjoy. Please accept my apologies for not getting this one sent out on the usual day but it has been one of those weeks.
This Saturday tune in to The World Around Summit 2021 to watch award-winning architects, designers, filmmakers, researchers, and artists confronting today’s most urgent topics, from equity, health, and the environment to racial justice and indigenous rights (thanks Madoka)
And for those of you who might be out of work, here are ten job opportunities at architecture firms specializing in interiors
Since it’s about 20 degrees here in NYC right now let’s start off the show with something warm
This Canadian company designs Nordic-inspired prefab saunas
An Estonian company also takes inspiration from Nordic design for their handcrafted saunas and cabins
Here are some modern interpretations of the rustic log cabin
Hidden away in a Mexican forest is this stone cabin
This beautiful stone and wood farmhouse is inspired by its surrounding mountainous landscape
A unique home in Japan was inspired by the forest it sits in
Overlooking the ocean is this Australian home that’s mostly underground
Australia’s new natural marine observatory will resemble a whale emerging from water (thanks Ryan)
A concrete home in Australia takes cues from the building’s brutalist past
A Tokyo restaurant uses "rough materials" to create a cozy interior
This tableware collection is designed for socially distanced eating
A Michigan-based furniture company launches a sustainable brand for residential kitchens
Designer Chairs: Real or Fake?
Brooklyn furniture store Somerset House
French antique dealer Roméo Ichard and his beautiful collection of furniture
Recently-opened Pidgin is a new antiques shop in upstate New York
A rare Gilded-Age mansion on NYC’s Fifth Avenue hits the market for $52M
There’s a new real estate agency specializing in historic homes
A Brooklyn-based firm restores an 1800s Victorian house in Nebraska
Inside the world’s largest and most expensive home (not into it)
The eclectic & optimistic homeware of the ‘70s is back
The legend of Nugget After Dark - the kids furniture sex group for moms (!?)
Inside Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s NYC home and studio
A designer’s townhouse in Brooklyn
NYC’s Storefront for Art & Architecture holds first in-person exhibition since pandemic began
Past traditions and present architecture come together in this museum in Shanghai
The rare design of an adjustable ergonomic chair from 1920
German artist scours thrift stores for vintage paintings to paint over
Discarded ceramic figurines separated and reassembled into unusual sculptures
American landscape turned into fantastical furniture by British artist
This nomadic artist is always painting on the road
Getty launches online archive of Ed Ruscha’s Sunset Strip photos
The Library of Congress’s impressive collection of roadside America photos is just amazing
Photographer Larry Niehues’ pursuit of ‘Old America’
Two artists drive across France and photograph the vernacular architecture, anonymous landscapes and pastoral graffiti they find along the way
A photographer documents her experience during last year’s “Black Summer” in Australia
The most intelligent photo ever taken
Creating art by intentionally Fed-Ex'ing fragile glass boxes (genius!)
The atmospheric and gestural paintings by British artist Sam Lock
What an art critic learned from a painter
A 550-year-old painting by Renaissance master Botticelli just sold for $92.2 million
Police discover stolen 16th-century copy of Leonardo da Vinci painting in Naples apartment
Watch a trio of short Dada films from the MoMA’s collection
Watch a documentary on the enigmatic messages that have been appearing on city streets for decades
Artist donates 2,000 books to Iraqi library decimated by ISIS
Art, architecture and design books to look out for in 2021
Important books for designers to read right now
I’d like to suggest the new Hilma af Klint Complete Catalogue Raisonné as well as Dieter Rams: The Complete Works
Andrea Zittel on the things she knows for sure
Do these 5 things and you’ll never run out of new ideas
How to create your own luck
Personal branding just got a lot more branded
How a Tumblr sensation became a real life design studio
Maybe you can’t afford a Herman Miller Eames chair but you can probably afford the company’s new face mask
In other weird brand news, Heinz ketchup puts ordinary people’s drawing on its bottles in this amusing video while Kraft launches pink mac & cheese for Valentine’s Day
And lastly, a $20 bill with a Del Monte banana sticker on it recently set a world record after it sells for nearly $400,000
That wraps up another week’s worth of links. Thank you for allowing me into your life. Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter. And if you want to reach me, shoot an email over to capa@bloodandchampagne.com. Tell me what you’re up to.
Thomas