Jan Finnell is Over the Top: The White Cabinet

Sunday, February 2, 2014

NY Now 2014 Gift Show at Jacob Javits Center, NYC

Last August I reported on my visit to the Javits Center in New York City for the Home and Lifestyle Show, and today I returned to something similar called the Gift Show. No matter what it's called, it's quite the gathering of home design, from carpets to glassware to clothing and picture frames, guaranteed to overwhelm and entice. I am packed to the rafters with home decor, yet for a moment I considered chucking it all so that I could start over and pick and choose from what I saw today.

It's hard for me to imagine making decisions as a buyer at one of these shows, as after a short time one's senses begin to break down after seeing that there are hundreds of booths to pass one's eyes over and consider. I suppose that experienced buyers know who will be there and plan their routes in advance as to which aisles hold the likeliest vendors, while still leaving energy for the discovery of someone new with exciting products.

The main floor held hundreds of vendors, most of whose displays were beautiful and costly. It's much more involved than a 6 foot table with some fabric thrown over it and a few stands, as you'll see. This is serious expense and effort that I hope will pay off for them. It didn't seem that crowded (the above pic was taken as I left at 5:00 PM) but with the Superbowl in town, and it being Sunday, this made sense. This week it will probably be mobbed.

Liz Glasgow showing off the new Coloring Book. Hilda's gorgeous line drawings have been de-colorized and are waiting for you to create your own color schemes.

I was there as a guest of my friend Liz Glasgow, as I was last year. Liz and I have known each other since grade school and attended 3 schools together, from toddler ballet to elementary school to junior high. Liz's mother, Hilda Glasgow, was a famous fashion illustrator, and Liz has lovingly taken her incredible work and introduced it to a new generation of fans in the form of prints, greeting cards, table accessories and many other inventive pieces via her company, The White Cabinet.

Greeting cards, notepads, party invitations, gift tags, place mats (I can see a wall clock in their future) and other paper products (cool chair gift wrap!) to choose from, that already appear in hundreds of shops around the country.

This year I wanted to examine the new coloring book and pencils - what great packaging! Liz showed me pictures of customers at the recent Atlanta Gift Show who had colored in their drawings beautifully and wanted to take them home afterward.

Hilda's work is being managed by Kitchen Papers Hester and Cook Design Group, and their setup area this year is larger and airier and features all kinds of paper wonders as well as textiles and imaginative recycled lighting with an industrial edge.

Gift wrap and textiles by Kitchen Papers on an ingenious custom-made pipe display rack

I am seriously coveting a "spoondelier" for my kitchen (tho not this huge)

Teacup chandelier hanging from spoons and silver plated trays and stands.

Is this not the wittiest thing you've seen in ages? Obviously it's perfect for a tearoom or coffee house, but it's also a delightful choice for a bridal shop or bookstore. Jane Austen, anyone?

I wrote about this blueprint lighting fixture last year, and here it is again. Great for an architectural firm, over the conference table or in the waiting area.

There are also some very interesting and edgy fixtures like this one,

and this,

and this one, which would be sensational in a library or pub. Enameled lock plates never looked this good!

Here's the info about the lighting fixtures.

Color-in jewelry on paper that can be punched out and worn afterward! How would this go down at your little girl's next party?

After visiting and lunching with Liz I spent a couple of hours wandering around looking at as much as I could manage to absorb. It was the first day and not that busy, and I wasn't a real buyer so I didn't stop to chat too much to the vendors and this drain their energies and tried to be discreet while taking pictures. There are products to fit every design aesthetic, from minimalist and monochromatic to bright colors and hairy textures and ethnic influences. I am attracted to color, so that's what I focused on and share with you.

Shall I start with the A's? Jonathan Adler, whose work I am warming up to, with its bright colors and graphics. I am working my way from a vintage sensibility to a modern and graphic one style, and love the lift these colorful pieces can give to a room.

Bright and vibrant, and there was also a children's decor area. I can't imagine a better designer to furnish a child's bedroom.

Comfortable chair in the ever-trendy turquoise (velvet)

Great foreign cities pillows! Love the Rome and London designs. :)

Speaking of turquoise, Liz and I stopped by the Dansk booth to check out the "new" Kobenstyle cookware that the company is re-issuing. Liz and I both inherited vintage Dansk enameled pots - she has vintage turquoise and I have yellow and pumpkin orange. This cookware iss also available in tomato red. Sadly, my yellow 7 qt pot is no longer white inside but I am determined to keep the orange soup pot as pristine inside as possible. Love the casserole pan! Wouldn't something cheddar cheese-colored contrast nicely with the blue? Think World's Fair.

After all of that walking, we needed a little sugar and stopped by this mouth-watering display and tried some samples. I didn't get the name of the maker of these pretties, which I regret, as the chocolate peanut butter blob topped with Reese's pieces was divoon.

I love the pink lattice design topped with little white balls, upper left!

Cute and a great gift for the traveler. :)

Uhhhhh.....no. Not the way I would display my knives. Sorry.

I will continue tomorrow with Part 2! Lots more to come.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Javits Center Home and Lifestyle Show - NY Now 8/18/13

It was an exciting day at the Jacob K. Javits Center in NYC today at the start of the Home and Lifestyle Show for NY Now, where colorful and covetable home accessories, fabrics, clothing, textiles, furniture and jewelry cried out to be purchased. I was glad that I wasn't a buyer, as I would have been overwhelmed in that giant space filled by vendors on multiple floors and would have been paralyzed by an inability to make a decision after about three hours. I don't know how they do it, as it's an assault on the senses, even in the nicest way. Eventually one is exhausted by the sights and colors, but as I was visiting a friend in her booth, I could wander around and look and marvel (and get ideas) with absolutely no pressure. Times being what they are, it's also possible to buy something as a single shopper at certain booths.

I was visiting Liz Glasgow, who was there with her company, The White Cabinet. Liz's mother, Hilda Glasgow, was a well-known fashion illustrator from the 1940s-1970s who died a few years ago. Liz, a professional photographer, has taken her mother's sketches and brilliantly turned them into a cottage industry. Notecards, prints, placemats, notepads, stamps, mirrors, gift wrap and wallpaper (!) are now available with Hilda's lovely ladies, with more items to come.

Liz with some of her notecards, unfortunately washed out by the lighting and my camera phone. Note the wonderful chandeliers - more on those further down.

Liz is partnered by a company called Kitchen Papers Hester & Cook, which produces wonderful paper goods. The displays and the selling area were most inviting and whimsical. I love Hilda's collection and included a pic of the Collegiate Collection (lower right), whose vintage graphics are a hit with me.

And OMG, check out the lighting! I am coveting the spoon (and teacup!!) chandeliers, the industrial fabulousness of the glass insulators incorporated into the design, the keyplates, and the recycled goodness of it all. You don't have to live in an edgy loft - these designs coordinate well with modern, vintage and shabby chic decor. I definitely want one of these at least. Made in Tennessee, US of A.

Check out the Lego-inspired books by Mark's Tokyo Edge (top left). Hopefully you can click on the pics and see them better. I loved the little colorful lights by La Case de Cousin Paul, the crab glass lamps by Standard Specialty Company, the harem-like decor of pillows and lamps, the glass bottles and Christmas home accents in this picture.

Inlaid red & white furniture, signs for every occasion ("If you're waiting for a sign, this is it" - LOL). Colorful table linens, fake blossoms, coordinated clothing and home decor by Roberta Feynman ( I have one of her bags) and the colorful tree lights.

MORE tree lights, glass peacock lamp, fairy lights, more signs, and silk patchwork carpets ( I have one like this)

Eyeglasses bottle stoppers by Umbra, Xmas gnomes with knitted caps, a mirror with metal bubbles (like many pieces of jewelry I've seen) bags, embroidered bedding that looks eastern European, and novelty chandeliers.