time for tea

I was on a mission yesterday to buy some more of my favorite tea, which is now thankfully stocked here in Hong Kong by Lane Crawford. Kusmi, short for Kousmichoff, is a 140 year old Russian Tea house that is now based in Paris. I first discovered Kusmi teas in the then recently opened Dean & Deluca store near Tokyo station when I lived there almost 8 years ago. It was like paradise for an expat in a city where "import stores" could be almost an hour away! Ever since then I've been hooked. My husband and I spent hours in the Paris store when we were last in Europe smelling almost every blend and walked out of there with a small fortune that might have once made the East India Company threatened. Well maybe not quite.

Anyway, flash forward to not too long ago and I was having to ship the tea via the US because nobody stocked it in Asia...until now. Thanks Lane Crawford! Our favorite blend of the lot, and trust me when I say we've tried almost all of them, is the Russian Morning No.24 - its the perfect morning tea. Not too strong, smooth, but with a great kick to it. Think I might go make myself a cup now!

Architecture is Art

“The mother of art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

The quote above is incredibly apt for the city of Hong Kong, which is no doubt why it became the tag line for the recent Architecture is Art Festival. While I didn't make it to any of this years events I have to say that festivals like this are so important to a city where architecture and design has become such a commodity and so far removed from something that is an essential part of our everyday existence as humans. Quality of life and living is ignored in favour of controlled land releases, inflated prices per square foot and space "efficiency". “We don’t look at architecture as art anymore, we only look at it as some kind of investment,” says Mathias Woo, the Artistic Director for the event. “All the buildings in Hong Kong are anti-architectural. Architecture is about community… Hong Kong is like an expensive prison.”

We can only hope that events like this one will start a much needed dialogue between the community and the decision makers.....


Photo taken by me from my street looking towards IFC2.

Books and the Beach

Its no great secret that my book wish list is about a mile long. I've treated myself and ordered a few lately in an effort to whittle that list down...although it seems there are more great new books being released than I have the capacity to buy...so alas, the list keeps growing. One that I did order that also was somehow off the radar is Selldorf Architects, the first (that I know of) monograph of the work of architect Annabelle Selldorf. Selldorf's own apartment was featured in the latest German Architectural Digest so if you are a fan of her work like I am, go check it out.

As far as I'm concerned the best place to read said books is a quiet beach - or beach house. I've been fantasizing about the Malibu Beach House that Kelly Wearstler designed for her family and friends, and while I know this has already been blogged about probably a million times already, I just couldn't resist sharing these images that were featured in the Spanish Architectural Digest this month. The beautiful photography is by François Halard, who also did the shoot for the recent Metropolitan Home spread, however some of these images are different.

I'm reserving one of the leather recliners in the living room (2nd image)...now all I need is someone to mix me a G&T!

another update.....

It's official....www.studioannetta.com is live. Its just the bare bones of a website at the moment...and its pretty basic so bear with me while I work with my PR/Marketing team (my darling husband) to help me write a bio and get some project photos organised...so stay tuned!

Oh, and a big thanks to my IT team (Phil & Ross) couldn't have done it without you! xx

website update

I was hoping to have good news about my website today but we are still experiencing some technical difficulties which my darling husband and good friend are working on...so in the meantime the blog has reverted back to the original address - http://studioannetta.blogspot.com/ and www.studioannetta.com will hopefully but available for viewing soon! Thanks for your patience.

HC28

I've been a fan of French designer François Champsaur's interior design work for some time. I waited patiently for his website to be updated...and updated it was, with many lovely new images. And now, it seems my patience has been rewarded ten fold because not only is there a new website dedicated to his new furniture collection - HC28 - there is also a store in Hong Kong! I had the pleasure of checking out the recently opened store yesterday, and it was a real treat.

Above, a mix of residential and commercial projects, from Champsaur's website. And below, just a few pieces from the collection that I saw in store yesterday. Most of the collection is very Asian inspired with simple lines and bright high-gloss lacquer, which is just stunning in person. There are quite a few other more versatile pieces like the sofas that would work in almost any home.

The Bel Air Sofa

Palm Beach Chair

Toy stools - these were available in almost any colour, really fun and versatile

Tree table

Xiang Desk

So folks, if you are in Hong Kong, the next time you are in Ap Lei Chau (yes, I know, a pain to get there) head into the HC28 showroom if you like what you see!