JMF & Hermès

Call me strange, but the names Hermès and Jean-Michel Frank in the same sentence gets me excited. Very excited. The decades old relationship between the über luxury house and the before-his-time designer is about to be resurrected. Hermès has announced they plan to re-issue eight of JMF's classic designs. The launch of these pieces coincide with the opening of their new Paris store...and their official return to home furnishings. Word on the street is a third of the store will be dedicated to homewares. So, what get's me more excited than that? The possible re-edition of pieces by Paul Dupré-Lafon and Jacques Adnet of course...

books...

I'm very excited about this new release from French publishing house Norma Editions. The first monograph dedicated to the work of Marc du Plantier by author Yves Badetz. Can't wait for my copy to arrive :)

Khai Liew

My latest love affair is with the home of the Malaysian-born Australian, Khai Liew. I've been a fan of Liew's work for some time now so it was a real teat for me to see his Adelaide home. It embodies all that is good about the Australian lifestyle - laid back and casual, and is blended with a cerebral Asian influence. Its the epitome of East meets West (sorry, I know that term is so overused, but I can't think of anything else). If you are a fan of the American designers Annabelle Selldorf or the firm Shelton Mindel then I think you'd like this place. If so, go buy yourself a copy of the latest German Architectural Digest.

As you can imagine I've been mentally re-decorating since I saw this....

Photographed by Derek Henderson for German Architectural Digest, Nov 2010 edition.

Nicholas & Alistair

If the Nicholas & Alistair gallery had been open when I lived in Melbourne, I may never have left. Housed in a hundred-year-old building located near the banks of Melbourne's Yarra River is what can only be described as Australia's greatest collection of 20th century design.

The gallery is named after co-owners Nicholas Mesiano and Alistair Knight (of course) who spend much of the year travelling the globe sourcing pieces for the gallery. In fact they've recently returned from a 2 month buying expedition in Europe and the Americas. Lucky them!

The pair pride themselves on finding the more exceptional and unusual examples of design...and I have to say the list of designers whose pieces have graced the space reads like my favorites list: Gio Ponti, Osvaldo Borsani, Carlo Scarpa, Ico Parisi, Jacques Adnet, Guillerme and Chambron, Jules Leleu, William Haines and Paul Evans....and many more.

I'll definitely have to pay them a visit next time I'm back home...

Amor español

I've said it before, and I'll say it again....the Spanish have style in spades! The Spanish Architectural Digest is definitely one of my favorite reads, and Nuevo Estilo - although not available here in HK from what I've seen - has a great website with so many beautiful images. I've discovered many talented designers, but one in particular I posted about here - Thomas Urquijo - finally has a website. There are so many lovely projects that its hard to pick a favorite, but this one which was just published by Nuevo Estilo, is pretty darn amazing...