Sé

Sé London - a recent discovery of mine, and an instant fave - is celebrating it's 1st anniversary by launching a few new pieces (some of which were designed by Damien Langlois-Meurinne - see previous post on French moderne) and a new online catalogue.

And its precisely because, in their own words, Sé are about the traditional meeting the contemporary, the glamorous meeting the durable, the startling meeting the reliable, that this is my kind of modernism. Here are just a few of my faves...

"Happiness" wing back chair

"Forever" armchair

"Past in present" chair

"I only have eyes for you" sculptural table


"Ooh la la" console

"Temptation" dining table

and last but definitely not least, the "Undress me now" mirror - don't you just love their names!

Vivre chic

A little birdy told me that online emporium Vivre is having a memorial day sale...no matter that we don't celebrate memorial day on this side of the globe, who needs an excuse to shop?

My picks would be:

Stone rings by Malandrino

This leather jacket and cashmere/silk wrap by Chadwick Bell

a beautiful tiger's eye necklace by Bounkit

AND, these super cute clutches by Hong Kong based Kotur. Probably not together, but all still gorgeous nonetheless.

Sale ends Monday at midnight EST. Happy shopping (and long weekend to my American friends)!

Aussie aussi

While I was back in Melbourne I enjoyed catching up on few of the decor magazines that I don't buy regularly here in Hong Kong, namely House & Garden. One spread in particular that caught my eye was the home of the Melbourne-based French interior designer, Jean-Pierre Heurteau. If you remember, he is the designer behind those glossy black floors in a previous post. He is such a character in real life, so it was so great to see a home of a designer that I've actually met. His home is so full of life, colour, and well - flamboyance, that is enough to make any minimalist sick. But I love that he has been true to his personality, and has somehow managed to blend Australian and French cultures together - not an easy task!

As you can see he's used an all white palette for the background and layered it with pieces of different eras and cultures - and so many colours. Who knew that Aboriginal art would look so fabulous with French antiques?

With all those reflective surfaces and silk damasks it would feel like you were living inside a jewellery box!


I love the contrast between the stark white walls and the super dark (black?) carpet, and all that gold gilding. So lush. Yum. It's almost enough to make me want to move back to Australia...

All photos by Shania Shegedyn for Australian House & Garden magazine, May 2009.

Hong Kong Happenings

So I've been back a few days, and it seems like my trip to Melbourne was already a million years ago. It never ceases to amaze me how busy Hong Kong always is. And now that the weather is warming up the city is abuzz with events...

Thursday night saw the launch of David Ng's new furniture collection launch at Wittgenstein Design - a gorgeous showroom in SOHO that also showcases the work of Christian Liaigre. The new collection of hand crafted contemporary Chinese designs will be in store until June 13th, so you still have time to check it out if you are in HK.

Friday night was the VIP, invitation only, launch of the 2 week event "Boutique Boulevarde: So Central, So Chic". Lots of fun and frivolity in the city with music, wine and gourmet hors d'oeuvres - I think it was the retailers way of plying us with alcohol to get the credit cards out - but in HK you never really need a excuse to shop! Check out the website for further details of some of the other events that are open to everyone, including fashion and lifestyle workshops and poetry readings.

And Saturday I went along with my VIP pass to the Hong Kong Art Fair - and was definitely not disappointed! The fair closed yesterday, so if you missed out this year, make sure you pencil it into your calender for next year - it is definitely a must see for Hong Kongers. The range of international art, and the quality is unsurpassed in this city so far.

A crowd of people around the limited edition Damien Hirst works on paper - these were quite well priced, and I wouldn't be surprised if they all sold within the first day.

People gathered in front of one of the LED pieces by Julian Opie.

One of a few pieces on display by the Lalanne's - it was a real treat for me to see this up close.

Phew, busy week for me. I'll hopefully be back to posting normally next week!

Be right back...

I'm off tomorrow morning for Melbourne for about 10 days... a short break to see the family...its been over a year and I can't wait!

As I won't be posting while I'm away I thought I'd leave you with some pics of my latest French design crush - Aymeric Lefort - how amazing are those cabinets....think I might be in love. From what I've read, Mr Lefort is influenced by the work of Royere, but I also see a bit of Parzinger in there too...what do you think?

Stay tuned folks, because when I get back I'll be posting about the HK Art Fair (for which I have VIP tickets, woo hoo!) and other exclusive events in Hong Kong. Speaking of Hong Kong, if you are here and out and about in the city, today is the last day of the Dylan's Candy Bar pop-up store in the On Pedder Store on Icehouse Street. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it, but I'm sure my butt will thank me for it in the long run...

Ciao! x

David Collins does it again!

For those obsessive compulsive David Collins fans out there (and yes, that also means me)...if you haven't already checked out the website of his latest project, The Charles New York, make sure you head on over and check it out. So much eye candy, so little time. *sigh*

I might die...

...if I don't get a set of this stunning Astier de Villatte black cutlery... or the bronze...or the gold...well, any of them really. Seriously, so beautiful.

T for Terrific

I'm back from my unscheduled hiatus...a bit of a head cold...and a friend visiting over the Easter weekend break had me away from blogland for longer than expected. While recuperating from my cold I devoured several magazines (not that I need an excuse), including April's Spanish Architectural Digest. A feast for the eyes it is! I'm assuming not everyone has read it (well, I didn't really read it either...my España is about as advanced as my Swahili, truth be told) so I'm sharing these pics of the featured apartment of NY Times "T Magazine" editor Stefano Tonochi - its so beautiful I just couldn't resist. But then, what sort of apartment would you expect from a man who's been photographed by the Sartorialist..?

Stefano Tonochi as photographed by the Satorialist....rather handsome indeed!

The apartment was done by the amazing architect Annabelle Selldorf and is full of fantastic furniture. All the big names are here, Van der Rohe, McCobb, Probber, Prouve, Robsjohn-Gibbings....a recipe for success if you ask me.

Every room is so light and airy - the total opposite of my place...I'd be so happy living here.

This library (and those Gio Ponti Wing backs!) - soooo drool worthy!


There were so many other great features in the Spanish AD I highly recommend you go get a copy...the European editions are fast becoming some of my favorite monthlies these days.

Munge Leung design

Its funny how we bloggers and design addicts seem to share a collective consciousness. I've mentioned it before, but I was reminded of it after receiving an email from one of my email buddies, Stuart Fox, about a great design firm he wanted to share with me. I had only just discovered them myself a day before. Spooky. The firm we were both drooling over was Toronto based Munge-Leung. Founded by previous employees of Yabu Pushelberg, they are producing some seriously beautiful work. Check it out!

Have a great weekend everyone, I know I will - I've been looking forward to it all week! ;)