Esoteric Survey

La Gardo Tackett cookie jar. It's a hard one to find. Barbara Willis cup Barbara Willis pitcher Japanese puzzles. The one in front is designed by Sori Yanagi

La Gardo Tackett, lamp, iron, and Walter Lamb Three legged chair Ephemera

The  Palm Springs Modernism Show  is this weekend. I'll be out there with Objects USA again.  Every time I go to Palm Springs I think about the loss of The Palm Springs Spa and Resort designed by Wexler, Harrison, and Cody. On a far lesser level, I think about some of the things I sold at Modernism that I wish I had back.  Photo: Julius Shulman / Getty Archives Like that Harry Weese coffee table I sold in 2016. In 2016, I also let this Pipsan Saarinen Swanson chaise and table go.  In 2012 it was this Dorothy Schindele desk for Modern Color Inc. It would also be nice to have that  Malcolm Leland fireplace back. 

Incantation textile panels, designed by Alvin Lustig, 1947. Produced by Laverne Originals Robert Maxwell and bookends

Wendell Castle passed away on January 20th.  He was a pioneer artist as craftsman -- or vice versa. A Tribute to Wendell Castle By Evan Synderman In 1996, Castle published “Adopted Rules of Thumb,” his personal guide to creativity, which quickly caught on among other artists; he updated it on the occasion of his 80th birthday in 2012. THE ORIGINAL 10 ADOPTED RULES OF THUMB If you are in love with an idea, you are no judge of its beauty or value. It is difficult to see the whole picture when you are inside the frame. After learning the tricks of the trade, don’t think you know the trade. We hear and apprehend what we already know. The dog that stays on the porch will find no bones. Never state a problem to yourself in the same terms it was brought to you. If it’s offbeat or surprising it’s probably useful. If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it. Don’t get too serious. If you hit the bull’s-eye every time, the target is too near. ...

Jens Risom for Knoll Alvin Lustig - Cities are for People, by Mel Scott Ted Saito

In 1933, Dora De Larios was born to immigrant parents in the Los Angles neighborhood of Boyle Heights. Her father, who was from Mexico City, took the family to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City  where, at 6 years old, De Larios knew she wanted to be an artist.  Dora studied ceramics at USC with Vivika and Otto Heino (pictured here with Dora) and Susan Peterson. She graduated in 1957. Image:  doradelarios.com In the 1960s, from a referral from Susan Peterson, she was hired by Millard Sheets to design tiles for the Gladding McBean/Franciscan division,  Interpace (International Pipe and Ceramics). She joined a team which included other big names in ceramics, like Harrison McIntosh, Rupert Deese, Ken Price, Henry Takemoto and Jerry Rothman.  Image:  doradelarios.com In the 1960s Dora lived at Kings Road by R.M. Schindler. Image: doradelarios.com In 1968, she founded Irving Place Studio with her friend...