Esoteric Survey

Pacifica Designed Interiors at the De Young Museum. Image: Arts & Architecture Pacifica wasn't a company. It was an aesthetic based on the synthesis of Pacific island and California design concepts in architecture and furnishings. It emerged in 1949, championed by Harry Jackson, the owner of Jackson's Furniture in Oakland, California. The movement was characterized by a love for natural materials combined with a bold and direct simplicity that adapted the restraint of Japanese design to furnish American homes. This design was shown at the Pacifica exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. In 1952, PACIFICA: Furniture, Textiles, and Ceramics, an exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco gained widespread attention. It was organized by Jackson and was featured in design and architecture magazines including Arts & Architecture and Interiors–each highlighting the fusion of Californian, Japanese, and Pacific island influences. The trend then went national ...

I'm going to do some posts on some of my favorite lots from the upcoming LAMA Design auction, starting with Lot 197, Robert Hanley Floor vase for Modern Color Inc. In the early 1950s Robert Hanley designed furniture and accessories for Modern Color Inc. The company, owned by Dorothy Schindele, had a number of well known designers on their roster. Paul Tuttle, Eugene Weston, Craig Ellwood and Schindlele herself designed for the company. Hanley’s contributions included an iron chair with brass tipped legs and this iron floor vase utilizing a Pyrex glass vessel.  Julius Shulman did the photography for the Modern Color ad. Here is one of the images from his contact sheet. Photo: Julius Shulman via  © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10) The vase was featured in the Pacifica promotional campaign.  It's seen here with a Paul Tuttle chair in the foreground and Dorothy Schindele pieces in the background. Hanley also designed this chair for Modern...

  Los Angeles Modern Auctions asked me to help with a Design auction that will happen on November 15th. It's a huge honor and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spread the word about some of my favorite designers, like Maurice Martiné , Olga Lee and moments in history, such as Pacifica . With the help of some good friends and the LAMA team, we put together what I think is an incredible collection. Check it out  here .

Luther Conover and Milo Baughman for Murray Stan Bitters Birdhouse Creation by Gordon Onslow Ford All good!

David Wurster lamp for Raymor, bottle and stand by Robert Hanley (as seen in the Modern Color / Pacifica ad), Valentine typewriter, and some smalls.

Sofa, tables, and lamp by Harry Lawenda for Kneedler-Fauchere My new Lawenda lamp Kneedler-Fauchere ad (more on them  here ) This was an expensive lamp.  $80 in 1952 equals about $700 today. The lamp with the triangular base (although the top looks square  so I'm not sure how the base is triangular) is by Lawenda. The one to the left is by Paul Mayen. Although the form is similar, this lamp was NOT  designed by Harry Lawenda. It was produced by Verplex.  Tony Paul designed lamps for Verplex, though I don't know if he designed this particular model.  In the eBay listing these photos came from, the description explains the seller's  mom said the lamp was designed by Tony Paul. I guess that's a better source than some sellers use. I still have my doubts. Source: eBay The lamp is marked Verplex in two places and the shade is also marked Verplex. Source: eBay Verplex was based in Essex, Connecticut. Th...

Luther Conover desk, Tony Paul, stacking tables and  Harry Lawenda lamp The iron gods treated me well this weekend! Smalls

Table/bench, designed and manufactured by Henry Mittwer, Los Angeles, CA 1952 Henry Mittwer was born in Yokohama, Japan in 1918. His father was an American in the film industry, who first traveled to Japan in 1898 as a sailor in the Spanish-American War. His mother was a former geisha in Tokyo.  Henry's father left the family and returned to the US when he was 9. Henry moved back to the US and located his down and out father in 1940. After the attack on Peal Harbor and a raise in anti-Japanese sentiment, it was impossible for him to get a job.  In 1942, with few options, he was forced to enter into an internment camp. It was here where he met and married Sachiko. The couple had two of their three children while they were still in the camp. When the war ended, everyone in the family, except Henry, was released. He was being held due to his past refusal to fight in the war. Henry wasn't released until 1947 and not fully out of legal troubles until 1951. The fam...

Harry Lawenda chair for Kneedler-Fauchere (1951) It was in my car and I was in the neighborhood. Still dorky, I know. In 1948 Dorothy Kneedler co-founded Kneedler-Fauchere with  Lucienne Fauchere  in San Francisco.  Kneedler and Fauchere had met in the  Philippines during the Japanese occupation. Dorothy, her husband at the time, and their children spent time in an internment camp in the Philippines. They were allowed back into the US in 1945. Kneedler and Fauchere then started a business in San Francisco  importing the oriental fabrics they had fell in love with overseas.  Dorothy, in 1949, hired designer Harry Lawenda. The  Parsons-trained  architect from the University of Pennsylvania was previously the head of the decorating department at Modernage. Harry and Dorothy married in 1950 and w hen Fauchere left the business, Lawenda  became Dorothy's business partner.  Dorothy encouraged Harry to create designs to comp...