Through the Looking Glass

Lately we have noticed a real perk in the weather, business and our general attitude—perhaps it is because we have found a highly addictive coffee spot in San Francisco but nonetheless we are excited about it. Sightglass coffee is a gorgeous light-soaked, loft-like space in the SOMA district. Two local brothers own the company that makes wonderful coffee sourced from around the world, with a very artful approach to the craft. Don’t expect a quick hello and goodbye at the place, watch the barista lovingly prepare your coffee, perch at the mezzanine level and take few moments for yourself.

Reclaim Check

We at K2 love to see reclaimed wood covering the floors and walls of the chicest homes and restaurants–adding instant history to ultra-modern spaces and artisan cred to eclectic design schemes. But it is in furniture that these hard-won scraps can be transformed into works of art. Ariele Alasko is a Brooklyn-based builder who has blown us away with her passion for making and her intricately patterned tables, headboards and accessories. We first came across Alasko’s work at the Maker’s Project, an inspirational showcase of independent artists and makers from a broad range of disciplines created by photographer Jennifer Causey.  Ariele records her creative process on her own blog with stunning photos of her materials, workspace and finished pieces along with stories of “prospecting” in abandoned buildings and derelict barns. We wish this up-and-coming artist the very best and highly recommend a tetanus booster to all who bravely seek free wood in questionable places.

All photos by Ariele Alasko from http://brooklyntowest.blogspot.com

Take Me to Turbeville

Ralph Pucci has always been an inspiration to us here at K2–to visit his NYC gallery and penthouse loft showroom is to be transported into a fantasy factory of genius. Known for mixing art and decoration on a major scale, Pucci’s wall installations are legendary. We recall being swept away by the uber-romantic fashion photography of Deborah Turbeville–her dreamy, intimate scenes were blown up to epic proportions and mounted on aluminum panels for the perfect contrast of hard and soft. With the release of her new book, The Fashion Pictures, Turbeville returns to the fashion world, giving us a fresh look at the secret universe she created with lighting and color that makes you want to melt into every image.  Check out this great interview with Turbeville at Style.com.

Pozos, Mexico – Valentino, 2011

Krakow, Poland – W magazine, 1998

Paris, Mirabella – 1989

Stockholm Syndrome

Having recently returned from NYC for it’s annual Gift Show we are feeling revived with many new ideas for our clients, ourselves and our readers. One of the great themes we saw at the gift show was beautiful pops of color in tabletop and one of our favorites doing it is Design House Stockholm. Their new collection of cobalt and white stripped ceramic tabletop is very handsome in person. The cobalt is a very rich, lush blue with simple accents of milk white in a heavy ceramic gives the collection an heirloom like quality. Check back next week for more of our favorites from the show and share with us what your favorite blue and white pieces are in your home!

A Room of One’s Own

We love the fresh spirit of the year, sparking us to reflect on what we truly want to create and inspiring us to soften the boundaries of what is possible.  The K2 team is excited about this new beginning and we all expect this year to be the best. One wish for 2012 that we feel is more of a necessity is, as Virginia Woolf so eloquently put it, a room of one’s own. Whether it be a place to write, sing, sleep or simply be—we are fully behind this soul-restoring concept. Rooms of one’s own may come in many different shapes, locations and sizes but here at K2 we’re digging T Magazine’s recent compilation of “Man Caves”. From the article, pictured below, is an amazing shed designed by Jack Stewart, a retired carpenter. It is a blessing that men have carved out their own getaway spaces, free to decorate (or not), and use as they please. We think this is the year for EVERYONE to create his or her own cave—a place where you and you alone can let your hair down and your flag fly. Send us pics of your spaces and we’ll post our faves! (Image courtesy of The New York Times)

Itching for Etching

Heath Ceramics newest collaboration with Alabama Chanin textiles is one that is sure to fly off the shelves. The new collection of ceramics, organic tablecloths, napkins and placemats are so understated and beautiful—each piece fits in perfectly within the company’s aesthetic. What is perhaps more interesting is the unique “etching” technique that is used to create the pattern onto the ceramics themselves. Closely related to the  “sgraffito technique used to decorate walls since the Classical era” says the New York Times, a white glaze is sprayed over a colored base coat, an artist then scratches through the top layer with a metal point, exposing the color below. The result, a made in America artisanal product we can’t wait to get our hands on.

(Image courtesy of Spencer Higgins/NYT)

Frances Elkins

As a follow up to our last post on the amazing California Design exhibit at the LACMA it made us think about which California designers have influenced the contemporaries that we work with and respect today. Immediately Frances Elkins came to mind as a formidable female designer whose work is beautifully covered in the  book Frances Elkins: Interior Design by Stephen M. Salny. One of the first to promote artists such as Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank in California, Elkins was also known for integrating many diverse styles in the homes she designed with her architect and brother David Adler. From decorating a French provincial manner in a monochrome palette to her famous Casa Amesti, perusing the works of Frances Elkins shows a woman who’s taste remains timeless and who’s work continues to inspire.

Image courtesy of Katherine and David Boyd

Living In A Modern Way

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is gaining much acclaim for their newest exhibition— “California Design, 1930-1965: Living In A Modern Way.” The show focuses on more than 350 objects, including furniture, fashion, film, graphic and industrial design, ceramics, jewelry, architectural drawings and photography of the period. The must-see exhibit highlights California’s rich design history and hits a high note with a full-scale re-creation of the Eames’ Case Study House #8, which was the couple’s own home in Pacific Palisades. The Eames Foundation lent hundreds of objects for the exhibition which offersn an extremely rare glimpse into the life of such profound tastemakers. The show runs through March 25th, 2012 and is said to be “the first major museum survey of California design” by the New York Times. All that being said, run don’t walk to see this truly inspirational exhibit.

Image courtesy of New York Times

A Fuller Lifestyle

From March 31 through July 29, 2012, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) will present The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area, the first exhibition to consider Fuller’s local design legacy. The presentation will feature some 65 works, including prints, drawings, photographs, documentary video, books and models representing some of Fuller’s most iconic projects alongside those by Bay Area designers inspired by his body of work.

The Utopian Impulse opens by introducing Fuller, primarily with prints from Inventions: Twelve Around One portfolio (1981), as well as several key works on loan from the R. Buckminster Fuller Archive at Stanford University. Pairing the Fuller’s own drawings of projects dating from the late 1920s through the mid-1970s with iconic imagery of built work, the exhibition  commemorates his most well-known ideas, such as the 4D House (1928), a hexagonal autonomous dwelling meant to be optimally resource efficient and mass producible from factory-made kits that could be easily shipped anywhere and quickly assembled on site.

The exhibition also presents several of Fuller’s big-picture ideas, including his World Game (1969–71) project, a data-visualization system intended to facilitate global approaches in solving the world’s problems—or, in Fuller’s own words, to “make the world work, for 100 percent of humanity, in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”

Here at K2 we have been hugely inspired by Fuller’s thinking and can’t wait to see an amazing exhibition that celebrates his Bay Area endeavors.

Thanks to the SFMOMA for the heads up on this amazing show.

Blek Future

Here at K2 we appreciate art, good art that is in all forms—whether high brow or low, street art or fine, if there is soul and passion behind it, so are we. That’s why Saturday November 19th we will be heading to Nine Four One Gallery in San Francisco for the Godfather of stencil art, Blek le Rat’s opening. His biggest show to date is entitled 60/30 and is being called “one of the most historically significant the street art community has seen” by the gallery as well as marking the 60th birthday of the artist and the 30th anniversary of the birth of his art.

Nine Four One Gallery explains: “Thirty years ago, when Blek le Rat first started to paint his local streets, this was certainly not the case. Unaware of the eventual prominence his style would gain and motivated by the idea of using art to spread ideas of social consciousness, Blek’s first major move was the flooding of Paris with his signature piece, the silhouette of a rat. These vermin spread from the subways of the Périphérique to alleyways of Montmartre and could be seen all throughout the city and soon thereafter, in surrounding cities as well. The traveling plague was a warning and also a call to awareness- rats are one of the last wild animals that thrive in the city, and even though they may not be seen, rest assured, the city is filled with them. ‘It is about uprising, a signal of rebellion. It’s our revolution,” Blek once explained in an interview.

Stencils are now a widely used form of art and expression made increasingly popular by UK artist Banksy and others but if you want to see where it all started we suggest you check out this show going through January 7, 2012.

If You Leave

In 2009 photographer Laurence Von Thomas started the blog If You Leave with a simple mission, to be a place where photographers can submit their work that focuses on images with a single impact. The blog grew quickly in size and became a place where stunning photography mostly centered on the ideas of peace, solitude and loneliness (as they tend to pack the biggest punch visually) were displayed. In 2010 Laurence released a book featuring the moving visuals on his site, which was immediately snatched up. Today he releases his second book and Dazed Digital has a great interview with him. Here’s the scoop.

Adeline Mai

Tara Violet Niami

Menswear Meets Wallcovering

Recently a few team members here at K2 made a fab trip across the pond to London for the Decorex International design show. It was our first time attending the amazing show, featuring the best and brightest of high-end design. One of the highlights for us was the Weitzner Limited/Pollack booth. They had an amazing energy and some beautiful products that really stood out from the rest. One of our favorites was Weitzner Limited’s Madison Stripe wallcovering. There seems to be a wonderful trend of men suiting materials, techniques and vibe crossing over to the interior design world and this product fits right in. The quilted faux suede stripe was shown in a pale grey with a faint stripe and a sumptuous hand, curiously enough, made from a super durable nylon microfiber.  It was truly stunning in person and we could imagine it anywhere from an elegant study or library to the hottest club in Vegas!

Loop the loop

From the creative mind of Victor Aleman and kerozenedesign comes a chaise lounge with a fundamental design that we can really get behind. Made from a single piece of  Birch, Beech, Maple or Red Oak, the “Loopita”  takes its design cues from a tunnel or skate ramp. The loops allow for two or more people to lounge comfortably while facing each other. A high density foam covers the inner level for a comfortable resting pose and more interestingly multiple Loopitas can be arranged together for a really striking organic outdoor look. Here at K2 we feel design should come from an intuitive place and what could be more intuitive that a design based on the double helix—now how to fit one through our office doors!

Love Bomb

When artists cross mediums of expression the result can usually go one of two ways, thankfully for artist and furniture manufacturer Allan Switzer the result is more than successful. While Switzer’s family may be known as a pre-eminent source for antique reproductions with quality craftsmanship, Allan has made a name for himself in the art world for thought provoking pieces done in style. Here is a new piece from the Canadian star called “Love Bomb”, the thing we most admire about Alan’s work is the attention to detail—the obscure message behind the perfect placed geometric pattern that almost works the viewer into a psychedelic trance. For more on Allan Switzer’s inspiring artwork visit Saatchi Gallery at saatchionline.com

Setting Your Sights Local

Here are K2 we are interested in all things beautiful, made with a great purpose and a soul to them. While most of the time that interest lends itself the to the international design world, we sometimes forget to step back and appreciate what is wonderful about our own backyard.  While recently in San Francisco’s Ferry building we fell back in love with one of nature’s finest pleasures—cheese. That gooey, earthy delight that when done well is unlike anything else.

Our current favorite is local producer Cowgirl Creamery—started in a barn in Point Reyes and now shipping worldwide. Their signature triple cream, Mt. Tamalpais cheese is out of this world and much like a fine wine, the cheese is made from a small-scale farm that respects the process, the animals and the surrounding local agriculture. Here’s our recommendation: Visit their shop at the Ferry Building, buy a round of your favorite cheese, pick up a fresh baguette at the Acme Bakery next door for the perfect afternoon.