CasaSugar

Scenes From the 20th Century Modernism Show

CasaSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:00:05 -0700

This weekend I attended the 20th Century Modernism Show and Sale at Fort Mason in San Francisco, which featured 50 national and international exhibitors (many local) of decorative and fine arts from all design movements of the 20th century. I was excited to see up close some works by artists I follow, like David Wiseman's porcelain blossom and bronze branches (and I even caught a glimpse of the artist himself) and a large collection of original works by the late great American Modernist Charley Harper from the Charley Harper Art Studio.
A few of my other favorite exhibitors were Battersea, R 20th Century, Peter Fetterman, 20th Century Interiors, Antik NYC, Off the Wall, and Eric Firestone Gallery. Peter Fetterman sells a range of black and white photographs, including many well-known pieces such as this image of Andy Warhol with Edie Sedgwick and Chuck Wein by Burt Glinn, which was fun to see. See more scenes from the show when you read more.

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ELLE Decor Gears Up For the Launch of Style and Substance

CasaSugar — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:15:37 -0700

It's a big month for ELLE Decor. Not only is it the magazine's 20th anniversary, but Oct. 28 marks the official launch of the new book Style and Substance: The Best of Elle Decor, written by editor-in-chief Margaret Russell (below). So on Tuesday the magazine held a special event for 600 of the design elite on the third floor of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan. The guest list included amazing designers from interiors to art to fashion, including Bunny Williams, Michael Smith (Obama's decorator), Alexa Hampton, Jeffrey Bilhuber, and Mario Buatta. And Bergdorf's also created a special commemorative window for the event, which you can see below if you're not in the Big Apple to pass by it.

I've been collecting a giant stack of dog-eared ELLE Decor issues for the last 10 years, so I cannot wait to get my hands on this book, which condenses the best of the magazine's timeless interiors into one much more manageable volume! The book (which you can pre-order) is already number one in the interior design category on Amazon, and 240 pages overall, so I suspect it'll be worth the hype! See some more photos from the event below.

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Event Recap: Domino's Home For the Holidays at CB2

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:00:38 -0800

Last night I stopped by Domino's Home For the Holidays event at the CB2 store in San Francisco. In addition to checking out the inventory, I enjoyed some wine, yummy hors d'oeuvres, and a sneak peek of Domino editor Alison Hall's picks from CB2 for the holidays. I figured I'd give you a little event recap with some photos of the atmosphere, Alison's picks, and the fab CB2 products I've got my eye on. To see it all, check out this slideshow! Oh, and feel free send a holiday gift my way!

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Event Recap: DWR and Craft Magazine Host the Holidays

CasaSugar — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:00:00 -0800

Last night I popped into the Craft Within Reach trunk show in Berkeley, California. A collaboration between Design Within Reach and Craft magazine, the event showcased many local artists and craftspeople displaying their handmade wares. DWR also featured its largest gift selection ever with many items priced under $100.

I was impressed with all of the wonderful vendors, but some of my favorite finds included the gorgeous, letterpress papercrafts from Victoria at Milkfed Press, the Japanese-inspired hide boxes from Modern-Twist, and the funky felted pebbles that Kelly, owner of Relish at Home displayed.

To see a gallery of cool finds, just read more
Despite the rainy weather, the event was packed. There was fun to be had for all, with complimentary wine from Diseno, a tempting raffle, an ornament-making workshop, and tunes spun by my favorite local bhangra DJ, Jimmy Love.

If you haven't checked out a local arts and crafts fair yet for holiday presents, definitely make plans to attend one! The prices are often very reasonable, and the goods unique, locally crafted, and well made!

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Domino Bazaar Photos

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:45:42 -0700

Remember my post about the Domino Bazaar in New York? Since I'm way over here on the other coast, I'd asked if any Casa readers could snap pictures if they made it to the event. Katiedearest answered the call with some great photos of the event. I especially love that Flor rug in the dining room photo.

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Event Recap: San Francisco Biz Lady Meet-Up

CasaSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:30:27 -0700

Grace from Design*Sponge was gracious enough to throw a "Biz Lady Meet-Up" Tuesday night for San Francisco women involved in design, hosted by the DWR on Jackson St. There were several speakers there, including Grace, discussing small business concerns, marketing/PR, real life designer success stories, and retailing/wholesaling. The turnout was great (around 120 people), and it was really inspiring to see so many great women getting together to discuss shared interests and business concerns. All types of artists from textile to graphic to invitation designers were there, and even some noted bloggers.

If you missed out, be sure to see if the biz ladies will be meeting in your city, and read some highlights from the night:

Grace shared her four pronged PR attack list with everyone. Know your product. Know your publications. Make your press kit. And last but not least, make contact.
Cate Kellison, from Rose and Radish, talked about how she got her $140,000 business loan when she was in her early twenties, by using free, credible resources like SCORE and SBA. She also said that Excel is the "coolest tool on the planet," and highly recommended the book The 7 Habits to Highly Effective People.
Meg Mateo Ilasco told the artists selling products out there not to be afraid of raising your prices. She said, when "I doubled my prices, I found that my business had doubled too."
Emily, from Working Solutions, told everyone to "get your elevator pitch down," and said there's "a way to do it that's friendly and nice, and that's not push and shove."

To see additional photos from the event, read more

Nice and New: California Home + Design Online

CasaSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:30:52 -0800

California Home + Design is now online! The West Coast design magazine's website has lots to offer, including daily finds, archives, video, event recaps and photographs, and the currently monthly issue in digital format. For those of you not familiar with San Francisco, here's a fun video of one of our most design-oriented hoods, Hayes Valley. I'll look forward to watching plenty more of these! In other words, if you aren't already spending enough of your time online, prepare to. Just save a few minutes for me, okay? Source