Sunday, September 12, 2010

Latest Obsession: Claude Cormier

Long time no blog, my new job is keeping me very busy!  But today I finally had time to do some long delayed research on something I spotted a few years back in Napa Valley: a giant blue tree in the middle of a field:



Turns out it was (is?) an installation in 2004 by Canadian Landscape Architect/ Urban Designer Claude Cormier.




According to his website "new life was given to a diseased tree slated for removal by decking it's branches with 75,000 retrofitted sky-blue Christmas balls".  I LOVE it!






He's done amazing installations throughout Canada, France and the US.  Below is a pop art piece called Pergola in Normandy France that is comprised of 90,000 plastic balls arranged like wisteria blooms:




His Lipstick Forest in Montreal:




His Blue Forest in Detroit:





A garden installation Solange in Lyon France, where 16,000 silk flowers were attached to ribbons then wrapped around a cluster of tree trunks in a 100 year old forest.  


And last but not least, the incredible Blue Stick Gardens he's done in various locations:




From his website:  "we began with an image of the garden’s iconic blue poppy, which was scanned, pixelated, and translated into a collection of long, thin sticks. These were then "planted" to form an abstraction of the traditional Victorian mixed border. Painted blue on three sides and orange on the fourth, the sticks create a chromatic effect that is as surprising as it is simple: a visitor wandering through the labyrinthine installation experiences an ever-shifting set of views and vistas. The sensually engaging experience reinterprets the spirit of colour and movement embodied by the original Reford gardens, injecting it with contemporary visual appeal."






Saturday, August 7, 2010

Recent Random Finds: Life-size Llama & friends

I've been a little tied up lately and I haven't been able to blog as often as I would like, so I have a bit of a backlog of recent random finds.  Please to enjoy.

Llama from Paul & Joe Sister.  Apparently the designer brought it over from France to decorate the store, but it is for sale.  For $3,500.  More than I can spend on a life-size llama, even one made from real llama wool.  But how great would this be in a kid's room... or my living room?  Want! 


I spotted this mirror at the open house of a gorgeous 1931 Spanish style home on Doheny just above Sunset.  It's a trust sale, and I believe the contents will be sold by Huntington Library? Really want! 



Stunning red bench, from a store on Beverly that I have somehow forgotten the name of - a first for me!



I do know that the store above is right by my favorite store on Beverly, E-Mosaik:





I just bought this "Eight-Arms Hook" from Anthropologie, $48, great for displaying jewelry, or for catching keys by an entryway:


Also spotted at Anthropologie, these amazing paintings in the background of a catalogue shoot. No idea who they are by, but I'd really love to know!




I stopped by a new store on Fairfax (previously on Melrose) yesterday called Jeff (529 N. Fairfax), and found another couple of items for my never-ending wish list!

Lucite towel or quilt holder, would also be great to display scarves or ties in a deluxe dressing room:




Incredible rocking... crib I guess?  With the right custom cushions, and maybe a paint job (maybe) I feel like this could actually be a great practical nursery item?  Love it!  $600:



Great brass coffee table:



How darling are these?  I've never seen anything like them!



Beautiful sconces, I believe $3,000 for the pair, or was it $3,000 each?!



Amazing eagle weathervane:


I introduced my parents to Wertz, and they loved it as much as I do.  "Heathcliff" went home with them:


As did these monkeys, which I really wanted to come home with me instead!


Love this painting:



This "cast iron Japanse lady" is kind of awesome:


Fabulous marble-topped table:


Really drawn to this, not sure why:






The "General" on the right was a gift to me from Mum & Dad, thanks parents!








Lastly this gorgeous headboard.  I can't for the life of me remember where I spotted it (bad blogger!), but I'd like to have something like it made one day...