The Rug Company
Having visited their showrooms in London, New York and Los Angeles, and purchased a rug from them that I’m delighted with, it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan of The Rug Company. It’s not just the marvelous design and high quality of their handmade rugs that I’m enamored with, but the overall presentation that is so special. It’s rare to see the modern and the traditional mixed with such effortless style.
I also appreciate how The Rug Company collaborates with interior, product, and fashion designers to create beautiful designs, rather than as a marketing stunt, which is all too common these days. Pictured above is a small sampling of their rugs in inspiring settings by fashion designers Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Mathew Williamson, Marni, Alexander McQueen and Diane Von Furstenberg. Have a browse through the Roomsets & Inspirations on their website for much more. Be sure to have a drool cup handy.
JF Chen Antiques in LA
Now that you’ve watched Ice Cube rhapsodize about Charles and Ray Eames, head on over to JF Chen Antiques for another Eames fix. The owner, Joel Chen, has amassed one of the most extensive collections of Eames furniture, and it will be on exhibit as part of Pacific Standard Time thru January 14, 2012.
While there, you’ll also be treated to an amazing collection of antiques, rarities, and vintage design. A warehouse with three 20,000 sf floors chock full of top-drawer goodies. I visited recently for the first time, and it blew me away. I’ve never seen as much quality and interesting stuff under one roof. The photos above are just a snippet of what’s on offer. Everywhere you look is something rare, unique, and usually very valuable. Alfie’s Antique Market in London is pretty great, but this takes the biscuit.
941 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
OK in SF
OK, one of my favorite stores in Los Angeles (or anywhere) is having a pop-up shop for the holidays inside MAAS & Stacks, the stylish men’s shop in San Francisco. OK sells an artfully curated selection of home accessories, decorative arts, jewelry, and books on art, photography and design. Eschewing the trendy in favor of timeless and functional design, they sell modern classics such as Akari Light Sculptures and Iittala barware, as well as unusual and harder to find items, with a strong emphasis on Scandinavian and Japanese design. I know where I’ll be starting my Christmas shopping this year.
OK @ MAAS & Stacks
2128 Market Street, between Church and Sanchez
Thru December 31st
Showroom Sale – Sneak Peek #5
For sneak peek #5 of our Showroom Sale, Saturday, November 5th, here’s a coffee table with stripes of various domestic hardwoods and blackened steel legs, and a Parquet Table/Stool. On the wall is our soon-to-be-released Groove Time clock. Your move.
Showroom Sale – Sneak Peek #4
Our Basis Console Table is featured in sneak peek #4 of our Showroom Sale, Saturday, November 5th. Made of cherry wood, it has a drawer painted Chocolate Brown by Fine Paints of Europe, which is great for stashing things. On the wall is A Visible Trace by Merryl Berner Cicourel.
Showroom Sale – Sneak Peek #3
For sneak peek #3 of our Showroom Sale, Saturday, November 5th, here’s a Trim Nightstand in walnut with doors painted in Aged Bronze from Fine Paints of Europe. On the wall is our soon-to-be-released Groove Time clock. You saw it here first!
Showroom Sale – Sneak Peek #2
Here’s sneak peek #2 of our Showroom Sale, Saturday, November 5th. This one-of-a-kind piece is teak with a laminate top, and it can be used as a coffee table or a low console. The art above it is a drypoint etching on aluminum by Merryl Berner Cicourel. Rock on.
Showroom Sale – Sneak Peek #1
Leading up to our Showroom Sale, Saturday, November 5th, here’s sneak peek #1. Our Backdrop Media Console will be for sale – as you can see it makes a great bar too!
Showroom Sale
I’m having a Showroom Sale on Saturday, November 5th from 10 – 5. This is a pretty rare opportunity to get great deals on floor models, prototypes and one-of-a-kind pieces . . .
at 50% – 75% off! There will be media cabinets, consoles, dining tables, coffee tables, occasional tables, night tables and accessories. Pictured above are some examples. Hope to see you there.
Jason Lees Design – Showroom
1577 East 38th Street
Oakland, CA 94602
510-482-4321
BucherBogen Bookshop in Berlin
Wandering around Savignyplatz, a lovely tree lined plaza with nice shops and restaurants, I stumbled into the wonderful BucherBogen bookshop.
Located under an S-Bahn railway bridge inside five 
connecting archways, it’s a great example of adaptive reuse. The vaulted brick ceilings lend it a monastic feel – which seemed appropriate since I do worship books! The gentle rumble of trains passing over every few minutes somehow add to the ambience.
Specializing in books on the arts and design, it has an outstanding selection, including titles on architecture, interiors, industrial design, graphics, photography, film, fashion, textiles, art and antiques.
I picked up this great book on fifty years of Braun product design. Braun’s former head of design, Dieter Rams, has an excellent show currently on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (until Feb. 20, 2012) titled Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams. His design work and philosophy are hugely influential, particularly on the design of Apple products. Apple design chief Jonathan Ive sung his praises in the introduction to the recently published Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible.
