The Citizenry Bunkhouse

The Citizenry, a socially conscious home décor brand that partners with artisans from across the globe, just opened their holiday pop-up shop on Bleecker Street in the West Village. The curated collection of handcrafted items includes bedding, pillows, chairs, vases, and throws that are not only beautifully made, but help support the more than 2,100 artisans the brand works with worldwide.

Co-founders Carly Nance and Rachel Bentley travel from country to country to invest in various artisan communities—spawning beautiful collections from each namesake country. As Bentley says “Less than 1% of the world’s textiles are produced in fair trade conditions—22 million people work in this harsh reality every day. The Citizenry is committed to creating handcrafted home goods with new standards for quality, transparency, and social responsibility.”

What results is guilt-free shopping and unique items made with materials local to each community. Who wouldn’t love a luxurious throw hand-loomed by master weavers in the Peruvian Andes? The pop-up, dubbed The Citizenry Bunkhouse, is open through December 22^nd and offers free gift wrapping on all purchases and complimentary craft coffee. For a list of fun events, location, and hours, see below.

The Citizenry Bunkhouse Location:

379 Bleecker Street between Perry and Charles Street.

The Citizenry Hours:

Monday–Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Saturday Maker Series

Each Saturday, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., The Citizenry will be hosting some of their favorite NYC makers to help customers get holiday ready. This includes artist Linda Colleta showcasing her artwork on December 8^th, and award-winning author and baker Sarah Owens making baked goods in the shop on December 22^nd.

Sunday Sundowns!

Every Sunday from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., The Citizenry will be serving beer and wine, spinning records, and offering shoppers cookies and treats.

Champagne Send Off

Date: Saturday, December 22^nd

To properly say farewell to their last night in The Bunkhouse, The Citizenry is offering shoppers bubbly from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The Citizenry Bunkhouse offers free gift wrapping on all purchases.

Table by M Moser at DIFFA’s 20th annual Dining By Design. Courtesy of Marion Curtis.

Today is the first day of December, and it is World AIDS Day. In the spirit of giving during this holiday season, we would like to share a note from our friends at DIFFA (Design Industries Fighting AIDS), about this cause that needs continued support:

On this 30th annual World AIDS Day, DIFFA commemorates the 500,000 people in the United States whose lives have been tragically cut short by HIV-related causes and celebrate the progress in new diagnostic methods and antiretroviral medicine that are saving lives. There are more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States today and nearly 40,000 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States in 2016. These staggering statistics are representative of REAL PEOPLE who are impacted within our communities and highlights the urgent need to join hands to end HIV/AIDS and stop new diagnoses.

The fight to end HIV/AIDS requires global collaboration and a multi-pronged approach that includes unbiased access to treatment and targeted education and prevention methods to communities most at-risk. More than 22 million people living with HIV worldwide are without treatment. Increased cross-sector partnerships are needed to support widespread treatment to prevent illnesses, death and avert new infections.

DIFFA is in full support of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 strategy to end AIDS by 2020. UNAIDS 90-90-90 relies on global solidarity to ensure that at least 90% of people know their status, receive adequate treatment, and achieve viral suppression. With less than 2 years to actualize this goal, DIFFA grantees are working daily to ensure treatment, education and direct services are offered to key groups who need it most. Our grant making efforts supports dozens of organizations nationwide and guarantees they have the funds and resources needed to continue their work.

Grantees like Boom!Health, GMHC and North Idaho AIDS Coalition provide educational outreach; Callen-Lorde, Hetrick-Martin Institute and AID Atlanta offer prevention and PrEP methods to at-risk population; and Housing Works, SAGE, and Planned Parenthood provides case management and testing services. Collectively, DIFFA grantees address the critical needs of the UNAIDS strategy to end AIDS by 2020.

This World AIDS Day, join us in pledging your support; help us meet our goal to end AIDS. Get tested, get treated and contribute to the efforts of so many others to fight HIV/AIDS across the nation. Visit www.diffa.org/donate to make a difference.

What is design in the 21st century, how is it defined, or is there even a way to define it? How does design play a role in our day-to-day lives and how does it impact the way we interact in society? DesignMiami/ addresses these questions and presents the ongoing ever-evolving discipline of culture, art, and architecture when it makes its return this December (on view December 5-9, 2018)!  Over the past 13 years, DesignMiami/ has quickly evolved to become one of the foremost design and architecture fairs in the world bringing together a global spectrum of people including collectors, gallerists, designers, curators, and critics. This year, DesignMiami/ is bringing together another spectacular roundup of leaders for the Design Talks program. These industry leaders have been actively influencing the design discourse and production and they will be addressing and discussing the most compelling current topics of design.

The very core of DesignMiami/ is a marketplace for collectible design, attracting the highest level of private and public collectors of historical and contemporary design. Featured works are by pioneering modernists to cutting edge contemporary designers of the 20th and 21st century. In addition, DesignMiami/ collaborates with partners such as Airbnb, Audi, Douglas Elliman, Fendi, Maison Perrier-Jouet, and Louis Vuitton in order to present new works of design. These collaborations take the form of immersive installations, curated exhibitions, and exquisite objets d’art.

Airbnb installation from DesignMiami/ 2017

Audi installation from DesignMiami/ 2015

Fendi installation from DesignMiami/ 2017

Curio, Design Miami/’s newest exhibition platform is a series of special installations on display throughout the fair that showcase cabinets of curiosity. The program includes works from the 20th and 21st centuries, and embodies thought-provoking installations of scientific and technological research alongside handcraft and creative production.

Design Curio: Gallerist Patrick Parrish collaborated with MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab and Christophe Guberan to present the Lab’s Rapid Liquid Printing technology.

Design Curio: Oatmeal bowls by Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana. “Me and my brother teach primary school kids to work with their hands, making things from the leftover materials around them – things like slats of wood and plastic toys.”

DesignMiami/ also partners with museums, foundations and schools to support the cultivation of design. Every year, DesignMiami/ commissions rising architects to design the expo’s entrance. Last year, the award was given to “Basel-based architecture and design firm Christ & Gantenbein” to design the Mwabwindo Series, a series of furniture to donate to the Mwabwindo School. The firm created simple wooden blocks that could be interlocked like Lego pieces to create stools and tables for the Mwabwindo School. The firm was selected because of the precision of the design on its contextual terms. The making of the pieces would support the Zambian economy since the pieces would be produced locally and delivered for local assemblage. Furthermore, the furniture proved to be economical and sustainable as it could be arranged in an array of configurations, adapting to the changing needs of the classroom.

Furniture prototypes that display the lego-like feature for diverse arrangements

Blueprint of the Mwabwindo School

DesignMiami/ is located at Meridian Ave., and 19th St., just adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Get your tickets here when they are available for sale. 

Every fall, The Salon Art + Design opens with the world’s most prestigious galleries presenting their exquisite collections of historical, modern, and contemporary art, design, and furniture. This year, The Salon is scheduled to take place on November 8th-12th at The Park Avenue Armory, New York. 56 galleries from 11 countries will exhibit their dazzling collections of decor that span from the early modernist Nouveau to the late 20th century – works by the masters to the young and upcoming talents.

Book signings, design discussions, and talks and screenings, are just some of the plethora of events scheduled for The Salon. Several special installations from leading brands will also be on view throughout the event. Maison Goyard will present an exclusive installation with the theme,“In Praise of Slowness,” which will showcase a snail pulling a net of Goyard trunks – a playful and poetic metaphor for slowness as the epitome of grand craftsmanship and design. Another installation will be from Eileen Fisher, which will highlight the blurred boundaries of design in today’s world. The installation will feature wall hangings and interior decor made from stitching together old garments, effectively showing today’s dynamic, circular economy in which art, design, textiles, and activism intersect.

Goyard at The Salon 2017. Courtesy of Maison Goyard.

Exhibition from Milan, Salone de Mobile 2018. Courtesy of Eileen Fisher|DesignWork.

Our friends at Architectural Digest think “The Salon is one of the few happenings of this sort that can’t be missed.” We couldn’t agree more!

The Alpha Workshops is back with its annual Masquerade Ball! This year’s theme, Alpha After Dark, invites guests to dress up as their favorite nocturnal creatures and dance the night away at Stage 48 in Manhattan. Garnering over 300 of New York’s most prominent professionals within the design community, including interior designers, architects, manufacturers, and press, the Masquerade Ball is one of the most anticipated design events of the year. For over a decade, this event has benefited the Alpha Workshops Studio School – the only school in the nation that professionally trains people with HIV/ AIDS in the decorative arts field. Alpha After Dark will be hosted on Tuesday, October 30th.  

Here’s a look at last year’s Exotic Aquatic-themed event which was co-hosted with Benjamin Moore and Drake Anderson.

Courtesy of The Alpha Workshops.

About The Alpha Workshops:

The Alpha Workshops is a non-profit organization founded in 1995 in Manhattan’s Chelsea area. It was modeled after Omega Workshops, the Wiener Werkstätte, the Bauhaus, and the American Arts & Crafts movement. It is the umbrella organization of: The Alpha Workshops Studio School (AWSS) and The Alpha Workshops Studio. AWSS is a vocational school formally licensed by the New York State Department of Education and the Alpha Workshops Studio is an acclaimed profession design studio staffed by AWSS graduates. The Alpha Workshops has rapidly grown over the years and has touched the lives of many along its path. It has received press coverage in Architectural Digest, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, Contract, Domino, ELLE DECOR, House & Garden, House Beautiful, InStyle Home, Interior Design, Metropolis, Metropolitan Home, Metrosource, Newsday, Newsweek, New York Magazine, New York Spaces, O at Home, POZ, The Daily News, The New York Times, The Robb Report, Time Out, Traditional Home, Veranda, and Vogue Living. Today, it is recognized as the nation’s one-and-only non-profit organization that provides a decorative arts education and employment to talented people of communities that are at-risk or with disabilities or other vulnerabilities, and it continues its dedication to “creating beauty and changing lives”.

The 10th season of the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) kicked off in New York Tuesday night with the World Premiere of Leaning Out, directed by Basia and Leonard Myszynski. This moving documentary tells the untold story of the World Trade Center’s lead structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson, the legendary man who oversaw the construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time.

Image: Courtesy of Leslie E. Robertson.

The film begins with the tragic events of September 11, 2001 – the day the Twin Towers came tumbling down. Even today, 17 years later, we are still haunted by grief and sadness when we pass by the 9/11 Memorial, which stands exactly where the Twin Towers originally stood, tall and proud.

Leaning Out delves into the prolific life of Robertson, touching upon his early life and his successful career as a structural engineer, working on projects like the World Financial Center in Shanghai and the Lotte World Tower in Seoul. The film chronicles the story of the Twin Towers through Robertson’s eyes – from the innovations he brought to the Towers’ design, to the enormous sense of guilt he still carries over their collapse on 9/11.

The film also offers a unique lens into the Towers’ role in preserving lives. The structures were able to resist the impact of both crashes, thereby allowing people to escape through the stairwells, which remained largely intact until the buildings collapsed. And because the buildings collapsed vertically, rather than toppling over onto other buildings, thousands of lives in the surrounding areas were spared. Despite the many lives lost that day, and although Robertson is still burdened by guilt, Leaning Out shows us that his innovative designs actually helped to save many people who might have otherwise perished.

Photo: Courtesy of Leslie E. Robertson.

Ultimately, the directors take us on a journey to discovering a brilliant man who, in his post-war experience and in the wake of 9/11, became an activist and a pacifist. Leaning Out poses a juxtaposition between loss, survival, and healing through the intricate weaving of the storyline by the film’s directors Basia and Leonard Myszynski.

Photo: Courtesy of Leonard Myszynski.

Leaning Out is on view Friday, Oct. 19th and Saturday Oct. 20th. For more information, click here.

WestEdge Design Fair is returning this fall (October 18th to October 21st) at the Barker Hanger – Southern California’s premier venue for the most exclusive events. Now in its sixth year, WestEdge has established itself as the leading contemporary design fair in the West Coast – attracting over 12,000 attendees, 175 exhibitors and 70 special guest speakers. As the central hub of design, the West Coast has the largest chapters of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and other professional trade associations.

As is tradition, the show will kick-off with a floor-wide Opening Night party to benefit Safe Place for Youth, a non-profit organization that aims to provide critical resources for homeless youth. More than 1,500 attendees are expected; among those will be prominent business leaders, acclaimed media partners, connoisseurs of design, celebrities, and emerging stars in the design community. There will be a preview of the fair before it opens to the public as well as an auction that will feature exclusive designer items. Throughout the action-packed night, guests will enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

A diverse showcase of talent, WestEdge includes brands and manufacturers from all over the world including Canada, Mexico, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Thailand, Iceland and more. Rising designers, artisans and makers will be featured as well with an array of modern designs. Attendees can check out a range of programs, workshops, meet-and-greets, book signings, culinary demonstrations and tastings, networking opportunities, and more.

This year’s Feature Areas include:

• Convo By Design Audio Design Lab
• Citibank Culinary Pavilion
• KARMA Auto Lounge
• MADE:MODERN
• Milk Stand Pop-Up
• Women’s Work

“WestEdge is the most important trade show we have in Los Angeles.  This curated show brings together new, luxurious, and important designers, artists, manufacturers and visionaries.  It is here that you will get up-close-and-personal with key trendsetters and innovators making a difference in the world of design. It’s a must-see event each year and an honor to align myself with the WestEdge team on every level.” – LA ASID Chapter President (2015-16), Laura Schwartz 

High Point Market (HPMKT) is around the corner! Kicking off on October 13th, designers and industry insiders will arrive in North Carolina for the mecca of all things home. Established in 1909 as the Southern Furniture Market, HPMKT has become one of the most anticipated shows in the design industry, attracting over 75,000 guests to see more than 2,000 exhibitors with tens of thousands of product introductions. As the largest home furnishings trade show, with an international reputation, High Point gives attendees the first scoop on the emerging trends, product launches and design collaborations.

With several roundtable discussions, meet and greets, seminars and more, HPMKT is celebrated as the place to make strategic connections and to learn valuable tips and tricks of the trade. We’re excited about the lineup for this year’s Keynote Series, which will explore a wide range of cultural influences impacting the current home furnishings market. Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams Sue Wadden with VP of Home and Interiors for Fashion Snoops Jaye Anna Mize will explore the role of color and offer a 2019 forecast. Author and internationally renowned consumer futurist Doug Stephens will discuss the strategy behind creating an unforgettable customer experience, both in-stores and online. And Executive VP of Research and Chief Material Scientist at Material ConneXion Dr. Andrew Dent will share insight on the importance of creating personal and tangible interactions for customers in today’s increasingly digital world.

This year, the Design Viewpoint Series will dive into the newest innovations in home tech and the growing opportunity for healthy design. These panel discussions will cover topics like: the importance of developing new approaches in design, technology tools used by industry peers to make business more productive, and health and environmentally-conscious design. This series is sure to offer rising designers a competitive edge towards building an effective business model.

At The Point at HPMKT there will be a variety of activitations throughout the day including live podcasts, informal roundtable sessions, mixers including “After Hours” hosted before evening events, and more. Attendees are invited to connect, learn and share at these events.

As every tradeshow veteran knows, it’s important to take advantage of the quiet moments. HPMKT has organized Stars Under the Stars for a little fun and relaxed entertainment after the day ends. There will be plenty of tasty bites, drinks and live music!

We are also tracking several other cool events happening in conjunction with the show including the HGTV Stars Reunion, a HPMKT first. Surya showroom and Design Talk LIVE have collaborated to create this special event. Featuring some of our favorite faces from the network, this red carpet event is sure to be memorable. 

We can’t wait to see all that this season’s HPMKT has in store!

Atlanta’s design community is sizzling! Last night, was example of what happens when you bring Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine, Architectural firm Harrison Designs, and Steve Glamery with Blackston Custom Homes, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta together at the fabulous Sub-Zero Wolf Cove showroom located in Buckhead to Kick-Off the AH&L 2018 Home for the Holidays Showhouse!

The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2018 Home for the Holiday Showhouse will mark the 10th annual milestone when the house opens November 15 and runs until December 9, 2018.  Over 20 designers working on the showhouse were in attendance, as well as many sponsors and the generous hosts Sub-Zero, Wolf & Cove  displaying the ultimate southern hospitality, the presenting sponsor Blackston Custom Homes, and new sponsor Larson-Juhl to share a few.  

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) will be the deserving beneficiary of this gorgeous showhouse this year.  Melisa Morrow, CHOA Foundation Development Officer, attended the event, expressed her gratitude and shared that it takes over $3M a day to provide care to all the children within the CHOA network. “She said, we simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of the design community and projects like the AH&L Home for the Holidays Showhouse.”  

The Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle 2018 Home for the Holidays Showhouse opens November 15. We can’t wait to see what this incredible team creates!