A Tale of Old and New
In the Warmhouse Story Curio Cabinets there are hundreds of present day hand crafted objects and a mix of antiques that have meaning to me. It is quite a collection and my partner, Chad, was thrilled when I got a studio space and took dining and entertaining items out from the media cabinet, linen closet, multiple locations of underbed storage, baskets on bookshelves and random piles everywhere that I was calling decor. (They were really just piles.)
I can’t stop myself from collecting and, when curating a look that is current but also historic, I rely on the mix of the objects to set the mood and give each moment a sense of a certain time and place. In doing so, I want to inspire you to use your cherished heirlooms and new, hand crafted objects. Things you will not easily part with. Build your own curio cabinet of things that speak to you. Things you will not throw away to end up in landfills.
For the table, “If I Cannot Fly, Let me Sing”, antiques were critical to capturing the period and mood of the song Green Finch and Linnet Bird. I love a great thrift find and the things that have been handed down to me, but when I am on the hunt for moody finds I also love taking a trip to Twelve Vultures in Minneapolis. Adam DeJarlais is a treasure hunter and shopkeep and his store is full of treasures with a tilt toward oddities and curiosities. He is kind and passionate about what he does. Several items on the table are from Twelve Vultures and they have meaning to me as I remember hunting for them with Chad. The large brass tray on the table is a favorite. The shape is opulent and I love how the tray and other historic brass items add a touch of Victorian gilding to the presentation.
As the counterpoint to the antiques, I love using hand crafted pieces like the featured dinnerware in the presentation from Kolektiv DVA in Slovenia. I happened across this trio of makers through a French online shop named Brütal Ceramics. While minimalist in nature, the plates featured on the table have the kind of design details and form language that you just know take a LOT of time to perfect. Anamarija, Luka and Urška are two graphic designers and an architect who took a creative leap to bring these exquisite ceramics to a growing and loving audience. What makes these plates so interesting to me is that they are rimmed (more typical in a traditional piece) but almost completely flat with a precision drop in the center. The glaze has imperfections and the dinnerware is buttery to the touch. They are reductive and not too modern so as to make my moody aesthetic too clean and minimalist. I love entertaining with these plates and you should entertain ordering some for yourself. The trio at Kolektiv DVA have been fantastic and warm collaborators (and are offering you, as a reader, 20% off with the code WARMHOUSESTORY-20). Woot woot!
I simply love the process of dreaming up a table with pieces like the ones from Twelve Vultures and Kolektiv DVA. I start laying them out and placing flowers with them to start my palette and materials point of view. When in Minneapolis, if you come to a workshop you will get to join me in the process. I love telling the stories of their makers and former owners and hope that you enjoy learning more about my piles… errr collections... in the Warmhouse Story Curio Cabinets in many stories to come.