Our guest blogger this week is Kekela Ah-Ho, popular sales consultant at the Robert Allen | Beacon Hill showroom in Los Angeles with over twelve years of industry experience. We asked Kekela to style and upholster the chair below with fabrics from the new Modern Library collection. Read below to see the look that Kekela created- modern, elegant, and perfect for the California home aesthetic.

 
Kekela Ah-Ho

The design community in Los Angeles is composed of traditional, transitional, modern and eclectic elements.  The Robert Allen Fenway chair has a unique curved frame that would work well in a variety of environments.  The original fabric on the chair was Robert Allen Cotton Loop/ Brindle, which added texture and a soft hand.  The new Modern Library fabrics selected enhanced the texture, highlighted the movement of the chair frame and added sparkle. 

The outside of the chair is upholstered in Kidskin/Frost a pearlized faux leather which adds sheen, texture and durability. The inside of the chair is upholstered in Soft Blanket/Twine a heathered woven texture that adds visual depth and interest. Last, the kidney cushion in Twist Around/Magenta adds a pop of color.  A deep magenta floral outlined with metallic pewter details.  The perfect combination of modern fabrics and transitional furniture for a sophisticated Los Angeles lifestyle.   

Our guest blogger today is Susan J. Slotkis, an interior designer, educator and author.  She has practiced interior design through her design firm Profiles – Personalized Interiors, and has leveraged her knowledge and expertise into teaching and publishing at the collegiate level. Today, she is an adjunct assistant professor at Fashion Institute of Technology and lecturer at New York University.  She has developed and taught interior design seminars and courses for private groups and colleges.  Susan’s first book, Foundations of Interior Design, published by Fairchild Books in 2006, has been touted as the essential source book for students, seasoned practitioners and industry partners.  Her second book will be published in 2012.

Susan Slotkis

I slowly digested the newest collection to savor all it has to offer.  Not only am I interested in color and texture, but historical references within a current context.  What resonated for me was a language of Art Deco and Jazz. Some of the vocabulary:
Rhythm - Exotic - Tribal - Primitive - Geometric - Cubism - Abstract-Stylized - Sensual Zig-Zag

Here's my take on just one story from the latest Robert Allen Modern Library collection.  Combine several of the faux skins and primitive geometric textures in the warm rich tones (e.g. copper and magenta); add saturated blues such as the vibrant Go Go in Abracadabra (think Kate's sapphire engagement ring). Then, let freedom ring!

Jazz Poster; Go Go, Abracadabra; Tracing, Magenta

Why jazz and Art Deco for inspiration?  Jazz, considered true American music with its roots in Africa, peaked in popularity in the Art Deco period in the 1930s.  Jazz is perhaps iconic in its fusion of tradition and modernism.  Art Deco style has spread across fashion, jewelry, decorative arts, architecture, painting, sculpture and graphics.  It synthesized primitive and progressive motifs for the entire world to see.  The movement was in its heyday at the 1925 International Exposition held in Paris.

Vogue Cover; Zig Along, Copper; Go Go, Abracadabra

Both the Jazz Age and Art Deco are regaining attention and recognition as glorious modern art forms.  Inspiration came from Africa then, influence comes from Africa now.  The confluence of traditional and contemporary Africa on design, fashion and interiors creates a satisfying recipe. 

Barkcloth; Menswear from Richard Chai

Midnight in Paris, a film by Woody Allen, a long-time jazz enthusiast and musician delightfully brought us cameo rolls from the avant-garde in Paris during the 1920s, among them Josephine Baker, Pablo Picasso and F. Scott Fitzgerald and Daisy Buchanan. Keep your eye out for the upcoming 3D film version of The Great Gatsby for more of the lush life. 

Violin and Guitar by Pablo Picasso

Recent NYC museum exhibits provided wonderful glances into the design aesthetics of this early period of Modernism and its influence on contemporary design.

Color Moves: Art and Fashion by Sonia Delaunay at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt showed the range of this modernist painter, textile and fashion designer.

Clockwise from top left: Cape by Sonia Delaunay; Photograph of Delaunay; Painting by Delaunay; Center Square, Magenta 

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty at the Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art paid tribute to the romantic and the exotic.

Alexander McQueen; Kidskin, Copper; Anaconda, Magenta

The Global Africa Project at the Museum of Art and Design was a complex and expansive view of the African Diaspora's influence on contemporary design and fashion.  Amaridian "A New African Era" through its website and Soho gallery represents many contemporary African artists.  One such treasure is the ceramicist from Cape Town, Martine Jackson, whose vases are pictured here.

 
Also shown: Go Go, Copper; Lady Tara, Prussian

In contrast, there is beauty.  Here are my picks for hot and cool starters from the Modern Library collection:

Tracing, Magenta; Zig Along, Copper; Anaconda, Magenta

Center Square, Magenta; Kidskin, Copper; Snugglebug, Magenta 

Salamander, Prussian; Lady Tara, Prussian; Square Link, Sunset

Hannah Alderson, our Upholstery Design Director for Robert Allen, joined us just a little over two months ago. In addition to her  previous positions in decorative fabric design direction, Hannah started out as a fabric stylist at an upholstery mill so she knows fabric construction inside and out! She received her MFA in Textiles from Rhode Island School of Design in 2001 and her BA from Harvard in 1994. We asked Hannah for her fresh take on the designs in Robert Allen’s new Modern Library and want to share this as her blog post today.

Hannah Alderson

prim·i·tive

adj.

1. Not derived from something else; primary or basic.

In the world of design, we are having, as we like to say at Robert Allen, a “moment.” Look around, and you’ll start to see it everywhere. We are craving all things “primitive.” Which is to say: our hearts beat a little faster when we see design inspired by authentic, traditional, and even ancient aesthetics.  Where the form and material appear to be made in a pre-industrial age, and where the design of an object reveals something about the skill of the hands that made it.

Robert Allen Modern Library Fabrics (Left to Right): Salamander, Slate; Salamander, Prussian; Salamander, Twine

The popularity of ancient weaving and dying techniques like batik and ikat, and the appealing awkwardness of the shapes and flowers from appliqued suzanis are a few major examples of how we are in love with all things authentic, original, and imperfect.

Designs that feel right for today and at this “moment” are ones that capitalize on a simplicity and directness. In a way they are “unfiltered.” In the very best modern textile design, the patterns are left alone to be what they want to be. The individual components are basic—an undulating line, or a simple dash, a concentric diamond—which then build in repeat like a dramatic drum beat.  Simple. Powerful. Primitive.

Architectural Digest

“Modern Primitive” captured in this gorgeous modern room from Architectural Digest’s May 2011 issue. Love the African sculptures, the Modigliani painting, and of course THAT RUG.   

Gillow, John and Bryan Sentence  World Textiles: A Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques, London 1999.

An example of an Indonesian dyed fabric I love for its line quality, the slight meander which is the result of the dying process and the artists’ hand.

Chair shown in Dragon Lizard, Slate and Pillow in Lady Tara, Magenta

I love the connection between the inspiration of ancient resist dying techniques on the pillow, juxtaposed with a whimsical snakeskin design on the chair.

Gillow, John and Bryan Sentence  World Textiles: A Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques, London 1999.

A bark cloth from Fiji. I am inspired by the layering of simple design elements. The sum is larger than the parts. So exciting.

Gillow, John and Bryan Sentence  World Textiles: A Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques, London 1999.

Another example of beautiful mark-making as a result of an ancient technique.

Elle Decoration

Example of how the most traditional patterns can come together when layered to make a very modern statement. This is courageous and powerful.

I have a feeling this “moment” has something to do with a craving for courage. In ancient times, textiles and pattern were used for protection, and also projection: what did we want the world to know about us when we wore that ottoman robe, that head scarf? What did it say about our power, our strength? I like to think animal skins, entwined lattices, circles (nets, shields) help us project spaces which make us feel strong and ready and protected. Ready to begin.