COACH: INSPIRED BY BONNIE CASHIN

THE TOM SCHEERER AESTHETIC

 

The Tom Scheerer aesthetic is a lesson in artistic perfection—a visual territory with a disciplined approach to composition. Tom's interiors are succinct and cozy, complex yet subtle, textural but not ornate, and highly sophisticated without pretense. My Dog-Eared Pages is delighted to talk with Tom and ask him some fun questions:

• Current obsession: asparagus and rhubarb, it's Spring.

• Last thing you bought: Two pair of imitation "Belgian Shoes" made by Testoni exclusively for Maus and Hoffman in Palm Beach. They are superior in every way to the real thing... construction and comfort wise and only twice as expensive!!

• Favorite vacation spot: One of my houses in Paris, Harbour Island, Maine, or East Hampton! Or Capri in June.

• Listening to: Camille (Dalmais)

• Inspiring artist: Anish Kapoor...... Purity, technicianship and accessibility

• Can't live without: Food and water, that's it.

• Most precious belonging: My passport

• Favorite shape: Circle...... see Carl Jung

• Color of the moment: Purple, again

• Cocktail of the moment: Negroni, its purple

• Museum pick: Musée de la chasse et de la Nature around the corner from my house in Paris

• Most comfortable shoes: See above (Maus and Hoffman) or my brown suede slip-on Merrells for city and country walking.

• Favorite time of day: dawn

• Thing about interior design you already knew at age 18: Brown wool velvet 20" Wilton carpeting everywhere possible.

• Best design advice for readers: Hire a professional, if you can afford it, then don't interfere.

 

NOTE: One of Tom's latest projects is Maison 1400, his 15th-century house in Paris. It's available to rent as a full townhouse that sleeps up to TEN; or as four private apartments. Maison 1400 reflects Tom's signature high-style, understated luxury and sense of comfort. To find out more, visit: Maison1400

 

LIZZIE FORTUNATO JEWELS

I love Lizzie Fortunato Jewels by sisters Elizabeth and Kathryn Fortunato. Their collections feature industrial, found, and reclaimed materials, as well as the coolest Belt-Bags influenced by their grandmother's immaculate needlework. Fresh and fashion-forward. For retailers, visit: LizzieFortunatoJewels.com

VALENTINO | THE LAST EMPEROR

A look at the new film about Valentino [bravo!]

THEATERS | DATES | TIMES

A TRIBUTE TO EXTRAORDINARY GEORGE

In the last weeks of my godfather George's life he told me he loved the actress Louise Brooks. He told me to learn about Maggie Lane's needlepoint kimonos and Anne Ryan collages. We talked about Cora Ginsburg and antique textiles, William Spratling and Alexander Calder jewelry, 17th & 18th century European paintings, Moghul drawings, Iranian jewelry, and Japanese prints. I read him articles from the New York Times. He asked me to tell him about my dog and he closed his eyes and smiled as he listened. I held Freesia up to his nose so he could smell its peppery sweetness. We held hands. We talked about blogs and blogging. We talked about how The Met glows in the evening. He gave me instructions for thank you notes. I got to know his nurses and aids. We looked through postcards of paintings and he thought the Dutch pastoral scene with the cows was "a bore." He was a consummate New Yorker but had also lived in Rome and Paris. When I attended art school in London he gave me a list of his friends to visit in Europe with priceless descriptions of each one. He began his career in the antiques department at Lord & Taylor, then as a silver buyer for Tiffany & Co. Later, he started the original museum gift shop at The Brooklyn Museum and then The Crafts of all Nations shops at The United Nations. He volunteered in the European Design & Decoration Library at The Met for eighteen years, with a few of them spent in the Costume department. He was a serious art collector. When I told him on Monday that I would be back at the end of the week he said "you better call first" with a smile. He died on Wednesday, March 11th after a spin around the hospice halls in a wheeling recliner. He was 88. I was lucky.

BUDAPEST BEAUTY | OMOROVICZA

The Omorovicza skincare line created by Stephen and Margaret de Heinrich de Omorovicza is based on the celebrated healing waters of Budapest (rich in key minerals--magnesium, calcium, zinc and copper). My favorite product in the line is the Complexion Enhancer, SPF 15. It's a triple-treat for the skin including sun protection (zinc oxide), the healing properties of Hungarian thermal waters, and concealer--all combined to give the skin a glowy, even-toned matte finish. The Omorovicza line even smells wonderful with naturally scented ingredients like lavender and cucumber. The only problem is the tricky-to-pronounce name. But don't worry, Omorovicza is available on the Neiman Marcus website. The Complexion Enhancer, SPF 15 comes in light and dark tones. Light is perfect for fair to medium skin tones. Dark should be used for dark skinned complexions only. Price for perfection is $135.00

Footnote: Extremely Hungary is a yearlong festival showcasing contemporary Hungarian visual, performing, and literary arts in New York and Washington, D.C. throughout 2009. Read more...

WE ARE IN STITCHES | TRENDS

Have you noticed a renewed passion for needlepoint and stitching lately? At New York's Fashion Week, Anya Hindmarch passed out needlepoint kits to keep front-row fashion editors busy between shows. Subversive Cross Stitch sells traditional samplers but with phrases like "Go F--- Yourself!" Jonathan Adler sells a lot of groovy novelty needlepoint accessories and pillows. Maybe this renewed craze is edging upon our desire to ditch our computers and jump on the hand-crafted movement that is fueling sites like Etsy. Whatever it is... I find it inspiring. But the tricky part to the needlepoint craft can be the search for a canvas design that you would even bother to thread--something more sophisticated than a cute cat or a preppy monogrammed pillow with a pseudo Hicks background. After searching and scowling and searching some more, I found a company that has some great designs... the Art Needlepoint Co. canvases are the best quality (Zweigart) and are reasonably priced. Their collection spans the art of Audubon to Van Gogh with charming characters of Ballet Russes in between. Here is a sampling of canvases from Art Needlepoint:

A wonderful book about Bloomsbury Needlepoint:

Bloomsbury Needlepoint: From the
Tapestries at Charleston Farmhouse