12 Sep Details: Things We Love

Oombrella by Wezoo

Clément Guillot, a former publicist for French television, has, with the help of his team, designed an extraordinary umbrella. The Oombrella, or the “unforgettable umbrella,” is a personal weather station. Its sensor measures light, humidity, temperature and barometric pressure, and through a smartphone app, the Oombrella sends hyper-local alerts in real time to remind you to bring it along on your outings. Funded by crowdsourcing, Guillot’s team designed the umbrella to withstand high winds and hail storms with its Kevlar ribs. Even better, the Oombrella is also known for its beauty. It’s said to be like experiencing an aurora borealis when walking beneath it; its colors gradually changing.

$88 | 37 inches | oombrella.me

Hand-Painted Credenza by Zoë Pawlak and Jeff Martin

Artist Zoë Pawlak loves to collaborate. Her abstract landscape paintings have appeared on rugs manufactured by Burritt Bros and now on this beautifully crafted credenza in collaboration with woodworker Jeff Martin. The two creatives — noticing the popularity of credenzas — fabricated a rare combination of artistic expression and utility. The front of the credenza displays one of Pawlak’s oil paintings from her landscape series that she explains is “about color and feeling and expansive space.” The duo’s collaboration is made from charred walnut, oxidized maple and powder-coated steel. “The piece is almost entirely based on shape,” Martin says. “Its cantilever bodyweight and substance create a platform for Zoë’s paintings to be exalted.” This hand-painted credenza provides artistry in an unexpected way; a perfect detail to complement any room.

$7,600 | 84 x 28.5 x 22 inches | 778.233.4035 | jeffmartinjoinery.ca

Vintage Park Posters by Ranger Doug’s Enterprises

In honor of the National Park Service’s centennial, we celebrate Ranger Doug, who keeps alive the artistic images of our national parks. It began with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who instituted the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s. Between 1935 and 1943, the WPA’s Federal Art Project printed more than 2 million posters to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety and travel. Based in Seattle, Washington, Ranger Doug’s Enterprises creates reproductions of WPA national park serigraphed posters. Starting as a hobby in 1973, founder Doug Leen recreated the posters by hand drawing every screen from original black-and-white photographs, a process that took more than five years. From these “new” screens, he recolored each poster using historically accurate palettes. Now you can bring the memories of your favorite national parks into your home in a timeless fashion.
 
$40 | Ranging in size and edition | 888.972.7678 | rangerdoug.com

1220-100 Scoop Chair by Milo Baughman from Thayer Coggin

Thayer Coggin first made this Mid-century Modern scoop chair in 1953. And we love that today it’s made an exciting comeback. Its classic design is attributed to Milo Baughman, one of, if not the, most famous designer of Modern furniture in the 20th century. Baughman had a 50-year relationship with Thayer Coggin, which fabricated his trendsetting designs in their North Carolina facility. It’s with pride that Thayer Coggin brings back the popular designs that set the pace of Modern furniture. Baughman, who was highly regarded by his peers for his quick wit, never gave his creations a name, but they became known by numbers — the 989-103 Lounge Chair or the 955-304 Sofa. This 1220-100 Scoop Chair sports stainless-steel legs to support its one-piece red seat, a demonstration of Mid-century furniture at its finest.

Removable Wall Paper by Timothy Sue

The Chinese were the first society known to decorate walls with beautifully painted rice paper as early as 200 B.C. From that time until now, wallpaper has come a long way, baby! Timothy Sue, a San Francisco, California-based company, has jumped on the removable wallpaper bandwagon. Made of substrate material, in this case a fabric, you can take it down if you don’t like it and try it somewhere else. Artist, designer and owner of Timothy Sue, Colette Clark, creates each distinctive design. She starts with drawings and watercolors and uses digital print methods to give her work a hand-rendered look. Clark was captivated by color and patterns from an early age after being inspired by her father’s and grandmother’s paintings. Now, those early impressions are evident in her colorfully patterned wall coverings, such as this Coconino design. Choose your color, choose your pattern and love the new mood you’ve added with ease.

$120 | 2 x 9 feet | timothysue.com

Bumblebee Vase by Emilia Castillo 

Salamanders, frogs and tadpoles are only a few of the critters that adorn the delightful works of Emilia Castillo. From her ranch in Taxco, Mexico, Castillo carries on the tradition of her father, Antonio Castillo, a master silversmith who garnered a global following. She adds to the family legacy with her patented technique of fusing silver to porcelain, a process that’s become a signature of her work, along with the incorporation of precious stones such as lapis lazuli, jasper, turquoise, malachite and onyx. We love this exquisite Bumblebee Vase — made from hammered copper with a silver wash and adorned with silver leaves — for its handsome craftsmanship. Five bumblebees are hand carved in wood and painted with silver wings. 

$1,395 | 14 x 9 inches | 505.983.9241 | maloufontheplaza.com

Mr. Osage Desk by Blockhorse Designs

In Roundup, Montana, award-winning artist Troy Evans works from his studio on his family’s ranch. An appreciator of the artwork he grew up with, including medieval sculpture from Spain and masterwork paintings from the Italian Renaissance, he has translated these influences from the 14th and 15th century into his craft of furniture making. We love the winsomeness of this unique table, titled Mr. Osage, for its freedom of expression in sculptural form. Made from English brown oak, Osage orange, African mahogany and pear wood, with hand-forged iron elements, it’s destined to be a conversation piece for its providential owner.

$8,900 | 42 x 18 x 25 inches | 406.672.6777 | blockhorsedesigns.com 

Chateau Domingue’s Antique Lanterns

We were excited to discover Chateau Domingue, a fine source for architectural elements and antiques. The Chateau Domingue brand was crafted by Ruth Gay in Houston, Texas, and brings one-of-a-kind European-sourced fixtures and furnishings to the U.S. From mantels, doors, tiles, floors, lighting, hardware, furniture and garden décor from France, Belgium and across Europe, only the finest offerings are hunted, gathered and displayed for your perusal. If you are one who loves the warm glow of candlelight, Chateau Domingue’s stock of 17th- and 19th-century antique lanterns range in size from small to grand and in shape from formal to fanciful. Though each iron lantern is similar in that it shares a pure European heritage.

$325 to $640 | 713.961.3444 | chateaudomingue.com

Kitchen Island by La Puerta Originals

Scott Coleman spent years traveling the globe in search of architectural antiques. He discovered unique, often hand-crafted pieces in Southeast Asia, Mexico, South America, Europe and back at home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Today, his business, La Puerta Originals, keeps up to 50,000 architectural elements in supply to incorporate in different projects, creating one-of-a-kind pieces. Take, for example, this custom kitchen island. A work of craftsmanship, it’s constructed from carved antique panels with legs made from dowry chests and a butcher-block countertop. While made from reclaimed and antique elements, the modern interior features self-closing drawers, soft-close door hinges and removable inserts. Artisans at La Puerta incorporate multiple treasures into one project to create conversation pieces that also serve a purpose. They will frame a cabinet with sculptural columns or cover a door with salvaged grillwork. How about a custom front entry or a fireplace mantel? Each piece can be designed collaboratively — for commercial or residential spaces — to update a current interior or set the tone when designing from scratch. 

$9,500 | 46 x 24 x 36 inches | 505.984.8164 | lapuertaoriginals.com