Doris Athineos

Love Among the Ruins

Written on October 18, 2011 at 3:32 pm
By Doris Athineos

Salvage hunters alert. Chunks of architectural history will be offered for sale in Manhattan (One Centre Street/18th floor) October 24 in a scarcely publicized city auction.  The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commissionis offering facade fragments and ornaments from demolished landmarks and other buildings including terra-cotta tile from the facade of the old Audubon Ballroom and the Helen Hayes Theater (circa 1911).

Richard Gere strikes the right cord

Written on October 4, 2011 at 12:34 pm
By Doris Athineos

 

Actor Richard Gere is selling off his vintage guitar collection for charity. Rock on, Richard. Guitars once owned by blues legend Albert King, Jamaican reggae musician Peter Tosh and American guitar maker James D’Aquisto all hit the auction block at Christie’s October 11. “I’ve had a love affair with guitars since I was a kid,” says Gere, who is donating the proceeds from 83 guitars and 24 amps ($1 million estimate) to humanitarian causes. “They’ve been my true friends through the best and worst of times. Some are very special. Although it’s more than a little painful to let them go, each one has been played, loved and appreciated–and will
be again.”

 

MAGIC CARPET

Written on September 1, 2011 at 12:34 pm
By Doris Athineos

Brad Pitt, Jay-Z and Beyoncé walk on silk, cashmere and wool rugs designed by Carini Lang.  If you’re lucky, you can walk across your own original Carini Lang hand-made carpet for the price of a $25 raffle ticket. The raffle raises funds for Goodweave, an organization working to end child labor in the carpet industry. Made in Nepal, the bedroom-size carpet retails for $6,534.

The organization raises money to rescue, educate and care for victims of child labor. Look for the Goodweave label when shopping for hand-knotted rugs to insure that children were not exploited. “The label signifies that child labor was not used in the rug-making process,” says April Thompson. “We conduct random surprise inspections of companies whose rugs we certify.

This summer a 10-year-old girl, Nirmala, was rescued from child labor during a Goodweave inspection.  Goodweave is now paying for Nirmala to catch up on her education at a GoodWeave center, as well as contributing to her other schooling.

BY NICOLE BITETTE

Acres of antiques at Brimfield

Written on August 22, 2011 at 11:07 am
By Doris Athineos

Brimfield Antique Show strikes the tiny town of Brimfield, Mass, three times a year– May, July and September.  Brimfield gave birth to the Keno brothers (both parents were dealers here) and the first place the twins offered antiques (stoneware) for sale. But with more than 5,000 dealers setting up shop along Route 20, where to begin? Our favorite stretch of field is J & J, the original Brimfield show founded by Gordon Reid in 1959 and still managed by Reid’s two daughters Judy and Jill. It was the J & J show that spawned all the rest and turned Brimfield into a destination for hard-core fans of vintage and antique furnishings.  Most of the 20 shows have their own start times and dates (roughly September 6 through 11), but J & J opens September 9th @ 8 am.  Antiques junkies begin lining up at dark to be among the first to enter the gates (see above). To find the J & J field, set your GPS on 35 Main Street. For a map of different fields, see Brimfield.

Decorator Maverick Billy Haines at Christie’s

Written on July 15, 2011 at 2:16 pm
By Doris Athineos

Back when interior design was just emerging as a serious, wide-spread profession in the United States, some of the top decorators in the country were creating furnishings that have stood the test of time. Think low-slung slipper chairs by movie-star-turned decorator Billy Haines (1900-1973).  Traditional Home writer Ted Loos calls these first-wave  designers “decorator mavericks” and describes the style as both neo and classical in the upcoming October issue of Traditional Home.

Now Christie’s auction house in Manhattan is offering vintage furnishings by Haines custom designed for the late Los-Angeles-based art collector Mrs. Sidney Brody.  The auction begins at Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries this Tuesday afternoon, July 19, at 2:00 pm.  Here’s our wish list:

For close-up views of all the vintage Haines, flip through Christie’s online catalog, but don’t miss the live auction Tuesday, July 19, at 2:00 pm eastern time. Read Wisecracker: The Life and Times of William Haines by William J. Mann (Penguin) to learn more about the Virginia-born designer who was the country’s biggest movie star by 1930.  For reissues of theclassical Haines tufted sofa, tap into williamhaines.com. And don’t miss the upcoming Decorator Mavericks story in Traditional Home which features Haines, Tony Duquette, Milwaukee-born Frances Elkins (1888-1953), Robsjohn-Gibbings, and Mississippi-born Samuel Marx (1884-1964).

Trash or treasure?

Written on June 14, 2011 at 12:45 pm
By Doris Athineos

Free design consultation with award-winning designers

Written on April 27, 2011 at 11:43 am
By Doris Athineos

Consider cruising the five-day Spring Show NYC as 65 dealers from around the country strut their stuff at the Park Avenue Armory. The show opens this Thursday and all opening-night proceeds benefit the ASPCA which explains the spotlight on animal-themed antiques. At the press preview, we fell for an ancient bronze ganesh, a pair of dashing Chinese porcelain hawks, a powerful terra-cotta Mastiff (above), and eagle-topped bull’s eye mirror, but you may also leave with one of the  leashed critters (up for adoption!) greeting guests at the door Thursday evening. On Friday night, Traditional Home’s award-winning “New Trad” designers will offer one-on-one design consultations gratis so come armed with your photos, paints chips and floor plans. There’s also a chance to bid for more extensive consultations with designs pros Patrik Lonn and Sara Gilbane, among others.

Never has the Armory looked more alive!

Masterpiece theatre for design junkies

Written on April 13, 2011 at 9:11 am
By Doris Athineos

Springtime means a fresh start for the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America (AADLA) and its inaugural Spring Show, slated for the Park Avenue Armory April 28 through May 2, feels like a winner. The AADLA seduces us with a heady mix of bold antiques, dramatic paintings and vintage jewelry displayed in fancy wrapping. Designer Lars Bolander created the special effects with eye-popping color and theatrical lighting which emphasizes the armory’s soaring ceiling, a formerly hidden asset.

Go to see antiques in a variety of styles (Georgian, Queen Anne, Louis XVI)  mix with younger upstarts–mid-century modern Bertoia sculpture, a Carlo Bugatti copper inlay table or a colorful wool tapestry by the awesome, Russian-born painter Sonia Delaunay. If you can’t wait until next week, cruise by Bergdorf Goodman where windows on West 57^th Street feature some of the show’s animal-themed antiques (opening-night party proceeds go to benefit the ASPCA). Still not convinced? The exciting lecture program features the director of London’s Sir John Soane Museum (the most inspiring house museum in the world) and one of the world’s leading experts on Tibetan Buddhism (Dr. Robert Thurman) who will talk about collecting Tibetan bronzes.

The Connoisseur Committee includes 1^st Dibs Michael Bruno, designers Bunny Williams, Michael Smith, Vicente Wolf, Celerie Kemble and Mile Redd and honorary chairs Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

As an added bonus, Traditional Home’s award-winning New Traditional designers will help shoppers navigate the show. Bring your paint chips and fabric swatches and let the design pros help layout your room.

Masterpiece theatre for a new generation

Written on April 12, 2011 at 1:26 pm
By Doris Athineos

Springtime means a fresh start for the Art and Antiques Dealers League of America (AADLA) and its inaugural Spring Show, slated for the Park Avenue Armory April 28 through May 2, feels like a winner. The AADLA seduces us with a heady mix of bold antiques, dramatic paintings and vintage jewelry displayed in fancy wrapping. Designer Lars Bolander created the special effects with eye-popping color and theatrical lighting which emphasizes the armory’s soaring ceiling, a formerly hidden asset.

Go to see antiques in a variety of styles (Georgian, Queen Anne, Louis XVI)  mix with younger upstarts–mid-century modern Bertoia sculpture, a Carlo Bugatti copper inlay table or a colorful wool tapestry by the awesome, Russian-born painter Sonia Delaunay. If you can’t wait until next week, cruise by Bergdorf Goodman where windows on West 57^th Street feature some of the show’s animal-themed antiques (opening-night party proceeds go to benefit the ASPCA). Still not convinced? The exciting lecture program features the director of London’s Sir John Soane Museum (the most inspiring house museum in the world) and one of the world’s leading experts on Tibetan Buddhism (Dr. Robert Thurman) who will talk about collecting Tibetan bronzes.

The Connoisseur Committee includes 1^st Dibs Michael Bruno, designers Bunny Williams, Michael Smith, Vicente Wolf, Celerie Kemble and Mile Redd and honorary chairs Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

As an added bonus, Traditional Home’s award-winning New Traditional designers will help shoppers navigate the show. Bring your paint chips and fabric swatches and let the design pros help layout your room.

Rocking Out

Written on March 31, 2011 at 10:18 am
By Doris Athineos

Real rockers may prefer digging up their own gems but I’ll take this box of rocks, minerals and fossils slated to hit the auction block at Christie’s South Kensington April 6.

British mineralogist  Thomas Russell (1838-1928) began selling rocks in 1848 when he was ten! The goody box contains 36 specimens including lapis, agates and polished pebbles. There’s another tray for fossils.  What a great cabinet of curiosities to have at hand next time some pint-size friends come to visit. When they leave, you can examine the specimens for yourself.  The box includes two yellowed labels–both Russell and his successor, William James Shaw.