Artist Elayna Toby Singer next to her larger-than-life kinetic sculpture, "Re-tooled"
Detail from "Re-Tooled". Photo: Jane Dagmi
When artist Elayna Toby Singer contemplates a new mixed media assemblage, she pieces together objects from both natural and manmade worlds, re-imagining them in a fresh context.
“A single object’s shape, color, and texture can instantly rouse my artistic vision,” says Elayna, whose first found-object kinetic sculpture was inspired by a crushed and discarded pair of eyeglasses.
While she selects twigs, pods, gemstones, beads and shells from relegated jars, bowls, and pots in her studio, no creative gestation is quite complete without a visit to the rust farm.
The rust farm is a 50 sq. ft. patch of backyard where assorted metal objects—found, bought at flea markets, and dropped off by friends—are laid out on wire mesh shelves and left to weather in the tropical South Florida climate.
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- Fresh Pastry Stand: New Business from Old Housewares
Fresh Pastry Stand: New Business from Old Housewares
Whether making cake stands or candles, Fresh Pastry Stand’s Deva Mirel finds inspiration in the vintage kitchen and its contents.
Fresh Pastry Stand's Deva Mirel holding a vintage Rosenthal "Coins" plate
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Lamon Luther: Reclaiming Lumber… and Lives
The Inez Chevron table, totally on-trend, comes in a variety of sizes.
Compassion, faith, and hope are not intrinsically wired into the furniture business, but Lamon Luther, a fledgling manufacturer based in Douglasville, GA, might just set a new precedent for the industry.
Brian Preston, the company’s founder, is not only committed to designing super cool hand-crafted tables, benches, and bookcases from beautifully patinated reclaimed wood, he is dedicated to salvaging lives in the process. Preston hires homeless carpenters, building hope through employment.
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The Biltmore Estate: A Brief Architectural Tour
The Biltmore Estate, Ashville, NC. Photo: Jane Dagmi
I recently toured The Biltmore in Asheville, NC—a 250-room estate on 8,000 acres, the largest private home built in America. It is architecturally splendid, wildly romantic, and absurdly luxurious.
Inspired by chateaux in France, George Vanderbilt hired architect Richard Morris Hunt to interpret his vision and Frederick Law Olmsted to landscape it.
Over six years, 1,000 men worked six days a week to complete the estate, with George Vanderbilt and his guests christening Biltmore on Christmas Eve 1895.
This was my first visit to the estate, and from the moment I glimpsed it, my heartbeat seriously raced. I was in awe of the scale, the scenery, and the lifestyle that it must have supported.
Here are six of the Biltmore’s most memorable architectural features:
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Fireclay Tile: An Inventive Company Flush with Green Ideas
For Paul Burns, Founder and Chief Ceramicist at Fireclay Tile, the deafening sound of crushing porcelain toilets is strangely melodious. The deconstruction of old and inefficient toilets gives Burns the strong stabilizer he needs to create Debris Series Recycled Tile, made from over 70% post- and pre-consumer waste. In finding a purpose for outdated plumbing fixtures, Fireclay Tile has diverted 150 tons of porcelain waste from landfill so far.
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Design Manifest: A Father’s Day Tribute
Design Manifest's Naomi and Andrew Stein
I love the concept of “the family business.” It has that old-world feeling of apprenticeship, with one generation picking up skills from another. But the family business is one built on trust and unconditional love. I am sure maintaining a family business is a supreme challenge at times, yet from my off-and-on research, I know that a family business can also deepen and strengthen bonds.
Meet Andrew and Naomi Stein—the father and daughter team at Design Manifest, a full service design firm with a top-notch construction and installation team, based just outside of Philadelphia. Andrew loves to build. He has been building things for 40 years. “Swinging the hammer is what I like best,” he says. Naomi, who studied marketing at Penn State and then got her interior decorating certification from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, has an adventurous spirit with a passion for design, decorating, and blogging. While she gets the relevance of function and durability, aesthetics are what truly fire her up.
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Prior to April, I was a “tile virgin.” But then I went to Coverings, the tile and stone industry trade show. With over 800 exhibitors in 300,000 square feet of space, I was over-stimulated, overwhelmed, and amazed at the size, innovation, and passion of this high-performance industry. Of course, any time you gather a lot of Italians under one roof, there’s gonna be passion!
There’s a lot of product news to relay from Coverings, and I am going to start with a few spotlight-stealers that would make beautiful backsplashes. Gale Steves, author and trend spotter, believes the backsplash is often an afterthought for kitchen remodelers. I venture to say that the tiles below might actually drive the design and mood of the entire kitchen.
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2020 Alton Road: Anatomy of a LEED Home
2020 Alton inspires major drive-by gawking. Photo: John Patron
The luxurious super-green house underway at 2020 Alton Road in Miami Beach is moving right along on its way toward LEED Platinum certification. Outfitted with top-of-the-line, energy-efficient products and systems, this project—from the Florida Green Home Design Group—strives for superlative indoor air quality and net-zero energy use.
The current asking price for the two-story five-bedroom, solar- and wind-fueled, rainwater-harvesting, totally iPad-automated house is $2.2 million. Even now, before the decorative details and finishing touches have been completed, it’s easy to appreciate 2020 Alton Road, on track to become the smartest, safest, and most energy-efficient residence in town.
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- How To: Make Kids Eco-Aware
How To: Make Kids Eco-Aware
The way to a young person’s conservation-conscious heart is through active learning—and maybe some candy.
A view of the Monarch Hill landfill.
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- Building Community: A Scene from Delray Beach
Building Community: A Scene from Delray Beach
After stomping the edges of newly laid sod, Liam Reade awaits his next task.
According to the City of Delray Beach, community service has no age requirement. At this weekend’s “Curb Appeal by the Block” project, volunteers as young as four came to paint, garden, and relish the natural high that comes from giving back. Liam Reade was the youngest volunteer among a group of 200 area residents who, over the course of the day, revitalized six homes that’d been in need of some TLC.
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