m21 needs a slave- i mean intern!

it's time... we need smart, capable help around the atelier. every day will bring a different challenge, as one day it might be creating invoices, cleaning a tchotchke, or prepping a canvas for painting, the next it might be holding my hand in a client meeting, making a floor plan or shopping for fabric. we have lots going on in many arenas, both design and media, so be prepared to juggle.  it will be work but it will be fun too, and i guarantee you'll walk out the door with more working knowledge of design and social media than you walked in with. whether you still like either field afterwards (or me), i couldn't say...  ;-)

just putting it out there. if you think you might be interested, click above on the slave formerly known as the artist formerly known as prince ...

something in the air (art by elizabeth dow)

sometimes there is just something in the air. you know, when everywhere you turn, you see the same thing, and everyone else seems to be noticing it at the same time as you.

such is the case with the art of elizabeth dow. i randomly stumbled on her website several weeks ago- no clue where i was when i clicked the link, but when i got to her site, i was mesmerized. i am usually drawn to completely abstracted works but elizbeth's more representational images of sea and sky are what grabbed my attention- just painterly and abstract enough to reveal the hand and imagination of the artist, but the subject matter is always clear.

the images stuck in my head for weeks, then this weekend i got a facebook invitation to an opening of her works in NYC and discovered to my chagrin, that i was facebook friends with her, but had no idea she was an artist (she also has a line of fabrics & wallcoverings so i assumed it was a design networking connection).

last, today, i got the "what's new" newsletter from 1stdibs which i rarely have time to click these days, but today i did, and there was elizabeth dow again, profiled in the pages of their introspective magazine. so after all these signs, i knew i needed to share in case you've missed the dow zeitgest. i hope a LA gallery will soon mount an exhibition of her works so i can see them in person, but until then, here is a selection from her website.

enjoy.

going underground with the muddy leek

just after the pop-up store, the trendiest thing going right now is the underground dinner, and after reading about them in just about every publication devoted to food over the last several years, maison21 finally attended his first guerrilla dinner this past saturday night courtesy of the muddy leek underground (the nom de secret nom nom of bon melange catering).

we gathered at matcha source tea on 3rd st (you don't get to know the location until a couple days beforehand), and then enjoyed wine, conversation, live music and 15 courses of yum. since matcha source is a small location,  bon mélange manager juile retzlaff and chef whitney flood decided to make this dinner a chef's tasting menu of small bites, served cocktail party style. i can't imagine a better calling card for a chef 'cuz if you can turn out 15 courses without a dud in the bunch, you gots some serious food skilz.

the crowd enjoying wine, pre-food (look careful- i'm way in teh back having just been nosily poking around the kitchen to see what delights we had in store!)

15 courses- ALL delicious, quite a feat, if you ask me.

sustainable caviar blinis and creme fraiche

manchego with burkett farms apricot grilled cheese- heavenly.

fish tacos, pico de gallo & house made queso fresco

duck confit hash & weiser farms potato with duck egg. i would happily eat this every day for breakfast or dinner!

five spiced fois gras with pineapple, my favorite of the evening, though the lamp merguez w/lemon aioli crostini (no pic) were a close second. design industry man about town zak graff would disagree- he ranked the merguez as his fave.

the bon mélange photographer must have been as stuffed and lazy as i was at the end of the evening as we don't have any pictures of dessert, but the bourbon peach bread pudding and the strawberry rhubarb shortcakes were pretty damn amazing.

the verdict? trendy or no, i'm down with the underground. next muddy leek is scheduled for july, and i'm sooooooo there.


last, this ain't got nothin' to do with muddy leek, or bon mélange, but somehow just now typing the phrase "down with teh underground" reminded me of this... 2pac 4ever, y'alls!

maison21 & casasugar visit 'dwell on design 2012'

today we had a bunch of fun seeing tons of cool products, as well as catching up with lots of awesome peoples, at dwell on design 2012, at the los angeles convention center. dwell on design runs all weekend-  saturday the 23rd (tomorrow) and sunday the 24th-  and if you register online, use discount code '20DODEM12' to get a one day pass for  only 10 bucks- 50% off the price at the door.

here's a few of our instagram picks, though we warn you, they were taken with an iphone, indoors, under artificial light, so you know that means half are blurry. sorry, but hey- not like we are pulling in the big bucks in photography fees, ya know?

the next kids room we do is going to get a wall of these six and a half foot high dutch row house cabinets from cool kids company.

kitchen drawer porn from poggenpohl

these chic tiles from sonite innovative surfaces look like a beautiful glass mosaic, but they are "a synthetic composite resin", or as you and i call it "plastique" :-) it also makes them very thin and lightweight, so we can think of all kinds of applications where they could be used when a traditional glass tile wouldn't work.

loved this tentacle-y crystal chandelier from online retailer, lightopia.

cool spun aluminum planters from local los angeles designer/artisan brendan ravenhill.

this is one of those things that pictures just can't capture the beauty of- you have to see and feel in person- but these polished concrete pavers from concrete collaborative got us very excited for use in a future project. hey, if they are good enough for zaha hadid and renzo piano, they are good enough for maison21. ;-)

we also had the honor of being roving instagram correspondent for our friends over at casasugar, so for even MORE design inspiration, click the pretty bottles from vetro vero:

pairs competition

pairs of things are a decorator's secret for unifying a room, and a pair of tall etageres makes both an architectural statement, and is (are?) completely useful to display the pretty things we love. whether you flank a sofa, a fireplace, a bed, a desk or a door, pairs of etageres are your friend...

amy d. morris, via atlanta homes and lifestyles

carrier and company, via stylebeat

celerie kemble

unknown, via elle decor

eric kohler

kelly weasrstler, via studio ten 25

pheobe howard

now get to the m21 hipswap shop and replicate the look in your own home