Isabelle Dervaux will be bringing us her monthly reviews, accompanied by her beautiful photos, of Brooklyn businesses she finds fascinating, unique, or just plain cool! This month she brings us a sampling of businesses she met at Brooklyn Designs 2013.
Bklyn Designs took over St Ann’s Warehouse May 10 – 12 in Dumbo. Meeting in person the designers who were on my radar among the 35 selected Brooklyn designers was a treat.
I was happy to see Roberto Gil custom-made kids furniture at real size that he has been crafting for more than 20 years. The tiny bunk beds models of Casa Kids in the store window of P.S. bookshop on Washington St.had always intrigued me.
The Harvard trained architect understands perfectly the needs of his customers living in odd spaces wanting to maximize every inch. Bunkbeds solve space issues, though they are a bit cumbersome to use on a everyday basis. He builds large step ladders so the beds are safer, easier to make and will combine storage spaces under the steps. He can also add a small shelf to position a lamp and to keep nearby toys and books close by at night.
The wood used is sustainably grown and everything is assembled in Red Hook.
Roberto is showing me here how the smart Double Tuck Bed works.
Paula Greif ceramic studio is based in Red Hook as well. After a career in magazine design and directing music videos she changed direction three years ago to become a full time ceramicist.
I love feeling the hand and heart behind each piece Paula creates. Inspired by folk artists around the world she transforms her graphic drawings into clay and stoneware objects. More sculptures than everyday dishes, the bottles, pots, and platters warm up any space.
The small editions she produces are sold through her website and at Beautiful Dreamers on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg.
Pulling me away from the crowd, charismatic Mark Jupiter took me for a quick tour of his workshop around the corner on Plymouth Street.
A 4th generation house builder, he has an intimate knowledge of every species of trees and the wood they produce. After decades of building houses he now repurposes reclaimed wood for commercial or residential uses. I was amazed by his gift to envision a piece of furniture from in a rough piece of salvaged wood that looked like nothing at first to me. Mark involves his clients in the design process with a lot of discussions and a 3D rendering so they can end up with their own piece of New York history in their living room.
On display were a console made of solid redwood from a Upper West Side water tower and a child friendly coffee table carved from a 400 pound elm tree toppled after hurricane Irene.
Loved the enthusiasm of young and talented Danny Giannella and Tammer Hijazi who just formed Bower in Williamsburg.
For all of us parents who are hopeless finding their keys, they have come up with a genius solution with the target key to save us from the I-have-to-get-out-the-door panicky moments.
The stick stool are light and whimsical like the rest of their collection where the duo experiment with various woodworking techniques.
I was drawn by the colors and intricate patterns of Dhurries by Vaishali. Architect Vaishali Patel first designs the rugs in her studio, next they are hand weaved in small villages of India and then shipped back.
She adds then some Sanskrit stencils with wood blocks with permanent non-toxic inks. Kids can play on them safely.
Pictured here is the Chakra rug from the Lila collection inspired by traditionnal Indian games, vedic concepts and symbols.
You can special order an unique design to your room specifications.
A native of Valenciennes, France, Isabelle Dervaux has twenty-five years experience as an artist and illustrator in the magazine publishing and advertising world. She’s worked for Vogue, The New Yorker, Barneys, and for top clients around the world. She has had shows of her work in Paris, New York and Tokyo and has also taught Illustration and visual storytelling at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and Parsons The New School for Design in New York. Isabelle started creating “visual biographies” —still image sequences that tell stories of people and families, when she took on the task of sorting out 30 years of her own family photos. Visual biographies contain collages, illustrations and ephemera that complement the stories the photos tell. Isabelle now teaches the skills and techniques she has discovered to help busy families enjoy their photos and videos instead of storing them in a box or a hard drive to be forgotten. Her Photo Organization Portfolio is here and her Illustration Portfolio is here.