Howdy kids, hope you all had a swell weekend! We spent the days doing yardwork and the nights eating and drinking yummy stuff, so it was mostly lovely and relaxing… and I am totally unprepared for the cold hard wall in my face that is Monday. Thank jeebus for Wallpaper Magazine, because they always have the most interesting spreads (when they aren’t showcasing 20 pages in a row of disgusting albeit beautifully photographed raw steaks… although maybe that also qualifies as interesting?). Anyway, look at this:

How about that Ligne Roset bed? Amazing! What’s that you say — something is obscuring your view of it? Oh yes. Giant taxidermied animals were obviously necessary to illustrate the hipster appeal of these fine furnishings.

That Jaime Hayon chair is certainly foxy, though.

If I only had 5 seconds to grab something out of this room, I’m not sure if I would yank the lamb away from gaping lupine jaws, or put that Herve Van Der Straeten console table under my coat and run for my ever loving life.

What do you think? Is Wallpaper too clever for its own good?

Or maybe just crazy like a fox?

There are a couple of people who send me links to things they think I would like, most of the time they are pretty spot on (how transparent am I?).  This week not one but two of my favorite internet super sleuths sent me THE VERY SAME LINK, so you know that shit was good.  Raina and Hope, I pledge to you my undying devotion for showing me these:

Gun Hoof Boots by Iris Schieferstein (via Jezebel)

While these boots are clearly a masterpiece and Iris could have stopped here, she didn’t.  Check out the other creepy goodies she’s rocking:

Just when I thought taxidermy was dead and buried for good, Iris comes along and makes it seem totally fresh again.

While I’m here, I’d also like to add an update to yesterday’s post:

My mother (while working on her 2 martini lunch I presume) found this Hennessy bottle designed by Thursday’s featured designer, Inga Sempe

Pair the cognac with your gun hoof boots and, girl, I think you’ve got yourself a weekend.  Tell me all about it monday, and yes, I want all the juicy details.

Something really bizarre is happening this week:  I’m starting to develop this thing that most people call “a life.”  Between the outing with our blog buddies, the book reading Monday and the art show I’m attending this evening, one may be fooled into thinking that I do more than work and watch America’s Next Top Model.  (I’m a master at smiling with my eyes BTW)

Are you in Austin?  Perhaps you would like to play my new favorite game, have a life, as well.  Here’s how:  Head south to Austin Art Garage tonight to check out the latest work from two of my favorite ladies, Cory Ryan and Hope Perkins at their show, Heads and Holgas.

Austin Art Garage is located at 2200 S. Lamar Blvd.  Not in Texas?  Here’s a peek at what you’ll be missing.  Sorry, I don’t have any photographs of free booze.

A few of Hope’s older pieces.  The bobcat on the bottom right started it all.  Her name is Tanya, she wears a tierra.  I happen to know from my many trips to Round Top with Hope that Tanya has since gained a sister, Zatarans McGillicutty, who’s just as cute as a stuffed button.

The piece on the left is “So you DO know Betty Blackwell?” If you live in Austin and have ever found yourself watching tv past 11:00 at night, you will know that this is the funniest title for a neon pink taxidermied deer with a telephone ever in the history of the planet.  I’m not sure what the one on the right is called, but, knowing Hope, I’m sure it’s hilarious. 

It should be noted that I tried to find a video clip of the Betty Blackwell commercial to share with you all, but it doesn’t exist online.

Cory will be displaying photographs from her extensive Holga portfolio.  She’s spent the last year obsessively shooting Austin from angles I’ve never seen (normally I can name almost any street corner in an Austin shot, but most of these leave me guessing).  

I’m not sure if I should be beaming with pride over having such talented friends or spending my energy commanding that you hit the show this evening… perhaps a bit of both.

Following the story on The New Antiquarians in The New York Times that Karly blogged about here, there remains little question that taxidermy is hot. Of course, that be old news around these parts (see here and here). In fact, it’s hard to remember way back to the time when taxidermy was seen as belonging exclusively to the domain of rednecks and long expired Victorian arcana. Now that taxidermy is trendily displayed by hipsters and preppies everywhere, many clever mutations of the original stuffed animals have been spawned — for example, the works of Rachel Denny and our pal Hope Perkins.

Well, the newest dead heads on the block from the Swarovski Safari series by Peter Pracilio are pretty fierce. Check it:

So I’m thinking this stuffed deer, courtesy of famous French taxidermist Deyrolle,

Plus this diamond studded skull by Brit brat pack artist Damien Hirst,

Equals this crystal encrusted deer mount by Peter Pracilio.

Agreed? Since we’re already grazing on the wild Savannas of Fifth Avenue, let’s bust out our binoculars and view some of Pracilio’s other gems that I’ve hunted down for you.

Swarovski unicorn: uptown version of the jackelope?

via theashenledger (check out her cool prints, too)

So, what do you dudes think? Would these fine specimens be at home on the Hovey sister’s walls?

And what would you choose: flash or fur?

Did anyone see this article on the New York Times site?  Not one to be slowed down by reading, I cruised the slideshow first and was pretty delighted by what I found.  Then, well, then I read the story.  It was gross beyond gross.  While I maintain full respect for the occupants of the homes profiled, I kinda want to barf all over the “reporter.”

We start with an introduction of the Hovey sisters, who can be found on their blog here.  The reporter drools all over them and single-handedly credits them with starting the Ulysses S. Grant fashion trend in, wait for it, Williamsburg.  Am I to believe that I am watching the initial match spark that will ultimately lead to the full blaze that is the tipping point?  Oh to be so lucky.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m digging their taste – remember, I swooned when I first saw the pictures – I just can’t stand by an article that notes that the type of collecting the sisters and the others profiled “requires a lot more engagement than a similar passion for midcentury furniture”

WHAT WHAT WHAT?!

I am insane about interiors.  I have spent nights fighting sleep since I was four laying in bed imagining my dream home.  Every spare penny I have goes into my house, I don’t even try to justify the expense, it’s as necessary as food.  Can someone honestly try to tell me that this taste and commitment to collections requires more engagement than my own?  Or yours?  Come on readers, you’ve taken the time to find my measly design blog.  You probably have at least 20 more in your RSS feed.  We live for interiors.  New York Times:  give me a fucking break.

Ok, I’m over it, let’s just spend the rest of our time together looking at the nice pictures that sparked my interest in the first place.  Above is a couple that also collects things.  That’s all I’m saying about that.

I think this room is awesome.  Again, all I’m saying.

Their collection of arcane liquors, which I don’t even pretend to understand and I certainly don’t think is pretentious at all, oh no.  

Ryan Matthews, his house is a 24-hour taxidermy party.

I can’t get behind that stuffed dog, but the rest is fine, although it seems a bit dusty.

So, there you go, now you’ve gotten the lovely slideshow in it’s entirety and you didn’t even have to read the stupid article.

Today technology has failed me in every way possible.  Faxes didn’t go through (really, why are we even still faxing); cell phone “circuits were busy” (whatever that means); emails refused to send (I’m not kidding, it just said “no”); my BILLING AND INVOICING SOFTWARE DATABASE CRASHED (causing a minor freakout more terrifying than an earthquake with the swine flu – thank god I fixed it and I can pay my mortgage now); the automated postal system at the post office was out of order (leaving a line 20 deep for counter service, which I refused to stand in, so I went home to print shipping labels and the USPS site was down) and, most recently, the internet refused to allow me access to the images I planned to share with you today.

My former boss would attribute this to Mercury being in retrograde.  I never believed her, but today was, as the kids say, redonkulus (how do the kids spell it?).  So, I’m done.  I’m checking out.  My husband, who normally holes up in the garage to tinker with some new project, has invited me to snuggle and watch a movie and I am ALL IN.  So, today, you get random pictures from a house I found that looked pretty cool.

I mostly like the bedroom, I think I will do this treatment to my bedroom walls.

(gosh, for a gal who was skipping the blog today, that was a rather long intro)

all photos by Diane Hendrikx via Office for Word and Image

(I scored a hanging light fixture just like that off ebay for $150 for Birds, it is now hanging in their new location on South Congress.  Erin will be photographing it to share with you dudes soon)

Oh, and the little roller ball on my mouse stopped working.  Wish me better luck for tomorrow

You know, every time I think that there could not possibly be one more piece of taxidermy in the art world and that the trend is, ahem, totally dead, something new pops up and makes me rethink the whole ordeal.

Emily Valentine uses the feathers from road kill, cat kill and lost pets to create these super-saturated pet pups.

I love their vibrant colors and the fact that each one has it’s own sweet little expression.  

Here is Valentine with her work, isn’t it crazy how tiny they are?

Recently, Valentine has been (cover your eyes!) trapping and killing the Mynah bird, which is a registered pest in Australia.  From what I’ve read, it sounds like she’s doing good, and starting a dialogue through her work about animals and waste and pests and non pests and so forth.  But I really can’t get past the fact that she kills them.  Bugs are pests, but I still politely shuttle them outside when they land in my house.

I know we have a few readers down under, what do you think about this Mynah bird?

For the rest of you, don’t you think those puppies are adorable?

Good ol’ blogger Woodley Park Zoo tagged me for a little game of picture sharing. I’ve been asked to post the fourth picture from the fourth folder where I store my pictures. That’s my black and white medium format folder, so here is a little something from a series I did on Broad Street, the derelict center of my hometown, Texarkana:

That is one hungry bobcat.

You may remember, way back at the beginning of the year, we promised a new installment here at Design Crisis: Featured Artist Fridays. Well, tomorrow is Erin’s day and I don’t want to make you wait another week to meet artist Rachel Denny so, Thursday it is. We first stumbled across Rachel’s work months ago and were delighted when she wrote us with kudos on our blog (we love nothing more than compliments around here) bells and firecrackers went off and the angels began to sing when we saw her new work and we knew we had to share it with you. Rachel has a stockpile of stunning works in her wake as well as big designs for the future. Let’s start at the beginning:

Green Doe, 2008, polyurethane foam, wood, wool

Upon first seeing Rachel’s work my mind went into a whirlwind considering the amount of math, time and planning a single piece must take. Once I recovered from my admiration fatigue, I was struck by the brilliance of the pieces: they seamlessly converge the dichotomous imagery of masculinity and femininity with a thought-provoking balance of serenity and humor. I asked Rachel how she began tying these images together:

I grew up in rural Northern Idaho and Montana and my father would take me hunting as a child. I don’t think I ever actually hit anything ( I was very young) but it did make a strong impression on me – the seriousness of the task and the quiet waiting in the forest for hours. There was a lot of wonder and also necessity in it; at that age it seems a bit surreal. The knit pieces just came together and made sense to me with these memories.

Her explanation conjures up memories of my own family history: my grandfather was a hunter and his wife, my grandmother made clothing for the family. Her knit deer would have served as an ideal icon for my own family. Add to the list of accomplishments found in a single Denny piece: the ability to connect with it’s audience on a profoundly personal and familial level.

(left) Nordic Knit, 2008, wool, polyurethane foam, wood, thread; (right) Arrow Buck, 2008, polyurethane foam, wood, wool, thread, zipper

Rachel tells me

The first knit piece was intended to be a chromed deer head mount, referring to the carcasses seen on the side of the road, but it proved too expensive to make for me at the time. I played around with the imagery for awhile, looking for a suitable replacement and this juxtaposition came about.

I am from the school of thought that believes that creativity flourishes under restrictive circumstances. While I would never turn a stray chrome deer head away from my living room, I think the knit pieces are so meaningful and stunning (and, of course, proof positive that I am right about that whole creativity flourishing thing, and I love being right)

Blue Doe, 2008, wool, polyurethane foam, wood, thread

Quick! Let’s make a list of all the amazing things happening in this room: #1 Blue Doe (obv.) #2 HORSE FIGURINE! & tied for second, Design Crisis Gift Guide approved, Carlos Night Light!

Are you wondering why I didn’t mention all that glove action going on in the mirror? Are you thinking I’m a horrible person for putting a silly dog light above what just might be one of the greatest pieces of art ever made? Well then, you’re very astute, now aren’t you:

Proper Lady

Like Rachel’s knit deer, the Proper Lady rug works on so many, often opposing, levels: Repurposing the gloves to warm the feet while simultaneously mimicking a shag rug is genius. I also love that these gloves in particular are generally reserved for the purpose of protecting debutantes and other do-gooders from getting their hands soiled, but in this instance, they are offering themselves up as little sacrificial lambs to be tracked upon by whatever comes their way. Even the draped nature of the gloves makes them appear as though they are bowing down before you. And, well, you know I like that. Let’s get a closer look:

By this point I want to crawl inside Rachel’s head and poke around awhile to find out how she comes up with these brilliant pieces:

The “Proper Lady” idea began its life as a quilt, but it seemed unfinished – a bit flat and I didn’t like the texture on a bed. The piece took on even more meaning when demoted to the floor and I loved the contrast of these prim, ladies gloves as a rug. I like when a work can take on multiple meanings and I also like leaving that up to the viewer because they bring in their own experiences to work.

I appreciate that, like the original chrome deer that evolved into a knit work, Rachel allows the works to speak to her, dictating their own outcome as she goes. I believe it is because of this that her pieces can exist on so many levels. She mentions that she was initially hesitant to let humor show through in her work. Noting “I wanted to be taken seriously, but I feel humor and beauty are often very successful ways to get someone to approach a new idea.” I couldn’t agree more. I also think it is the existence of humor in her work that adds the final finishing touch to each piece.

Buckshot, 2007, Lead, nails, foam, wood, steel, life size

When sifting through Rachel’s portfolio I find the above piece, which appears to be laying the groundwork for her later works: early conceptions of the chrome deer head, and a shag rug that will later take its form in a landscape of lady’s gloves.

One of my favorite images on her site is a snapshot of her studio:

Most of the pieces from her current body show themselves in various stages of completion. Rachel mentioned that she is best when kept busy, but the appearance of at least 6 projects here makes my head spin.

And, in case your wondering, that lovely turquoise piece in the bottom left corner now looks like this:

Clover, 2008, angora, polyurethane foam, thread, steel

Unfortunately, someone has already snapped this little guy up, otherwise, I would love to have an angora rabbit in my home. I am sure I could also be quite happy with this:

Antler Buck, 2008, Wool, thread, antler, polyurethane foam, wood

I am so enchanted with how snugly the wool fits each piece. Rachel uses found sweaters rather than knitting the pieces by hand – can you imagine how long that would take??!! –  often felting the pieces before stretching them around the musculature of a deer (that she made herself, mind you).

Unfortunately, you can not currently come to my home to see Rachel’s works in person, but you can look for her work at Rare Device in San Francisco this May. She will also be featured on the cover of the Western Humanities Review this fall.  Most works are available for purchase on her site: racheldenny.com

Last night, Damien Hirst’s The Golden Calf sold for $18.6 MILLION dollars.

The financial world is unraveling and the US economy is in ruins, so maybe $18.6 million dollars for a calf submerged in formaldehyde is a sound investment.

Yesterday, Karly wrote some rockin’ posts on animal furniture for Elle Decor, and on animal plates for our DC. When faced with the daunting task of following in her fantastic footsteps, I realized the only thing left to blog about was… animals. Real ones. I’m not even talking about the ubiquitous deer heads seen on every single wall in the country, but I am talking about real… animals. Sort of. Before anyone goes all PETA on me, let me just say (as my thin and poorly executed defense) that I am from northeast Texas, y’all, and taxidermy is part of my cultural heritage. People, just be glad I didn’t adopt other quirks indigenous to that region, like flashing my Neocon credentials, or drinking moonshine. Which is actually kind of good. Not the neocon part.

Besides, you know you want this:

Dutch design duo Idiots (their term, not mine) are the latest incarnation in a long line of taxidermy artists, and when I say “artists” I do not mean the nefarious creators of jackelopes and other such curiosities designed to finagle dollars from your pocket at the local fairground.

I mean, for example, the incomparable Annette Messager, hero to all artists of the collector persuasion, myself included:

Did I mention that I’m weird? Messager’s insanity laden early 90′s exhibition of taxidermy wearing stuffed animal heads is like the goth girl version of Mike Kelley‘s stuffed animals placed in compromising situations. (He did the cover for Sonic Youth’s Dirty if you’re old enough to remember it.)

More recently, Kelly McCallum has been tearing up the London scene with her intricate juxtapositions of brilliant metalwork and memento mori:

Who knew birds had clockwork hearts?

Back to the Idiots, whose conviction I find utterly convincing:

I have this empty spot in the corner that I just know this would fill brilliantly. The lime green embroidered “skirt” and black ruffled petticoats are so amazing that it becomes hard to look at this level of craft and feel grossed out.

Some more flights of fancy:

And one more charmingly feathered friend:

There’s such an enormous amount of respect that goes into each creation that I feel like these little sculptures have been loved into life. Every detail, from the animals themselves to the beautifully blown glass, is perfect.

And then there’s this:

What’s the matter? Never seen a crystal encrusted decapitated deer before? Neither have I, friends, neither have I.

Wait, this is ostensibly an interior design blog, right? Well, then, design a room around this:

What would you do with this 17 foot long shark Damien Hirst eloquently titled, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living? I’m afraid it’s unavailable for anything but fantasy since Charles Saatchi already owns it, but we could ask, What Would Saatchi Do? WWSD? If your heart aches for a formaldehyde encased shark of your very own, you could always attend today’s auction at Sotheby’s of what may be the entirety of Hirst’s personal collection, and it’s sure to include some creepy crawlies. Don’t forget to bring your $500 million dollars with you.

Recently I was asked by Elle Decoration South Africa to write a guest post on their blog.  After doing a little happy dance, I proposed a post on my current favorite subject:  animal furniture.  You know I love it and I’m going to make you love it too.  Well, my post is up today!!!!  I urge you all to scoot over to Elle and read it, post haste.  Once you are done, you can make the walk of shame back to our old stomping grounds (that’s right here) to read my corresponding, celebratory ANIMAL DISHES post.  Hooray, it’s animal week couple of days here at Design Crisis and we’re going to party, animal style!

I’m going to get this party started right/quickly with my vary favorite animal dish of all:

KA-POW!  There it is!  The most perfect dish ever created in the history of time.  If I owned this dish I would never again oversleep, for I would jump out of bed at the crack of dawn ready to slurp up my cereal and say hello to my new friend.  What’s that?  You all want to get up early, too?  Goody, we can all have breakfast together, pick your bowl:

jeeze-o-flick this is a tough decision I am forcing you to make.  Look at the GOLD on that snail, it’s bowl perfection!  Thank you Nymphenburg for commissioning uber artist Hella Jongerius to create my dream dishes.  Not thank you for charging $3,529 per dish.  

If you are liking the animal-in-my-bowl look but are hoping to have a little more room for something like, oh, i don’t know, food, perhaps you would prefer this:

Awwe, yes, a little baby lamb, right there to say hello to you when you slurp your spaghetti.  Careful!  Don’t hit is wittle head with your spoon!  A+ Monique Goossens, you have the top design.

Are you all pounding your forks on the table begging for more?  You’re the boss:

Ok, so these plates don’t have an insane awesome figurine sitting right on top of them, but price-wise, they’re actually attainable, PLUS, the fact that they look like 2 sets of plates fused together is totally freakin rad.  I love the idea that 1. it looks like plate fusion but that 2. one half of the plate always matches the other plates.  Gee wiz Jason Miller, that’s some smart designing.

Here are the matching teapots.  Because everyone needs a teapot:

I like that the shape of this pot is traditional, as is the image, yet, the placement of the bird makes them totally hip and interesting.  Subtle changes make a big difference, I guess.  I really wish I knew more about subtlety.  But I don’t, which is why I’m about to show you this:

What up, yo?  Yeah, I’m just a taxidermied head teapot, no worries, it’s all good.  You want some tea?  yeah, you can go ahead and pet my fur while you pour it.  Yes, very soft, isn’t it.  ummm, yummy death tea.    What’s that?  You wish you had a fur tea cup to go along with your new teapot?   If you had 10 gazillion dollars then you could get the first animal dish ever made:

Méret Oppenheim’s original animal dish:  the fur lined tea cup

Enough with the history lesson!  Moving on:

These hand painted dishes from Supermarket are just begging to have a song written about them.  Something to the tune of Bananas in Pajamas.  You write, I’ll sing.  Deal?  Deal.

Next!

AHHHHH!!!!!!  I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M JUST NOW POSTING THESE!!!  Deep Breaths, Deep Breaths.  You know how much I love horses!!  Holy moly my head is spinning.  Can someone please please for the love of god buy these for me already? They’re from Bodo Sperlein’s Re-Cyclos Series for Lladro,  you can purchase them there  

Since you all have to run and fill up your shopping cart on my behalf, I’ll go ahead and wrap this puppy up.  Here’s our last dish of the day:

Hippity Hop, it’s Michael Aram’s kangaroo bowl.  Gold + Animal + Dish = Karly’s little private heaven.

So, to recap:

1.  We love animals, specifically, inanimate one’s that make our house pretty / special

2. We are going to read my SECOND post for the day over at Elle Decoration South Africa

3. We are very proud of Me for Both of my posts

4. Purchasing horse tea cups 

5. Coming back tomorrow for Erin’s continued animal celebration.  what up animal party!