Brian Gluckstein, Canadian Designer

This post is going to be a different one, it will be about a world known Canadian designer which I actually heard for the first time a few days ago in class. It got me thinking how many actual designers do I know, like the Bouroullec Brothers, Karim Rashid,  Zaha Hadid, and others. But what got me thinking was that in class we spend so many time learning about previous movements, and about history of art and design, but we don’t actually know that many names about today´s designers.

What happens with the now? That is the question I asked myself, and also what happens in Canada, which designers are renamed in here. So I decided to start a little research on Brian Gluckstein. He was named during my class of Contemporary Culture and Design, in an example of how he uses some elements of Art Deco in some of his designs like the skyscraper shape in his lamps, Egyptian figures like the statues in the pictures below and others .

And searching in the web I found some other real similarities with things we have been learning so far...

Just for a quick bio , he has been a designer for over 20 years, his signature are classical and sophisticated interiors that have give him a series of awards, member of ARIDO and ASID, was named one of the top 35 designers by Andrew Martin´s interior design Journal, he specializes in  residential and commercial spaces, a great example are the different designs for the Four Seasons Hotels, he also owns his own company of design  Gluckstein Design and his own brand for House furniture, bedding, bath, tablecloth and more called Gluckstein Home.

So I started looking into his portfolio and here is what I found:

The curtains style reminded me of Eleanor Brown, and her wall treatment of hanging curtains imitating the french empire style (please refer image below) the chairs also evoke a french style but in a more contemporary version.

The room divider evokes British scenery in scalloped blue painting just like British dinnerware.

On top we can see two Art Deco symbols: a sunburst small mirror and in the walls we can see the teeth pattern in the cornice.

When I saw this picture of the interior design of a Ski Chalet in aspen, automatically  I remember the Edwin Lutyens sitting room in Deanery Gardens, Sonning of 1901  (refer to images on top)

The flooring, style  of furniture and exposed beams, that in that time evoked the movement of the arts and crafts.

 Call me crazy but I instantly remember Mackintosh’s designs in this two pictures, the simplicity of the lines, and the Japanese inspiration like the flowers and style of furniture’s ( tables, little side table) in the picture (on top) of the  Mercedez Benz I think this evoked part of his construction with rectangular shapes, and the two paintings at the end made me remember Margaret  Macdonald´s painting that used to be part of Makintosh’s  furniture's or designs, just instead of women you got two long men shapes.

This are just some examples that demonstrate the great ability that Brian Gluckstein has as an interior designer,  he founds balance between the old and the new, and has clear image of what he wants in his designs.This was a really  entertaining research and i hope soon to know much more Canadian interior designers.

F!

Pictures and info From:

http://www.glucksteindesign.com/brian-gluckstein.html

http://www.glucksteindesign.com/residential-portfolio.html

http://www.glucksteindesign.com/contract-portfolio.html

Syrie Maugham, an interior designer before her time

This week chapter was about the interior design as a profession, and how the women were involved in the success of it. A lot of names where pronounced during the lecture but one of them caught my eye, it was Syrie Maugham born in London in 1879.

Searching a little more information about her I found out she began her career with her own store in Baker street, she dedicate her time to buy furniture, and used the technique of pickling, by these I refer to stripping the dark polish from tables and chairs, and finishing them with light point wax, a technique that it is still used now days.

The trips she had brought her to Elsie de Wolfe , another well know designer of the same time, and that possessed a similar taste in design, there is even said that Maugham hided her designs from her store , so De Wolfe couldn’t saw them because she was afraid of being copied.

In time she was also known for her White room, which was actually her drawing room in which she used bleach, white satin, wool and silk, white velvet lampshades and even flowers in the same colour accented with mirrors and glass.

Even though she was recognized for white rooms, her drawing room was the only  full white room she did, all of her other rooms designs had  bold colours incorporated. From these rooms she also got another signature mark that where mirrored breakfronts.

Adding all of this elements and seeing pictures of her designs, I saw clear points that evoked the “Hollywood Regency “ style, and researching a little more the information founded supported my suspicions. 

Maugham is actually recognized as one of the inspirations for the developments in the Hollywood sets that lead to the Hollywood regency concept, born around the 1930’s and was created with lacquer furniture, bright colours contrasted with black and white, classical furniture, and luminaries that evoke glitz and glamour.

Either way you take  the overall image of signatures in her design apart or together you can still see all of her designs inspirations in  stores today, maybe not product of her own work but mirrored breakfronts, lacquer and Pickling techniques in furniture, and even rooms with bright colours contrasted with black or white,   are part of today’s trends in interior design, this statement was the one that brought me to my initial idea when I started writing this post Syrie Maugham was a designer before time, just like Joseph Paxton with his Crystal Palace, and by this I mean before the society was able to achieve the recognition of her work and integrate that into their interiors, not only the higher class society which was actually the world in which she worked, and the one that provide her with the fame and recognition as an interior designer, but all of it.

F!

Sources:

http://www.architecturaldigest.com/architecture/archive/maugham_article_012000

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/t-magazine/02talk-maugham-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/hollywood-regency-style-get-the-look/index.html

Scandinavian v/s German Why is finish design ,to my opinion being both from the modern movement ,looks more approachable for society?

This week chapter was about the modern movement which is by far my favourite one, the pieces that we can see from that era that started around 1920  reflected a whole new way of design compared to previous movements. Modernism was all about clean lines, mass production and what is the most important thing: functionalism. Great exponents from this movement where 2 of my top list designers the first one was  Mies Van Der Rohe from Germany and the second one is Alvar Aalto from Finland.

Reading this chapter made me realize something that haven’t caught my eye before, I don’t know why, but until a few days ago I associated Mies van Der Rohe with modern design, but Alvar Aalto for me was in the category of Scandinavian design (a hole bubble apart for me) which is correct but at the same time Aalto was a huge exponent of modernism also. This last part was the one I’ve never made the connection. I used to look modern design as elegant, luxurious, and like a piece of art and Finnish design as contemporary design, youthful, simple , and with a less expensive look. But why? Why did I used to do that? If both of them are part of the same movement, why couldn't I make the connection? What was the difference between them…

So then I got my question how both of them being part of the modern movement can have such a different way to get to people, to connect? Why does Scandinavian design looks so approachable compared with German design if both of them reflect the same principles?

Finnish design (Sweden + Finland) is really a boom right now, especially in single person houses, you can see from lighting fixtures, tables, chairs, posters,and so on . After my reading I learned that  back in the times the designs of Aalto  and the Scandinavian design (Finland ,Sweden and Norway) made a breaking point because it was a representation of the modern movement in a less industrial way.

Aalto designs made a huge impact along with the Scandinavian design because they respond to the same principles  ,but what was different was the main material that they used for making their pieces. Scandinavian didn't use steel like the traditional German modern movement, they used wood. They were able to recreate softly curvy lines but with the use of wood , specially plywood, as main material, that added warm to their designs.

There is where I got my answer Scandinavian design is modern design, has clean lines, is simple, functional and its mass produce but it looks approachable thanks to the wood! , by the other hand German modern designs like the ones Mies van der Rohe use to make, where all about steel, and more expensive materials like leather, with looks more elegant, made for a higher class.

His designs have the personality of someone  that evaluates you according to your class level, knowledge of design, and style, they want to talk with you about design, discuss about it, but hearing your points of view, while the personality of Aalto´s designs do not judge anyone, they make me feel like they are welcoming you to try them , to experiment, they want to teach you about design not to discuss with you about it. In other words, Mies van der Rohes designs are proud, and the ones from Alvar Aalto are humble.

Here is an example: if you compare the Alvar Aalto Paimio Armchair and you put it right beside Barcelona chair from Mies V der Rohe chair you can perceive first that they have much thing in common like the shape, the simplicity of both of them, but then you get the materials and can actually see what they evoke . The Paimio armchair is made with bended plywood, by the other side we get stainless steel and leather in the Barcelona chair. Although both chair are around the $4.000 USD , Aalto designs seem much more friendly and can make a closer connection with people.

Personally I think that the use of wood made the design look approachable for the medium class, but also it is about how it looks, pretty much everyone may desire a piece of Scandinavian design because it can reach different styles of persons, by the other hand German modern design is more focused in the “high class” look, so it has a more specific target.  Don’t get me wrong im not trying to paint a bad picture on German design and a saint on Scandinavian, I just wanted to find out why they evoke such different concepts, and find out the reason of why until know I had put Scandinavian design in a total different bubble. The good thing about any of them is that no matter from where it is , modern design is timeless.

F!

Sources:

http://hivemodern.com/pages/product478/knoll-mies-van-der-rohe-barcelona-chair

http://hivemodern.com/pages/product3313/artek-alvar-aalto-armchair-41