I am playing catch up this week and am completely bogged down between work and personal life so I’ll resume with new posts next week. I have some Fall fashion picks lined up and some guest posts –  so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this new Ikat tile from Ravenna Mosaics. How gorgeous would it be as an accent wall?

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Spotted via Christine Martinez on Pinterest. Photos by Ravenna Mosaics

The gentlemen behind Patch NYC recently launched their re-designed online store filled with curiousities of all sorts, but I am especially loving these hand painted ceramic animal plates with 22 kt detailing by Waylande Gregory.

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I just found out about this very interesting online store concept called Supermarket Sarah founded by Sarah Bagner, who left the corporate world behind to open her own shop. She lives around the corner from Portobello Road in London (where she also has a booth) and she creates a wall display of her items for sale which you can view, and then click on each individual item to purchase. The items are usually one of a kind, and often support independent designers. I love this new style of visual merchandising – what a cool idea. Check her out!

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Images via supermarketsarah.com

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by family, friends, and friends of friends is about wedding resources for brides to be. I have written so many emails on the subject to various people with shop and vendor information from my own wedding, so I thought… why not put it all together in an easy to reference post.

The main question is usually about where to look for wedding dresses. This also happened to be my least favorite part of the wedding experience {shocking to some, I know} because I liked very few dresses on me. Since I am based in New York, most of my suggestions are specific to this area, but the shops should also carry designers that are available in other bridal stores across the country. Depending on a bride’s  taste and budget, the choice for dresses can obviously run the gamut.

Here are the stores that carry a well curated, large selection of gowns yet still have the boutique feel that I personally liked:

• Gabriella NY
• Lovely
• Designer Loft NYC
• Wedding Atelier {where I bought my gown}
• Mark Ingram

For brides who are looking for something simple, or have to consider budget, there are so many options these days. Stores nowadays are carrying wedding appropriate dresses so that you no longer need to rely on a bridal specific store. There are even bridesmaid style dresses that come in white that can be a great option.

• Simple Silhouettes
• The Wedding Library
• Thread
• Saja
• Jenny Yoo
• J.Crew
• Bhldn {Anthropologie’s new wedding collection}

One of the highlights of my year is attending the New York Gift Fair and being inspired by the amazing talent in the Accent on Design section of the show. My first stop is usually the award winning booth by Aesthetic Movement. They are a fiercely talented bunch with a carefully curated group of brands that typically fall under the category of my all time favorite designers and products. I am lucky enough to get to work with them occasionally since I design for one of the lines that they represent. It was great to see they have added Sophie Nova to their group. I have loved her metallic poufs carried by Calypso that I featured in the Gold Gift Guide, but was not aware she also had pillows, bookends and bags in her collection. I am smitten with her soft metallics and rich leather fabrics perfect for anyone who loves a little luster like I do.

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All images via Sophie Nova

{Clockwise Left to Right:} Natural Wonder Entertaining Guide by Belle Magazine {1-2}, Domino, Martha Stewart Living

Amber tabletop {above} from Vogue Living, photo by Maree Homer. Pretty items {below} to use as tabletop accents: I’m loving woodland style mixed with metallics.

{Clockwise Left to Right:} Tree glasses, Enchanted Buck measuring cups, Bacchius serving stand, Festive Quail friends, Velvet pumpkins, Dorata Gold leaf dishes, Sun tipped serveware, Nishat Gardens Placemat, Encased Astor Coupe Glass, Totem pole candles, Metallic Garland, Fox Letterpress coasters from Sesame Letterpress {these would make great placecard holders or favors to take home for guests. I used these at my wedding as coasters/favors.}

{Clockwise Left to Right:} Dorata Serving Bowl with Gold Leaves, Harvest Entertaining Platters, November tabletop by Design Within Reach, Metallic Leaf Dessert Plates

{clockwise left to right: polka dot lighted pumpkins via Imperfectly Beautiful, all other pumpkins via Martha Stewart’s Halloween photo galleries}

With Halloween approaching this weekend, I’m a little sad we did not get a pumpkin this year since we will be out of town. I would have loved to try some of these pretty carving and hand painted ideas as an alternative to the classic jack o’lantern.

{clockwise left to right: Victorian pumpkins from Martha Stewart, photo by Dana Gallagher via Country Living, stenciled pumpkin DIY, and pumpkin fireplace shot via Country Living}

{above: mini pumpkins light the way from Martha Stewart, and trick or treat pumpkin greeting, photo by Matthew Benson via Country Living}

It seems that Halloween becomes a bigger holiday every year with retailers providing an array of items to create a macabre mood.

{Clockwise left to right: shocktails decorating kit, paper lanterns kit, venetian feather mask, pre-lit grapevine pumpkins, Creepy crawlies/Skelegant mug designed by my talented friend, Elisa Cachero, available at select Barnes & Noble locations, beaded cobweb charger, skull porcelain set of 4 plates, raven plate, black vinyl lace placemats, trick or treat for unicef bag and gothic throw pillows}

Luxe Halloween items {Clockwise left to right: encyclopedia skull and bones chart , crow mobile, skull and bones barware, gold journal with skull stamp, halloween cupcake topper labels, and salem candle}

If you’re throwing a party, there is no better source of inspiration for tricks & treats than the amazing Amy Atlas, queen of dessert tables.

{Images above via Amy Atlas website}

All written content and layouts by ©Luster 2010. photo credits noted where available

{Exterior of D|R Cambridge building, photo by ESTO}

Last fall when we visited family in Cambridge, we happened upon an intriguing building at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square with five floors of floor to ceiling glass that appeared to be a store filled with eye popping Scandinavian design in the form of textiles, furniture and tabletop items. There was no entrance or any other info available besides some signs about it being an installation. Like so many other designers, I have always had an ongoing fascination with Scandinavian design, so when an article popped up recently in the NY times Style magazine, it was exciting to finally discover the history of this landmark building and its creator, Ben Thompson.

Ben Thompson shown in the D|R store in Cambridge, Mass. Photo by Design Research, Inc. Thompson is also known for his creation of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and South Street Seaport.

Architect Ben Thompson and chair of Harvard’s Architecture Department was the founder of a store called D|R which stood for Design Research. Inspired by Scandinavian textiles and design he discovered in Europe during the 50′s, he decided to open a retail store in 1953 with the sole purpose of making modern design accessible to American customers. The first store was located in a residential home, but years later when Thompson completed construction on a building of his own design, the store moved to its new location at 48 Brattle Street in 1969. Eventually the store opened locations in New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

{Above} The original D|R Cambridge store housed in a former residential clapboard home photos by Design Research, Inc.

{Above & Below} the interiors of the D|R store in Cambridge at 48 Brattle Street that opened its doors in 1969, photos by ESTO

{Above} left photo by Michael Proulx and right photo by ESTO

{Clockwise left to right:} The D|R store on 57th street in New York City photo by George Cserna, D|R storefront in San Francisco’s Ghiradelli Square photo courtesy of © Jane Thompson via Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, and the D|R installation in 2009 in the former D|R building at 48 Brattle Street photo by Richard Schieferdecker via NY Times

Perhaps the most lasting influence on American consumers is D|R’s introduction of textiles by Marimekko. Thompson met Marimekko’s founder Armi Ratia in 1958. By 1959 Marimekko’s bright textiles were displayed in D|R’s store, and by 1960, Jacqueline Kennedy was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in a bright pink Marimekko dress, creating national attention for the Finnish design house. Julia Child was also a huge fan of the store, forming a close bond with the Thompsons. For her show The French Chef, Child often used cooking equipment and furniture provided by D|R.

Life Magazine’s iconic spread on Marimekko, June 1966. Photographed in Finland by Tony Vaccaro

{The D|R installation, September 2009. Photos by Luster}

D|R’s legacy also paved the way for some of the most well-known retailers of our time. Most notably, Crate & Barrel is the closest follower with its original inception based on the impact it had on C&B’s founder, Gordon Segal. Segal began buying Marimekko textiles wholesale from D|R, and when D|R folded in 1978, Crate and Barrel moved into the storefront at 48 Brattle street for the next 30 years. If you go into any C&B store today, the retail concepts founded by Thompson are very evident in the merchandising and product choices as well as Marimekko’s textiles which they continue to infuse into their collection. Other famous D|R followers include Sir Terence Conran’s stores Habitat and The Conran Shop, Williams-Sonoma, Room and Board, MOMA Store, and Design within Reach.

For more information check out Chronicle’s book co-authored by Ben Thompson’s widow: Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes © by Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange.

{Images from Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes © by Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, unless otherwise noted. All written content by ©Luster 2010}

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I’ve got running animals with horns on my mind after seeing this coffee table shown above, which caught my eye a few years ago and I forgot about it until it popped up again in the new issue of Lonny. From the little information available, it seems to be a 70′s reproduction of an original Art Deco piece and is used quite a bit in current Hollywood Regency decor. While trying to hunt it down around the web, I came across these other pretty pieces with antelopes, gazelles and rams.

{Clockwise Left to Right}: bushbuck antelope vintage framed print, lalounis vintage 18K ram bracelet, gold plated antelope ring,  deco gazelle bookends,  prancing deer vintage pitcher and glasses set, antelope mother and baby statue from flickr, Derek Lam clutch with ram head hardware, ram bracelet | Roundup by Luster ©2010

Hard to believe summer is gone, we’re full into fall and the holidays are swiftly approaching. With time flying by around me, I was thinking about how to keep track of our most precious asset with these timepieces.

{Clockwise from Left to Right:} distressed European wall clock, Pewter finish desk clock, Birch train wall clock, starburst wall clock, monumental skeleton clock face, Alessi Firenze wall clock, Chateau clocks from Timeworks, Paris, London, New York desk clock, oversized wall clock Neiman Marcus

vintage brass hourglass from Restoration Hardware | various hourglasses from Roost

{Clockwise from Left to Right:} leather and stainless steel watch, tortoiseshell and white leather watch, Rose gold watch on Laura’s wishlist, basic wrap watch, Nixon the Strata watch, La Mer Bali stud wraparound watch, tortoiseshell showstopper watch, oversized men’s watch, desk clocks by George Nelson, {I am head over heels for all the new La Mer watches:} grey wraparound with chains and burgundy wrap watch