Urban Mercantile

TUNICS, DADS, SALE

 

Happy Summer! Here's the latest news from Urban Mercantile:

SUMMER TUNICS (COLE VALLEY)

FATHER'S DAY IDEAS (COLE VALLEY)

SALE AT OUR DESIGN CENTER LOCATION (SHOWPLACE)

::: Our super-popular SUMMER TUNICS arrived this week! $38.50 buys you a classic warm weather look that's as appropriate at the beach as it is out on the town. Now if our weather would cooperate.

::: The 20th of this month is FATHER'S DAY, so you can't say you weren't reminded. Great gifts include: J. Fold wallets and card holders in colors and cut-outs, SF-based Office Wiederholt socks in awesome color combinations, wine glasses by Iittla, and beer glasses by Cast. There's always great books on food and design, like Chronicle Books new release Handy Dad.

::: As you may have heard, Urban Mercantile opened a second location in the DESIGN CENTER in November (see this month's 7x7 Magazine) and will be participating in the Summer Designer Sample Sale this coming Saturday and Sunday, 12 & 13 June. The team at SFDC’s Urban Mercantile invites you, as a loyal shopper, to an exclusive pre-sale event on Friday, 11 June from 9a-5p. Click the California Home + Design link for more info and a coupon for an additional 10% off: http://www.chdresource.com/blog/come-one-come-all-sfdc-sample-sale

Before the crowd of sale-savvy shoppers has weekend access, you can purchase the best of the sale merchandise on Friday. Selected items in all categories will be discounted 50%. That means, amazing bargains on bedding, bathtowels, books, pillows, throws, rugs, tabletop, home fragrance, and accessories.

Please keep mind that sale items are not returnable or exchangeable. Due to the pace of the sale we cannot allow approvals or memos. And sale items cannot be gift-wrapped.

We look forward to seeing you soon! New inventory arrives frequently, so visit often. Many thanks for your support and enthusiasm, and for helping Urban Mercantile become one of 7x7 Magazine’s Best of Design winners for 2010!

Jeffrey, Suzanne, Rachel, and Bradley

Urban Mercantile @ egg
85 Carl Street (Cole Valley)
415 564 2248
[email protected]
&
Urban Mercantile @ SFDC
2 Henry Adams Street, Showplace 140
415 643 6372
[email protected]

A kitchen for the Japanese?

   

As exhausted as I am this evening, I had to put this post together. Many people have often asked what my home is like. They figure that since I have a store and work as a decorator I must have a lavish spread filled with "such beautiful things." Not so much. I've lived in the same apartment for so long now that if bore a child upon moving in I'd be the parent of a ninth-grader. Fortunately, I'm barren. But I do have a small, two bedroom, rent-controlled, comfortable apartment that I wouldn't dream of giving up. This in spite of the fact that I don't have parking and on winter mornings I can actually see my own breath in the kitchen as my water kettle whistles long past being removed from the flame. It's so cold in this place that I promise myself every January that I'm moving to Palm Springs. (The up-side is that I walk to work and can practically fall out my door and land in Golden Gate Park.)

Above are the test shots for the photoshoot of my kitchen. These secured a feature in the San Francisco edition of a Japanese book series illustrating kitchens around the world. Miki from Zakka Publishing, whom I have previously worked with on a couple other projects, contacted me and asked if they could photograph my kitchen. I said,"of course," knowing full well my kitchen (and honestly, all the other rooms in my home) is a work in progress. I told Miki that I had intentions to fix the cracking plaster, paint, buy a new table and chairs, rip up the linoleum, put shutters in the windows (god, I hope my landlords aren't reading this!) and finally get this place pulled together. Well, precisely what I had every intention of changing was exactly what made my kitchen so "cute and charming" to her. All that imperfection, or wabi sabi in Japanese, I guess. Loosely, it translates to "imperfectly perfect in a natural state." So to my embarrassment Mieko, the photographer, took many close cropped pictures of the cracks in the plaster along with the Spackle spread willy-nilly on the walls by my landlord to correct seismic scarring. She also closed in on gashes in the moldings where at least thirty layers of paint could be detected and the original redwood trim revealed. After taking about fifty shots of the whole kitchen, they proceeded to use the linoleum floor as a backdrop for some product shots. This is when I about fainted. That floor is the bane of my existence; never looking clean despite the toil of mop and unsafe chemicals. But alas, here it is. My humble little kitchen, scars and all.

The book is due out in April. Unless you have a Japanese bookstore in your town, you probably will never see it. I flipped through the second Paris edition which is already in print and it's totally amazing. The French know how to live, c'est vrai?! The Zakka team also photographed my store to complement the feature. Although this wasn't the first time my apartment has been photographed for Japanese publications, it's still a little strange to hear "what is the concept for your style?" I still answer, "um, comfort." Check out a few of my peeps, the other "creatives" featured in San Francisco Kitchens by Zakka Publishing.

Jeanine Payer: jewelry designer beyond words

Diana Fayt: ceramist of excellence

Rae Dunn: ceramist superior

ICFF: day two

Sorry folks. I'm really behind on posts. Stay tuned for more on my New York trip.

My hosts and good friends E.L. and D.C. prepared a most delicious breakfast this morning. Homemade scones and fruit, and a strong cup of coffee put me in a really good mood. This beats running to the Starbucks stand in the hotel lobby any day. We poked around Brooklyn later and enjoyed the little sunshine we've had here. I probably should have hustled to Javits, but I was having such a pleasant day with my BKLYN peeps.

My finds this day were a nice diversion from all the super-glamorous stuff everyone goes bananas for.  For example, these eco-friendly tables and stools are from Indianapolis-based inmodern/ecotots. Prices were reasonable considering the many steps they take to assure an eco-aware production process. The plywood layers are adhered with a human- and earth-friendly glue in a vapor free environment. The stains are alcohol based and wear well for durability. Not only are they working wonders with safer production, they’ve broken through the barrier of the manufacturing efficiency of such products. My order was ready to ship by the time I returned from a day of shopping. This will make special orders a breeze, as our customers appreciate quick deliveries of custom items. Adult and children’s furniture will be in the store in about a week.

Next, I discovered this line of ceramics in the Design-Boom section of the show. This area is usually filled with students or small upstart operations, both from the States and abroad, where smaller items are featured. You might see here accessories, jewelry, gadgets, and handcrafted items. Over the years, we’ve discovered several small-scale artisans and vendors. Like, Laura McKibbon and her company cul de sac design. Unlike many other ceramists, she prefers to work with earthenware. Her glazes are a soft palette that sells well for us. Her graphics are both botanical and typographical which also have broad appeal and in keeping with our store aesthetic. I hope to have an order in to her in time for a ceramics show I’m planning for the end of June. Prices will be reasonable considering the handmade attention the pieces receive.

  

ICFF: day one

Finally. I don't heart technology today.  Especially when it outwits me.

I'm in NYC for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). I've been coming for the last five years. But this my first visit since the start of my blogging life. And sure as the rain we've had here in the Big Apple, I was cursing my computer, my camera, my image editing software, and my own thickheadedness as I tried desperately to make my first post from the show. I was thwarted but survived.

So, I've vented. That's done. Now on with the show. It opened on Saturday to, from what I can tell, a good sized first day audience. Day One is usually a media frenzy. The interior design and product design glitterati walk the aisles as cameras flash. The first hour or so, I'm completely overwhelmed. For the uninformed, I get overwhelmed at Home Depot. But I do here what I do at any big name grocery store or home improvement center, I start at the far right side and walk every aisle in a calm and orderly fashion. By lunchtime I have my bearings.

The big trend this year still seems to be eco-friendly furniture, fixtures, and accessories. Also popular this year are screens, room dividers, and free-standing fireplaces. Rugs, wallpaper, and lighting are still hot, lo these many years. And though my photos might not illustrate it, it's obvious many manufactures and designers are still creating ultra-modern items with fat price tags. In turn, the trickle-down from this elite list provides inspiration to those in the trade and the upstart product designers, as well as an encouraging wink to resellers that perhaps the economy isn't irretrievably in the can.

If you've managed to stay entertained this long (for lack of any other stimulus), allow me to briefly hit the highlights of what I thought were good looking new furnishings suitable for the store and design clients.

These ceramic garden stools were perfectly scaled and glazed. Designed by Tucker Robbins of New York.  I stopped short of ordering them for the store (though I might look for something similar), as the retail price would have been over $900.00. Nevertheless, a stunning adaptation of an Asian garden stool, appropriately priced for higher-end clients.

The lights by London-based Tay Lighting are not entirely new. I saw some of them last year, but they still amaze me. Each are produced by hand with exsquite craftsmanship. These I would consider selling at the store; prices start at roughly $350.00 for the tube shape.

Large scale furniture is not something we can handle in our little store, but small pieces do exceptionally well. These petite painted metal stools/tables (I love convertible or multi-functional furniture) were a big find. They easily hit that scandinasian chord I often refer to. German firm Vitra, a major player in contemporary furniture production, working with every rockstar designer and architect in the last fifty years still has sass and class. The poor twenty-something girl in the booth did not have a price, but I'll be digging deeper for details. They are also available in a weird, prune color. I'm not sure if it was bad can of powder-coat paint on the samples or what, but that was a miss for me.

Also from Vitra, were these little dim-sums cum pouffes. A little savory and a little sweet, constructed with multi-media approach to home fashion. Homey without feeling too church bazaar. 

The MYTO chair is a small miracle in design collaboration. Chemical company BASF (Germany) first commissioned KGID to design an application for their Ultradur® High Speed material. A virtually indestructible material used in the auto industry. Konstantin Grcic heads his team along with Italian furniture company PLANK to build a plastic cantilevered, highly-engineered, indoor/outdoor, physics-defying chair. Not only is it strong, comfortable, and available in several colors, it's production is safer for the environment than traditional methods of manufacturing. The MYTO chair would retail for about $375.00.

May day palette

Happy May Day! Originally this holiday celebrated the fertility of the soil and the coming abundance of crops. (Also celebrated was the beginning of the breeding season for all animals, but I'll stop short of any details.) Today, I thought I'd discuss a failsafe palette, rich in earthly goodness.

So The Hills (a reminder, not their real name) will be receiving their furniture soon. I posted about a table for them on March 24. Most designers or decorators will build a palette for their clients as part of the design process. It's actually one of the most enjoyable exercises for me. But color is wildly interpreted by the beholder. People have all kinds of aversions and attractions toward certain colors. Pictured is the palette for the Hill residence family room.

From the left you see a short chenille of warm greens, aqua blues, with a little gold and brown. Next is the leather sample, a dark chocolate which picks up the brown tones from it's partner to the left. The sofa will be covered in these two fabrics; a rich combination of both leather and fabric (I've done this before with chairs for Mr Belmont). The tricky part is the leather, as dye lots vary like crazy. Often several rounds of cuttings are routed with one finally winning out. The aqua blue, "checker board" fabric will cover two high back chairs with exposed wood frames. The subtle stripe in the middle has more gold tones with creamy greens in the background; this covers a host chair (think of it as a large dining chair). A host (or hostess, if you prefer) chair is comfortable and leggy, and perfect in a small area.  The smaller samples in the middle are the finishes for the Swizzle table (mentioned in March). The resin base is the crackled finish which has a metallic bronze undercoat and an almost reflective creamy topcoat. The wood finish of Pommele Mahogany adorns the table top. Lastly, on the right is a big leafy floral jacquard (meaning the design is woven as opposed to printed) for accessory pillows.

My clients tend to be a more mature lot, retired or approaching retirement. So, they want to be surrounded by fabrics, furnishings, and in particular, colors that they won't tire of easily. Unfortunately, this restricts my palette selections, but I'd rather have them happy in the long run than impressed with bold or jarring combinations temporarily and annoyed later. I find that most times my clients lean toward blues, greens, and golden tones, along with a host of neutrals (the safe bet). The inviting colors above would work in just about any room in the house. A dreamy, silvery sage collection of colors makes for a peaceful bedroom. Or imagine these marine-like colors in a bathroom with deep brown cabinetry.  Whatever colors you live with and enjoy, I hope they help to create a space that suits you and comforts you.

Duralee: upholstered furniture

Many people have asked me for a good source of American made upholstered furniture at a reasonable price. While that's a tall order, there is one such a manufacturer, Duralee Fine Furniture. They are to-the-trade-only so you'll need to work through a designer to make a purchase. I know of others, which I expect will appear in future posts, but Duralee just happens to be the most relevant. Last week, I posted my research results on "green" mattresses and boxsprings. This week, for the same client, I'm looking for headboard options suitable for those bed sets that are customizable (we need a specific height). Duralee happens to provide several options; one of them being very simple and perfectly suited for the residence I'm working on. (I have also designed beds and headboards for other clients and had them produced by a local furniture/upholstery studio which I will indeed post about later on. But for today, this is where I'm going.)

Essentially all of Duralee's upholstered goods are produced in North Carolina (as you may know, North Carolina is the home of High Point furniture fair and numerous furniture factories). They also have their own textile milling plant in New York, again, a homeland operation. Their textiles are a varied selection; from high-end, to new eco-friendly, to the inexpensive. While most of their furniture frames and textiles have an East Coast traditional slant to them, there are some contemporary and transitional designs that are quite handsome. With some sleuthing you'll find them.

My favorite headboard is the Palace, it's simple, customizable, and starting retail price about $1800.00 (your designer might pass along their discount and you could get it for less). Remember, this does not include the cost of fabric. Specifically, Style 1 and Style 2 appeal to me for more modern settings. Beyond ordering a specific size, another advantage to buying from trade showrooms is that the whole world of fabrics opens up. As opposed to big box retailers and mail order catalogues where fabric choices are limited to their own designs (which are ubiqitous and boring).

While poking around the showroom (in the San Francisco Design Center) the other day, I started fantasizing about replacing my living room furniture (expect more posts on that, too). In thumbing through the Duralee catalogue I came across a couple likely candidates to supplant my tired Mike sofa (remember Mike furniture?). The Westside is a natty number and would fit in my bay window perfectly, and the SoHo has great lines and would be ideal in a larger room (one that I unfortunately do not own). Prices start around $3800.00 retail. You can peruse Duralee's online catalogue and fantasize on your own.

Wood peace

So I've had a few greenish posts since beginning this blog. My hope is to showcase green products or services at least a few times a month. April, however, is especially important as this is the month Earth Day occurs. In fact, it's tomorrow, April 22. Being that today is Monday, and at the start of the week I usually focus on interior design issues, I thought I would post about greenish furniture manufacturer TEAM7. Ralph Hays Contemporary Furniture represents the manufacturer at the San Francisco Design Center.

The story begins when a very young entrepreneur/artisan buys a wood working factory in Ried, Austria in 1959. Having much success creating what could be thought of as typical European-styled goods (ready-to-assemble, simple, lacquered pine, etc), the economic downturn of the 70s inspired the company to move toward "eco" furniture long before others followed suit. Fast-forward to today, this factory now produces some of the most fantastic and functional designs from sustainable wood resources. Not only are the pieces made from several species of sustainable materials, these furnishings essentially sing the virtues of exposed wood in contemporary stylings and highlight the appeal of living with its natural beauty.

I recently installed the Girado table pictured above in a home in Hillsborough. (These photos are from the TEAM7 website, not the home.) The glass leaf insert is cleverly stowed within the table, eliminating the hunt for missing leaves at party time. The glass is available in several colors (though, a little lacking) and my clients and I settled on a buttery yellow for a shot of warmth in a very modern interior. Every room of this house has beautiful wood cabinetry against stark white plaster walls. The chairs shown in the photos did not work in the breakfast nook with the table; they just got lost with all the whiteness. We did find a marvelous complement to the table and its surroundings in some buttery leather chairs from Roche Bobois.

The wood used in these pieces is flawless, with amazing graining and free of imperfection. Knowing that the materials are sourced carefully--particularly the wood we as concerned citizens of the Earth hold so dear--and built in a European factory where people are also cared for, makes purchasing such goods a small step toward leaving an even smaller footprint.

New blue loo

Another Monday brings me to another interior design update. I'm not meeting with clients today so I have a bit more time to load up some photos of a recent bathroom remodel. This bathroom belongs to Ms Terrace (obviously, not her real name) who owns a condo in Upper Ashbury Heights with a view all the way out to the Faralons on a good day. She's young and fun, a real treat as far as clients go. I had already reworked her kitchen, but the bathroom needed some serious attention. Ms Terrace's biggest complaint was that the bathroom was crowded and that she couldn't take a relaxing and proper bath in the stubby tub. (Ms Terrace is long and lean.) So, priority one:  we had to put a six foot tub in the new bathroom. Also, the full shower was a goner. She saw no need for the extra wet area.

We started talking about color and I expressed my love for blue baths. They're clean and aquatic. A far cry from the scrabbled egg color of the old bathroom. Nothing says fresh, spa-like environment like cerulean blues and Mediterranean greens. Those colors pop alongside bright white fixtures like tubs, sinks, and commodes.

The other must-have was a lava stone vanity top. The material is absolutely stunning (with a pricetag to match). And it's available only through Sue Fisher King in San Francisco. It's real, solid stone quarried from the ground (just like granite) around the lava fields of France. It's then cut to size, glazed with a white undercoat, then glazed again with one of the forty or so marvelous colors, and fired to 1000 degrees in a kiln big enough inside to park two Smart cars. Thus, the process creates a spectacular enamelized color surface (not like the limiting stone colors or man-made composites) that is durable and works well in kitchens and baths.

To give this client everything she wanted in the new bathroom (the long tub, storage, roominess), I knew I'd have to create a custom vanity. Trying to find a pre-designed vanity off the showroom floor to precisely fit where we wanted it would be a waste of time. The cabinet is lacquered white and resting on top is the gorgeous stone. Like a piece of furniture it surrounds the wall mounted sink. Sliding glass doors echo the glass tiles used in the tub surround. (Which, by the way, is gorgeous if I do say so.)

Another feature we added was a pony wall (a short wall) to conceal the toilet from the entrance. That way, if the door is left open, you don't have toilet in plain view saying, "hey, I'm the john." Keeping the wall low hides the toilet but maintains the open feeling of the room.

The most rewarding moment for me was when Ms Terrace said, "I absolutely love this bathroom!" My heart sings! We splurged where we needed to; the tub and the lava stone. We kept other costs down by doing a little research on materials. And we had a good contractor who got in there, demolished down the studs, moved waste and water lines on time and on budget. The toilet was essentially never totally out of commission and Ms Terrace had only to take a few showers at the gym.

Obviously, the yellow bath is the "before" and the blue is the "after."

UPDATE: Belmont house rugs

In case you're interested and following the progress of the Mr Belmont's rug options, this is the latest contender. Again, a subtle palette, but in rhythmic stripes. It's a natural pairing with the Jerusalem Gold stone floors. And it picks up the colors in the upholstery and stone coffee table beautifully. It's Tibetan and hand-knotted of 65% wool and 35% silk, available from Stark Carpets.

Garanimals for interiors

Remember Garanimals? Maybe I'm dating myself, but I did check to see if they're still around and, indeed, they are. They made it easy for parents and kids to put together coordinated clothing. I loved them and I thought I was so cool wearing my natty little assemble.

Think of a similar concept for your home; an easier way for designers and clients to coordinate fabrics used for furnishings. I could spend hours looking for terrific fabrics--and I'd love to take that kind of time as I enjoy fabrics more than just about anything--but sometimes that's not what the design project calls for. In some cases, looking to one textile manufacturer can save hours of time, not to mention endless indecision and angst. And, yes, it might be considered a shortcut, I accept that. But when the fabrics are luxurious, well priced, available immediately, and when the palette and pattern are current, it's a shortcut worth taking. That's what ROMO Fabrics provides, whether they considered the Garanimal model or not. (I doubt they would have considered it since they're an English company.) ROMO Fabrics is available to the trade in San Francisco through DeSousa Hughes. Look for posts in the coming weeks where I'll show my real-life application of these terrific fabrics.