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From significant business changes to noteworthy product launches, there’s always something new happening in the world of design. In this biweekly roundup, AD PRO has everything you need to know.
Design Happenings
Elsie de Wolfe ephemera soars past estimates at a Bonhams Los Angeles auction
Leonard Stanley, maximalist designer to the stars, passed away in 2023. Among the trove of art, design, and antiques filling his Hollywood Hills abode was an array of memorabilia from Elsie de Wolfe, the luminary credited with inventing interior design as a profession. Accordingly, the auction offered a rare, profound glimpse into the aesthetic of the actress, author, and designer also known as Lady Mendl, which was responsible for colorfully departing from the Victorian era. All of Stanley’s treasures, including 35 of de Wolfe’s scrapbooks and albums laden with photographs, articles, and drawings were up for auction on October 24 when Bonhams Los Angeles presented “Extraordinary and Unexpected: The Collection of Leonard Stanley.” De Wolfe posing with a poodle in front of the cabinet Tony Duquette designed for her is a memorable snapshot, as are those of Diana Vreeland, Cecil Beaton, and Elsa Schiaparelli. Particularly juicy is de Wolfe’s guest book for Villa Trianon, lined with signatures from the artists and society set who rendezvoused at her Versailles refuge. The auction achieved remarkable success in auction, hitting nearly the $1 million mark, while the de Wolfe memorabilia in particular raked in a total of $66,700—3.5 times its estimate.
Meet us at the Armory for Salon Art + Design’s 13th edition
Salon Art + Design is back! From November 7 to 11, the collectible fair will return to Park Avenue Armory to showcase exquisite global art and design. Collectors, curators and enthusiasts alike will be sure to appreciate the 50-plus renowned international exhibitors and selections of blue-chip 20th-century art, all of which has been coordinated by Nicky Dessources, Salon’s new executive director.
Notably, several special design exhibitions on the Drill Hall floor are among this year’s fair highlights, alongside a series of in-situ installations in other historic Armory rooms. Be sure to visit installations by the Female Design Council and FrenchCalifornia. The latter is a Directory member and is set to designing this year’s café, inspired by the chic bistros of Paris. The parlor will feature an Alpange piano that uses state-of-the-art technology for a superior surround auditory experience. Also on our must-see list is the install from AD100 talent Studio Giancarlo Valle, which has created a site-specific series of dollhouse-like dioramas—including a handmade clay sofa, a 3D-printed table, and a detailed model of the dining pavilion for a recently completed St. Barts villa.
Design titans honored at the annual Sir John Soane Gala
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On October 22, a starry crowd including Tory Burch, Lord and Lady Sassoon, and other members of the glitterati flocked to the University Club of New York to attend the Honors Awards for the Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation. The annual gala is held in celebration of both the museum and legacy of 19th-century English architect John Soane, who designed iconic British landmarks like the Bank of England. This year’s esteemed honorees were renowned architect Jeanne Gang of the AD100 Studio Gang and the celebrated design journalist Hamish Bowles. Throughout dinner, the two were recognized for their visionary eye and contributions to the field.
AD PRO Hears…
…New York designer Robert Stilin has launched an online shop. Mirroring the AD100 talent’s interiors—like his Red Hook abode—the collection of furniture, lighting, artwork, and accessories exudes elegance and warmth. Look out for beauties like a glazed ceramic table lamp that takes the form of an ancient amphora and vintage finds such as Pierre Chapo’s modular T22 table.
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…Vaughan, the British maker of furniture, decorative lighting, and accessories has tapped Nicholas Hodson-Taylor as creative director. Most recently design director for Guy Goodfellow, Hodson-Taylor previously worked at David Collins Studio and Nicky Haslam’s NH Design, so he’s bound to draw from his portfolio of swank interiors.
…The Créateurs Design Awards has named AD100 Hall of Famer Norman Foster as the recipient of the 2025 Andrée Putman Lifetime Achievement Award. Foster, who founded the London-based architecture and design firm Foster + Partners in 1967, has been at the forefront of sustainable and urban design. This ethos has been magnified in projects like the revamped Reichstag in Berlin, London’s pedestrian-only Millennium Bridge, and Calgary skyscraper The Bow.
… The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art has announced the winners of the 2024 McKim, Mead & White Awards for Excellence in Classical and New Traditional Design. Recipients included AD100 honorees Robert A.M. Stern and Ferguson & Shamamian, as well as Directory members Hendricks Churchill and Janice Parker.
Openings
British design goes beyond clothes at Burberry’s NYC showroom
On October 5, the Burberry flagship reopened its doors on 9 East 57th Street, which is its oldest location in America. To celebrate, creative director Daniel Lee invited esteemed guests including Cher and Tyra Banks for an evening soirée on the Upper East Side. Post-renovation, the three-story flagship is an ode to British design: Limestone flooring evokes historic English institutions, as does the wrought-iron balustrade on the spiral staircase, which, on the first floor, is crowned by horsehead-shaped finials. Replicas of Burberry’s gabardine and war-era trenches are on view in a circle of mannequins, which perch on an organic camouflage rug designed by British contemporary artist and frequent Burberry collaborator Tom Atton Moore. Guests can learn more about other historical styles from the brand via accompanying plaques displaying educational QR codes.
AD PRO Hears…
… Petit h workshop, run by Hermés, is returning to New York. From October 11 to 26, the luxury brand’s Maison Madison flagship became a stage designed by Lucia Hierro, a Dominican American conceptual artist who incorporated iconic elements of Manhattan into her material-focused design.
Exhibitions
Olivia Cognet’s first solo show at the Future Perfect straddles function and emotion
In Vallauris, on France’s Côte d’Azur, Olivia Cognet turns out free-flowing ceramics in the former studio of late artist Roger Capron. Many of those organic sculptures, including a geometrically playful mural and an imposing oval dining table measuring nearly seven feet long, now sit in dialogue with each other in “Diffraction.” The artist’s first solo exhibition, the show is being held at the Goldwyn House, the Future Perfect’s Studio PCH–designed Los Angeles gallery, through November 8. Cognet’s large-scale pieces illuminate her knack for clay, most notably in the fire pit reminiscent of an erupting volcano she built on site. But the unconventional use of mirror, wood, stone, and lava also reflect Cognet’s intriguing, multifaceted approach to creation.
Design.Miami Paris makes over the Marais
At Design.Miami’s second edition in Paris (October 16-20), thirty international exhibitors were situated among the ornate neoclassical halls of the L’Hôtel de Maisons, an 18th-century mansion in the Marais district. Local talents were a focal point: Patrick Seguin displayed a two-tiered rack of Jean Prouvé chairs upon entry. In the garden, a prefabricated house built by the French architect in his earlier years — on sale for over 1 million dollars — provided a respite in the scenic sculpture garden. Galerie Mitterand, who was awarded this year’s ‘Best Historical Design Object,’ presented an installation of a breakfast room by Claude Lalanne, which showcased a seating area on a rug clad in his signature sheep motif. Newcomers included Salon 94 Design, whose colorful booth paid homage to the late artist and designer Gaetano Pesce with an impressive selection of his lesser-known works. Other highlights included SCAD’s presentation on the second-floor landing, featuring the work of notable alumni such as Eny Lee Parker, and Bradley Bowers.
AD PRO Hears…
… On October 10, 2024, Jomo Tariku took Philadelphia’s Wexler Gallery by storm with his first-ever solo exhibition, “Juxtaposed.” The Ethiopian American artist and designer’s new series melded modern materials such as metal, plastic, and leather with wood—his material of choice, in line with traditional Ethiopian craft—to create an unforgettable addition within his oeuvre.
Project Spotlight
Campbell-Rey revitalizes a London nightlife haunt
Celebrities regularly cavorted in Tramp, the glitzy nightclub that first made a splash in London’s Mayfair in 1969. New owner Luca Maggiora was keen to preserve those glamorous vibes when he tasked Duncan Campbell and Charlotte Rey with reviving the space. Accordingly, the duo behind the local and Oxfordshire-based studio Campbell-Rey adorned the entry with hand-blown, molten Venini sconces that recall feathered turbans, and covered the stairs leading down to the cinnabar-hued bar with chestnut moiré carpeting. Some guests might opt to linger in Jackie’s, where original 17th-century paneling mingles with Jean Michel-Frank-style armchairs upholstered in Josef Frank linen. The warm Gold Room, grounded in a groovy amber carpet, also provides nice respite, and leads to an intimate spaced dubbed Charlie’s, which is enveloped in olive-tinted Rubelli silk. In the dining room, tobacco-colored banquettes are inlaid with original mirror panels beneath a silver-leaf zodiac ceiling painted by local artist Timna Woollard.
Product
Redmond Aldrich Design plants seeds for the botanical-inspired RAD Goods
Holed up in Maine one summer, designer Chloe Redmond Warner was surrounded by exquisite coastal foliage that she captured in paintings and photographs. Those blooms are the basis of RAD Goods, an offshoot of the Oakland-based Redmond Aldrich Design. The new range of fabrics and wallpapers include romantic Meadow, which calls to mind old-world salons. The crisp Sun Block possesses precise stripes of florals, and Busy Bee is an ode to the namesake fuzzy insects flitting between ripening blueberries. Peony Chintz, the inaugural RAD Goods release, turned heads earlier this year in Redmond Warner’s tented loggia at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach. The Scandinavian antique-inspired Lucia game table and Sara cabinet, two bespoke furniture pieces crafted from cherry and redwood burl, are also part of the RAD Goods mix.
In Common With ventures into furniture
Minimalist, edgy lighting is the hallmark of Brooklyn studio In Common With, but now founders Felicia Hung and Nick Ozemba have made a delightful foray into furniture that conjures Italian classicism. In Common With’s rippled Monarch screen was enlivened by the hand painted designs of Italian artist Claudio Bonuglia. Same goes for other existing designs, like the Arundel surface mount light and Otto standing mirror Renowned for his lush marbling and trompe l’oeil decorative finishes, Bonuglia spent a month in New York to bring these limited-edition pieces to life. They are on display at Quarters, In Common With’s homey concept store and showroom in Tribeca—the bar there has been swathed in one of Bonuglia’s dreamy frescoes.
Calico Teams Up With Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School for two dreamy collections
Calico, the New York–based wall coverings brand founded by husband-and-wife duo Nick and Rachel Cope, has always had a knack for the ethereal and otherworldly. Two of their newest collections bring that vibe particularly close to home—literally, this time, to their own backyard in Ghent. Alchemy and Enchantment, new lines developed in partnership with artist and educator Janene Ping, draw their looks from the fields of color Ping brings into her own naturally dyed silks. To achieve these hues, Ping—and the community at the Copes’ neighboring Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, where she teaches the school’s youngest learners—harvests and brews flora like marigold, walnut, and vetiver. Calico collaborated with Ping to develop seven patterns for both of the assortments, spanning from Turmeric’s wash of orange and lavender to Rosewood, a spray of pretty pinks. Ten percent of all sales will go back to the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School.
AD PRO Hears…
… Havenly is making money moves and putting a name on it: With their recent acquisition of beloved home brand Burrow, the company is evolving from Havenly Inc. to Havenly Brands. Acquiring five DTC home decor enterprises in two years is no easy feat—but the company is proving that they have a special knack for investing, strategy, and lending a helping hand.
