Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Design Find | Danish Handblown Glass Chandelier

Today I thought I’d share one of my favourite design finds from my whirlwind trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danes are truly known the world over for their modern classic light fixtures. Many Danish designs {such as the now iconic Sorensen Norm 69 – designed in 1969 but not released until 2001} are modern classics expressing the height of simplicity, refinement and restraint.

This collection of handmade glass chandeliers that I stumbled upon in Copenhagen are certainly a departure from what comes to mind when I think of classic modern Danish lighting design. And yet they possess a similar quality of organic simplicity that had me intrigued.

Offered in a mix of clear and frosted glass or just clear glass, each glass drop {don’t they look like slow-motion melting icicles?} hooks onto the metal frame of the chandelier and can be easily removed for washing with soap and warm water. Brilliant!

This rectangular number {above} would be stunning over a long dining table, and I think the small square one {below} would make a charming pair suspended on either side of a bathroom mirror.

Pernille Bülow‘s fixtures are truly an organic take on the glamour of a crystal chandelier. Every piece of glass is unique, making these fixtures so interesting to look at. They are something of a study in the solidification of molten glass, making them a fascinating feature for any space.

According to the shop manager, Pernille Bülow will ship internationally if you’re truly smitten! Wishing I had a project to justify ordering up a custom piece!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 8th, 2013|1 Comment

The Curated Collection | Kelly Reemtsen

Provocative and compelling. That is my first reaction to the work of fine artist Kelly Reemtsen. The unexpected pairings of pretty and powerful depicted in her paintings are at once arresting and demanding of a response. From the moment I first laid eyes on her work, Reemtsen had both my rapt attention and my most sincere admiration. She also had me brimming with questions and the desire to sit down for coffee with her for a conversation that would no doubt be utterly fascinating.

I wanted to know if Reemtsen was being literal or ironic; direct or subversive. As it turns out, Kelly is not making an ironic statement about feminism. She is not theorizing about housewives. Rather, she is painting modern day empowerment as she sees it.

Grace and strength, beauty and empowerment are juxtaposed and yet entirely at home together in fit-and-flare silhouettes, pearls and “any tool necessary to get the job done.” I believe Kelly in her sincerity, and yet still I wrestle with my own personal tensions as a woman and the ways in which I see them threaded throughout these prim and unexpectedly powerful narratives.

Clearly, Kelly’s subjects are women who will do whatever it takes to be extraordinary. They are the kind of women I admire; the kind of women who intimidate me; the kind of woman I’d love to become in my more polished moments.

I think the questions Kelly’s work calls to mind are how I can more aptly marry beauty with fierceness; fearlessness with gentility; pretty with powerful. I love that she has me asking these questions. It feels to me as though she’s saying we don’t have to choose between these worlds. Pretty girls can get their hands dirty. Fierce girls can wear pearls. Graceful women can use power tools. We can get the job done and look good doing it.

Thank you, Kelly, for your compelling and beautiful paintings and the conversation they spark within me. I am sincerely inspired by your courageous, feminine strength and am honoured to have encountered your work.

xo
s.

P.S. Would you believe Kelly actually wraps gifts in maps just like me? And phone book pages, too. The best.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 7th, 2013|0 Comments

The Decadence of Becoming

photo by gabriela hansen

Happy New Year! I truly hope this finds you all warm and well, with hearts and bellies full from the decadence of time spent with your loved ones. I choose the word “decadence” because slowing down to “just be” seems so rare these days, so indulgent. Reading books. Going for walks. Playing board games. Cooking together. Snuggling by the fire. Taking time to talk and laugh and dream. It’s decadent. And the truth is, I haven’t quite had my fill yet.

I’ve always believed that the best way to be a leader is to lead with your life. In that spirit, I’ve decided to take a few more days off. I know I promised I’d get back to sharing irresistible inspiration with you as of tomorrow. The truth is, I savour with anticipation the promise of diving back into design, food, health, beauty and fashion inspiration with you soon! But for now, I am going to indulge in more reflection and rest.

I know this is a choice not all of us can make as the New Year starts and the demands of work thrust most of us back to our routines tomorrow. I appreciate the luxury that I am afforded as I take the time to just be with my son until he goes back to school on January 7th. But I’d like to take this internal shift back into my regular routine as well.

This year I plan to listen to my instincts carefully. I am aiming for authenticity. I don’t believe in resolutions or “naming” my year with a word. But I do believe in reflecting and moving forward with intention whenever I’m given the opportunity to pause. So I’m going to take time over the next few days to further reflect and curate my thoughts and intentions for this New Year.

The truth is, I may not do it perfectly. There are books on my reading list I may not get to, plans that may not get perfectly architected, and I may still be riding the edge of intention mixed with a generous dose of fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants by the time January 7th hits. But that might just be what is actually authentic in the end. In fact, it might just leave enough room for inspiration to strike and for beauty to be discovered in the everyday.

In the reflecting I’ve done thus far, I’ve realized that I am learning to leave room – this week and in the year ahead – for process. The process of becoming. The process of thinking and dreaming and digesting and designing. The process of creating things that matter.

I will fail. I will get swept up in the rush of life and forget to make room for the process. I will get caught in the undertow of the expectations of others and the expectations I have for myself. But I hope to refine and reshape my rhythms so that my process becomes more authentic. More intentional. More beautiful. And I hope that in that process, I will inspire some of you, too. Maybe we can help each other.

On this first day of 2013, my wish is that we would all drink deeply of this decadent opportunity to reflect and “just be” as we consider the process of becoming and all the possibility it holds.

Happy New Year!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 1st, 2013|0 Comments