MARCH PANTRY Archives - The Curated House

The Curated Collection | Paulette Tavormina

Art is meant to elicit a response. To move you. To draw your attention to pain or beauty; to provoke thought or emotion. To filter the world into a more meaningful experience. To heighten and distill what is beautiful and unique in the world, and perhaps even make you gasp just a little bit.

“Figs and Morning Glories”

And food? Well food is sustenance. But much more than that, it is comfort. It is a means of expressing love. It is a way of showing honour and celebrating. It is the foraging and forming of nature into beauty and meaning for our bodies and our palettes. It is a way of making everyday life an art form in and of itself.

“Crabs”

Married together, these two forms of sustenance – food for both body and soul – meet in the stunning work of New York photographer Paulette Tavormina.

“Yellow Cherries and Crab Apples”

Weaving together a contemporary medium with an old world aesthetic, Tavormina’s dramatic photographs harken back to the sumptuous lighting and decadent details of 17th century Old Master still life paintings. The vibrant saturation and contrast in the images brings the masterfully styled food and flora to life, elevating the everyday to the status of extraordinary.

“Watermelon Radishes”

“Pears”

“I have long been fascinated by the magic of everyday objects, the majesty and delicacy of nature, and the world of culinary delight,” said Tavormina. “I have blended decades of photography and food styling with a love of 17th century Old Master paintings to create these still-life photographs. My greatest influences have been Francisco de Zurbaran, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, in particular Zurbaran’s mysterious use of dramatic light, Coorte’s unique placement of treasured objects and Garzoni’s masterful composition and color palette. The works of these artists remind us of the irretrievable passing of time – tempus fugit.”

“Sour Cherries”

“Cranberry Beans”

Tavormina’s work can be found in museums, corporate and private collections and have been exhibited all of the world including shows in New York, Paris, London and Moscow. This current collection is showing at MARCH in San Francisco until June 1st and can be purchased by contacting owner and curator Sam Hamilton.

Wishing you a Monday filled with light and contrast and the time to drink in the sumptuous, decadent details in the everyday.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|March 25th, 2013|2 Comments

Project: Kitchen Refresh | Lighting Option #3

If I’m honest, I’m rather giddy to be so close to a decision on the new pendants over the island. A change in lighting can truly transform a space, and given the broken and dysfunctional pendant that reminds me daily of its need to be replaced, I am starting to dance from one foot to the other in anticipation.

Even MORE exciting is that Lamps Plus has offered to sponsor my new pendants!!! So generous!!! Having been in business for over 30 years, Lamps Plus is the largest specialty lighting retailer in the US. They also offer accessories, furniture and home décor and even have American Lighting Association certified designers available in all their stores, by phone or online to offer product recommendations and advice on all of your lighting projects. I am so grateful to be partnering with such an amazing sponsor!

So, with all of that good news out of the way, I have another option to explore with you today. I must admit that I have a penchant for simple, graphic and modern spaces like this one.

{image via Pinterest}

All that white is the perfect canvas for the elegantly designed light fixtures and chairs to take their rightful pride of place. Simple, modern elegance. So, I found myself musing over the possibility of a pair of pendants such as this lovely modern, graphic punch of black from Lamps Plus:

I love the punctuated simplicity of its slim and unobtrusive profile, and the price is fantastic. I do, however, worry {like I did about the beautiful brass option} that perhaps the length of the shaft of the pendant itself would emphasize my less than dramatically high ceilings. Hmmm…

I would certainly LOVE to style my kitchen with a tidy row of gorgeous and dramatic glass jars of salts and spices from MARCH Pantry. Fine salts and spices in gorgeous black glass cannisters? Yes please.

Perhaps also a fresh and simple collection of coral from Layla Grace to nestle in with all of my cookbooks and some antique books in the bookcase.

{image via Pinterest}

And maybe a change to the counter stereo with this gorgeousness from Uncrate?

I like the mix of vintage and modern for sure. But for now, the decision is all about the light fixture. What do you think of Option #3?

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 31st, 2013|2 Comments

MARCH | San Francisco

Today I had the privilege of stumbling upon a true gem in the city of San Francisco. Nestled in Laurel Heights, MARCH‘s bright, clean and beautifully edited interior feels as much like a gallery as a high-end kitchen, pantry and table purveyor.

All interior photographs by Angie Silvy

Their curated and collaborative collections include items from Ted Muehling, Brickett Davda, Christiane Perrochon and Jasper Conran. I was particularly enchanted by the constellation-like glazes on some of the smaller, handcrafted ceramics from Victoria Morris, not to mention the stunning, bespoke butcher block tables which would be quite a welcome addition to almost any of my clients’ kitchens.

MARCH’s in-house line of spices and sea salts – handcrafted in the city by Le Sanctuaire – are beautifully branded with the store’s exquisitely simple typographic labels wrapped around apothecary-esque blue glass jars. The full collection would look stunning in the neatly ordered spice drawer of any truly epicurean kitchen. MARCH’s evident love of wood is just one of the reasons they feel like “my people,” as seen in the stunning, hand-carved kitchen tools, cutting boards and gorgeous, live-edged presentation boards.

I have no doubt that the good folks at MARCH subscribe to the beloved philosophy that food should look as good as it tastes. Their stunning space and beautifully curated products speak to that philosophy with great attention to detail and utterly sophisticated delight. No doubt they are on their way to iconic status in this fine city – well worth a visit the next time you are in town.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 5th, 2012|0 Comments