By LuAnne Silvia, ASID

We had the opportunityto hear firsthand from Leslie and Leigh Keno about the design inspiration behind their new furntiure line for Theodore Alexander. Their background in antiques and appreciation for craftsmanship and fine wood have resulted in a collection of timeless modern pieces that are organic in inspiration. Three highlights from their presentation:

Palette Table “The artist’s palette is an essential part of the creative process. The artist blends paint upon the palette, then applies it to the canvas, giving birth to the work of art.”

Leslie and Leigh Keno discussing the design of their Palette table

Comments: The inspiration behind this Tamo veneer, Maple, and Brass accent table makes an intriguing form.

The Low Weave Chest

“We have always loved woven splint baskets for their intricate patterns of undulating natural material. In this chest of drawers the material is hyedua veneer framed within an ebonized acacia case. We play with light and shadow and the visual rhythms of the serpentine lines.”

Leslie and Leigh Keno pointing out the details on their Low Weave chest

Comments: Without hardware the lines of this chest are enhanced and make it a true experience, a connection when expolrong the interiors.

The Slope Chair

“Of all the furniture forms, the chair is the most personal. Chairs offer us an opportunity to have a unique interaction that we can have with no other furniture form. The Greeks, with their passion for the human body, were the first to design a chair that combined comfort and beauty – the Klismos chair.”

The Slope Chair is pictured on the left of this photo:

Comments: When you sit in this mahogany and cane chair you find yourself running your hands along the subtle curves of the arms. We all took a turn and agreed it sits like a dream!

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By LuAnne Silvia, ASID

The Keno brothers were in town recently to promote their new furniture line. The identical twins are largely known for their appraising expertise of fine furnishings on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow. The brothers also host “Collect This! With The Keno Brothers” on MSN. Leigh Keno owns and operates Keno Auctions in New York, and Leslie Keno is director of American furniture and decorative arts at Sotheby’s auction house.

We had the opportunity to meet them and hear about the inspiration that led to designing their own furnishings. Duxbury showroom at International Market Square represents Theodore Alexander who makes their furniture. They introduced the  CEO of Theodore Alexander who was in the audience and described their supportive collaborative relationship that gives the Keno brothers artistic freedom. Theodore Alexander is known for their craftsmanship and appreciation of wood, a perfect partnership.

They shared the stage with several pieces from their collection and they held up chairs and tables while pointing out the design details. Their casual back and forth presentation style was filled with energy and enthusiasm. They were just as charming in person when we had the chance to meet them afterward.

The LiLu design team (Left to right Lisa Peck, Ali Dahl our summer intern, LuAnne Silvia and Christina Winter) with the Keno Brothers at International Market Square

Check back tomorrow and throughout the week to see some of their beautiful furniture, and also to hear about another exciting presentation we attended of a new unique wall covering by designers originally from the Twin Cities.

by Lisa Peck, ASID

Finding other creative people such as artist David Coggins and visiting his studio is one way we make new connections and think of things in new ways. Emily recently met David’s wife Wendy outside a clients home and made plans to visit David’s studio.

His studio is rich with visual inspiration and natural light. It got me to thinking about what to surround my clients with in order to support their journey’s in life. What you have around you can influence the quality of  your thoughts.

David spoke with us about his recent projects and the thought process behind them.

I found myself thinking about how to approach things conceptually. We often create inspiration movies, inspiration boards and David’s recent project is similar in the collage of images. Creating collages is a way of expressing concept or emotions that may allude verbal expression.

These beautiful prints David did in a previous phase are an intriguing connection between art and technology and spurred thoughts of how technology can be used in new ways. Creative use of technology can give our work a fresh outlook.

Much of David’s work was a reflection of nature and man’s connection to nature. Thinking about this led me to consider some research I have recently been reading about how connection to nature allows people who are ill to heal more quickly. I felt renewed in my interest in creating connections between the interior and nature.

By “gathering intel” on David Coggins we not only discovered a great artist who can be a resource to include in our interior design work but renewed our creative spark and allowed us all to create new connections in our design.

By Emily Anderson, Allied Member ASID

Here are some quotes to live by courtesy of Dorothy Draper. Compiled from www.interiordesignquotes.com