Cappellini hits sweet spot with Candy table, Lace lamp

No, it's not some Don Draper-devised take on Rodin's "The Thinker" staged with midcentury modern accent tables. This is Giulio Cappellini, artistic director of Cappellini, the Italian furniture manufacturer known for more than 30 years for discovering talent and producing works by designers such as Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders and the Bouroullec and Campana brothers.

For those who equate high design with out-of-reach prices, here's a pleasant surprise: The new Candy table, pictured here with Cappellini, is set to land in the U.S. this fall with a price around $300. 

On a recent visit to Los Angeles, the dapper Cappellini, 54, sat down with L.A. at Home and answered some questions about his life, his work, the current state of design and the surprising material used for that Candy table.

Small speaker reviews: Wireless, rechargeable and just plain cool

 

A ton of sound from a box that's less than a pound? It's possible. We tested eight small speakers in hopes of finding the perfect piece of portable audio: small size, dynamic audio, rechargeable battery and Bluetooth technology for wireless music controlled by phone, iPad or laptop.

CAPSULE REVIEWS:

Small wireless speakers

We cranked up the new Big Jambox, pictured above, the upsized version of the impossibly small original Jambox. We also tested the new Bose SoundLink, the new Soundfreaq Sound Kick, plus offerings from SuperTooth, JBL, Geneva and Tivoli.

With suggested retail prices from about $100 to $300 (and sales prices readily available), we're thinking Father's Day present, perhaps?

Photo credit, top: Jawbone

Photo credit, right: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

 

Mercado farmers market bag: Squished tomatoes no more?

Anyone who has returned home from the farmers market to find costly heirloom tomatoes crushed beneath the weight of fingerling potatoes may appreciate the new Mercado tote.

The Mercado bag from Quirky is made of canvas, soft cotton and mesh. It has four small interior pockets for delicate items such as peaches and grapes; two long interior compartments behind see-through mesh; one large interior compartment with two elastic loops, perhaps to hold wine, flowers or baguettes; and two exterior pockets for easy access for cash, keys, sunglasses or a phone.

Bend's Geometric Trophy Heads: cool minus the kill

Hunting-lodge taxidermy may have outstayed its welcome as the ironic home accessory of the last few years, but at least people looking for a different animal-inspired design to hang on the wall have a new option — no rifle required.

Marina del Rey-based design firm Bend just introduced geometric wire animal heads at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York. The collection, called Geometric Trophy Heads, is made of powder-coated iron. No stuffed fur, no glazed eyes, just the animal kingdom evoked with clean and simple lines. At least they look simple. “They're actually created with bends and angles that are based on complex formulas,” Bend founder Gaurav Nanda said.

Instant ambience: Outdoor candlelight and bonfire log

Mood makers for your patio, deck or balcony, clockwise from center: The Light ’n Go Bonfire Log is kiln-dried birch with an internal wick that promises to deliver a big flame for at least two hours. (Fire alarms in our photo studio persuaded us to keep ours unlighted, so it's pictured with a tea light on top.) The log is $12.98 at Home Depot, where it can be found with the firewood. A spokeswoman for the company that makes the Light 'n Go said it's also sold at some Albertsons stores, among other places.

Stuck into the log are three cast-iron Pipe candle holders by Menu, $35 apiece from A+R. The gray, patterned Orla hurricane ($19.95) and votive ($9.95) candle holders are from Crate & Barrel. The bottle-shaped mercury glass candle holder is $34.95 at the Juicy Leaf. The beeswax candles shaped like apothecary bottles are $11.25 and $15.75 at Firefly, which carries larger sizes too.

The large oval oil lamp looks like terrazzo but is lightweight resin; it's $19.95 at CB2. A small candle wrapped in birch bark was $10 at Colcha, which has the candles in a larger size.

ALSO:

Long Beach's hot spot: Bixby Knolls

Highland Park's emerging shopping scene

South Coast Collection: cool in Costa Mesa

Uptown Design District, Palm Springs' shop central

-- L.A. at Home staff writers

Photo: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

 

Open house or pop-up shop? In Highland Park, it's both

There’s thinking outside the box, but what about selling outside the shop? Sarah Brady and Alex Cole’s Highland Park home decor store, Platform, is turning the art of staging homes for sale into a shopping experience: The open house is a pop-up store.

Platform, known for mostly locally handmade house wares, attracts what Brady calls “a pretty decent stream of customers.” But Brady, a former trend forecaster, says she was looking to sell the store’s linens, tablewares, decorative accessories and artwork beyond the perimeters of the 900-square-foot shop. Opportunity came calling in the unexpected form of the neighborhood's home flippers.

“Highland Park is one of the areas where flipping has continued, and one day, one of them asked us if we would stage a home that she was looking to sell,” Brady says.

Counterpane quilts: L.A. artist goes improvisational

The quilts of Los Angeles artist Pauline Boyd stand out not only for their surprising mix of materials -- remnants of Moroccan silk tunics and African wax prints, Balinese sarongs and Mexican embroidered cotton dresses -- but also for their unconventional, freehand style.

"It really is an improvisational thing," she said of the way she assembles her handcrafted quilts using textiles that traditional quilters might find maddening. Boyd said she has long quilted in her spare time, exploring color and form on the bare floors (significant because many quilters like to compose on sheets of flannel hung on the wall).

She began selling her Counterpane quilts online in January, and the business has been gaining momentum ever since. She was a vendor at the Unique L.A. craft fair in February, and was featured in a gallery show last month in Echo Park. She recently shipped quilts to the boutique Beautiful Dreamers in Brooklyn. 

Long Beach shopping: Cool finds in Bixby Knolls

Long Beach shopping used to mean upscale 2nd Street in Belmont Shore or the vintage clothing and home décor on 4th Street’s Retro Row, but locals know the biggest surprise lies in Bixby Knolls. The neighborhood to the north has been quietly amassing a collection of interesting shops, galleries and restaurants.

Well, maybe not so quietly. On "First Fridays," crowds take to Atlantic Avenue — on foot or by red double-decker bus — to listen to live music, dine on Thai or Lebanese cuisine, and browse stores for antiques and other home furnishings, toys, stationery, clothing and dog treats late into the evening. (That's Paul Alicante, at right, with the letterpress at the Paper Crew.)

PHOTO GALLERY: Bixby Knolls in Long Beach

Atlantic Avenue is home to most of the action, but shops are popping up on nearby Long Beach Boulevard as well. Within the last year, Urban Cottage (home decor), Lucy’s Boudoir (retro-style lingerie) and Salvage Life (Taylor Swift wears its frocks) have opened. Bike lovers can go slightly farther south for the latest on two wheels at Long Beach Cyclery.

Bargain hunters take note: Many eateries and shops in Bixby Knolls participate in Bike Saturdays, a Long Beach program that includes discounts or deals to those who pedal in. Look for the Bike LB decal in the window. The Factory restaurant will give 20% off food any day you bike there. Here's a sampling of what else is out there:

Mother's Day gift ideas: The perfect day in bed

What does a busy Mom want most? We’re guessing more than a few votes would go toward a perfect day in bed — no work, no worries. We’re not saying you’re a headache, but … what mom wouldn’t love fresh flowers placed bedside in a novel vase? Or fine tea steeped in a clever gadget she can use for months to come? There is joy in the find that Mom might not buy for herself.

For ideas, click through our finds for that indulgent days of rest and relaxation:

PHOTO GALLERY: Mom's perfect day in bed

One pick not in the gallery: The Stress Ease Comfort Reader Pillow, designed by Dr. James B. Maas, a retired Cornell professor and sleep expert, and produced by United Feather & Down. It provides lumbar support with fill that is 90% gel fiber and 10% Tencel Lyocell, plus separate hot and cold attachments and -- most important -- no ugly wrap-around arms, like the kind found on so many reading pillows. It's $49.99 from Bed Bath & Beyond.

MORE SHOPPING:

A new Shop Central in Costa Mesa

The emerging scene in Highland Park

Uptown Design District in Palm Springs

Photos, clockwise from top left: Flat-packed vases. Credit: Unison. Dishwasher-safe stainless steel and silicone bag for loose-leaf tea. Credit: Eva Solo. Fleece Flounce pillow. Credit: Anthropologie. Stress Ease Comfort Reader Pillow. Credit: United Feather & Down.

Dandelion Ranch's pop-up flower shop at West Elm

Floral designer Clover Chadwick caught our attention last year when she planted  a clever "tire garden" outside of her Jefferson Boulevard workshop, Dandelion Ranch.

On Saturday, Chadwick and the Dandelion Ranch staff will host a pop-up shop at the Beverly Boulevard West Elm. The event is part of nationwide pop-up flower shops hosted by the Brooklyn-based retailer.

The florists will be selling single stems as well as floral arrangements beginning at $10. They also will offer advice on creating your own arrangements at home, such as the design at right. 

Customers can buy vases from West Elm or Dandelion Ranch, which is known for using unusual containers. In the past, Chadwick has repurposed box springs and tool boxes, among other things.

The flower shops will take place on three consecutive Saturdays: April 28, May 5 and May 12. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 8366 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 782-9672.

RELATED:

Dandelion Ranch's recycled tire plantings

Plug mobs: Free seedlings for school gardeners

The Global Garden: Amaranth's crimson tide of seeds

Putikmade: Affordable pots made in Los Angeles

A wild new garden at L.A. Natural History Museum

Community gardens: A yearlong L.A. Times series

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Dandelion Ranch