We were so thrilled to get a feature in the Style section of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sunday paper. After just a little over a year in business, it hard to know if what you make resonates with a larger audience. I was happy to read what others thought about our designs and about removable wallpaper in general. It definitely gives me a boost of confidence, and reminds me how far we’ve come in the last year. Also, having Raj the cat make it to print is pretty special.
Last year, as Timothy Sue was just launching, our pattern Hearts Apart was featured on the ceiling of designer Emily Mughannam’s room in the Decorator Showcase House. It was an amazing experience. This week, I enjoyed walking through this years Decorator Showcase House as a visitor. It was great to see designers I know, as well as some newcomers. The house, overall had a very different feel…greys, black & white, and neutrals were the palettes of choice. And it seemed most designers chose a sleek and sparse feel to play against the ornate details of the house itself. I liked the subdued feel of the house, and yet when reviewing my photos, it seems I still gravitated towards the color pops here and there.
Paolo Soleri passed away earlier this month, and in light of other recent news, I didn’t reflect on it much initially. But I’ve circled back, and I spent some time looking at images and thinking about his work. For those who are not familiar, Soleri was an architect who explored a utopian vision of hyper-dense urban planning. His life’s work was centered at Arcosanti, a community he planned and designed. It has been in construction since the 1970′s….which might explain my love for it, aesthetically speaking. It is not complete.
(Click on images to link to photo source)
Coincidentally, I went to a retrospective at the SFMOMA of another architect and artist who passed away recently, Lebbeus Woods. To the best of my understanding, he was an experimental architect who visualized architecture as an interloper in a dystopia. His works are largely unbuilt, but his ideas are highly regarded in the architecture community and a huge source of inspiration for many. He was an incredible draftsman and artist, and it was amazing to see the details of his drawings in person.
(Click on images to link to photo source)
These two people come from such opposite ends of the spectrum philosophically and aesthetically. But for me, somehow I see a similarity in their single and clear vision, their desire for something different, and their unforgiving pursuit to create it.
After our last couple posts, you may have thought we stopped working. But not so! I am so excited to share our new website. As work began last year on the online store, it became clear that the website needed much more. Months later, it was time to face that we here at Timothy Sue could not do it alone. After much fingernail biting, I was connected with Claire at Net River Design, and things started to happen. I was very specific about what I wanted visually, and she was more than happy to work with my ideas and make them happen on the back end. It has been a great collaborative project.
We are still fine tuning some things over the next couple of weeks, so bare with us. And the store is being tested as well. In a couple of weeks we should have it ready for a proper launch. In the meantime, enjoy looking around!
When I discovered Big Sur many years ago, it instantly became my favorite place in California, and quite possibly my favorite place in the world. Is that too dramatic? Well, Big Sur is a dramatic place. This is where mountains fall into the sea, highway one clings desperately to the edge of the earth, California condors cling to life, and the fanciest of properties mingle with old hippie shacks and homesteads of yesteryear. We’ve been down a couple of times this year, and it is truly like living a dream life.
