More Magic in the Air…My Butterfly Find

Following up on the idea of “finding” from my last post, I want to show my most recent purchase – a true unexpected find! I have long had a butterfly fetish and have been stomping my feet in frustration the last few years at their trendiness. I think I may have even complained about it in earlier posts and I am sure long time collectors of silhouettes and intaglios feel the same way I do right now. I won’t recreate the wheel by showing the plethora of interiors featuring butterfly art as there are already tons of posts out there.

I will, however, mention the more recent trend of some wonderful butterfly installations, different from the more typical 19th century prints or taxidermy mounted ones we usually see. The first to catch my eye was Myra Hoeffer’s all white California house, with its stream of butterflies mounted high on the wall as if they had come to roost there.

The butterflies are by artist Paul Villinski, made from recycled beer cans no less, who currently has an amazing looking installation at the Morgan Lehman Gallery in NYC. His work is utterly thrilling so if you have a moment, I would recommend paging through his website.

You might also remember the black butterflies on Serena’s wall in the TV series Gossip Girl. Those were his too…

And then there was that gorgeous butterfly box in the Celerie Kemble designed apartment in the newest Lonny. Obviously this room was irresistible to me as it is lavender, but I thought it was the perfect combination of pretty and functional too. And by the way, there is also a stuffed peacock in that apartment, talking about another trendy item right now, but one that definitely holds less interest for me…

What does any of this have to do with my newest finds? Not much really, other than the butterflies. This past weekend I had the opportunity to purchase two early Chizuko Yoshida butterfly prints from the 1970s. Yoshida is from one of the most distinguished families of Japanese woodblock print artists, and I had long admired her work. About five years ago, the CWAJ Print Show had a retrospective exhibition for its 50th anniversary that included one of her pieces, which had actually been the cover print of the show catalog in 1976. (Lower left corner of the catalog page below). I loved it, but unfortunately it was not for sale. With the 56th annual show coming up next week (watch for an upcoming post), I have had Japanese prints on my mind.

So imagine my surprise at stumbling across 2 of her seminal butterfly prints, one from 1977 and the other from 1978, already framed by the best gallery in town some 35 years ago. Perhaps they were her print show entries for the next two consecutive years after her cover print? I don’t know and have not had time to research it yet because I am too excited to wait to share them with you. Sorry in advance for the lousy photos, but the glare on the glass made it impossible to get a good shot, at least not without special equipment and more fussing on my part.

Here are some close-ups with detail, but I will have to show them on the wall in a later post. Click the image for a large view.

Definitely a little magic in the air…

Image credits: House Beautiful April 2011, photo credit: Francesco Lagnese, 2-3 via Paul Villinksi, 4. Lonny September/October 2011, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 5. 50th CWAJ Print Show Catalogue, page 152, 6-9. me.

Oct 7, 2011 By tokyojinja in Artist Spotlight, Design Motif, Interior Design Tags: butterflies, Celerie Kemble, Chizuko Yoshida, CWAJ Print Show, hanga, japanese prints, Morgan Lehman Gallery, Myra Hoefer, Paul Villinksi

Butterflies from Jim Thompson

I just picked up one quick souvenir of Thailand, this butterfly pillow cover from the legendary Thai silk house of Jim Thompson, although this one is a casual cotton. I think I’ll use it in the back bedroom/TV room with other items shown here and here. If not, it will look lovely on the dark green wicker furniture on the front porch.

I am hoping to post extensively on antiques in Hong Kong this week while simultaneously trying my hand at a bit of home-schooling. Wish me luck!

Mar 27, 2011 By tokyojinja in Interior Design, Textiles Tags: butterflies, Jim Thompson

Junking in Singapore…Arab Street and the Dinky Di Store

Singapore is such a crossroads of cultures – Chinese, Malay, Indian and elsewhere, former British colony, port city and now a powerhouse Asian financial center – and the neighborhoods and shops reflect that heritage. Russian sailors have pawned goods at the docks and immigrants of all types have made their mark on the cuisine and culture. To get a taste of that diversity we headed out for Arab Street and Little India earlier this week to do some serious market shopping and to visit a friend’s favorite junk store.

Arab Street was about 2 blocks long, a rainbow of color with scores of dealers selling Indian sari and dress fabrics as well as Indonesian batik. I loved the batiks and this photo doesn’t begin to do them justice, but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for..

I had one of the first of many “can’t carry that now” moments upon seeing these kilim footstools and ottomans. They were actually light as a feather and I thought they would be perfect in the back bedroom at the beach house for extra TV watchers. I had been planning on the ubiquitous Moroccan leather poufs seen everywhere right now, but now I’m not so sure.

Imagine my chagrin at opening the April Elle Decor a few days later and seeing them used in Antonello Radi’s 16th-century Umbrian Palazzo. Yet another reason to wish I wasn’t currently a nomadic evacuee!

Sorry about the poor photo quality but give me chops for inventiveness as I have no scanner available. I simply took a photo of the pages!

I was actually on the hunt for some Indian fabrics and cushions. There were only 2 dealers on Arab Street selling block printed cloth and other goods. Browsed the tablecloths and found some actual print blocks for a DIY that I have planned this summer. Didn’t buy the elephants but the small flowers on the right hand side of the picture came away with me.

The selection of pillow covers, tablecloths and place mats was tremendous. I was happily browsing when I got the call from my husband that he was leaving a day early for the airport and taking our wonderful Philippina helper and all her sisters to the airport with him. I had to smile for a moment at the thought of him traveling with a gaggle of women. But his leaving, while making me happy that he would be safe, also represented our last stand in Japan for now. So while many people are often overwhelmed at markets and I never am, all of a sudden I couldn’t focus or even think about which cushions I might like to buy. Everything felt irrelevant. Shortly afterwards another friend called with the news of the US Embassy evacuation notice. I cried.

I have since regretted leaving this behind…

After a restorative and yummy lunch of Muslim-style Indian food we headed to Little India to a friend’s favorite antique store, although calling it an antique store may actually be a stretch. You have to love the name – Dinky Di – as it so perfectly describes it! She warned us in advance that this was truly a junk shop, with almost no room to even turn around and things piled haphazardly everywhere! Just my kinda place…

The interior lived up to its description. But with patience comes rewards, and we slowly but surely picked through what must be a lifetime of accumulation.

I loved the vintage mahjong set, but didn’t think I needed it. On the other hand, this pair of mounted butterflies would look perfect in the back guest room at the beach house…

Currently I have 3 antique hand-colored book plates hanging, but have been stashing some other butterflies to add in there. This is the same room that I wanted the kilim footstools shown earlier for and I have been looking for a dhurrie or Bessarabian kilim for the floor for quite some time.

I am kind of bummed that butterflies have become the trendiest thing lately, as I have loved them for years and helped my sister-in-law acquire a little collection of wonderful prints. But they have been everywhere, from the New York International Gift Fair to Angel Dormer’s apartment in the January 2011 issue of Lonny…

…to the Myra Hoefer designed house in the current issue of House Beautiful, of which I don’t have a photo, so here is a shot of her store instead. If I was back in Tokyo, I’d want to pull out the pages of her apartment in Paris that I have been obsessed with for years. This will have to do for now.

My friend found a tidy little collection of small cloisonné vases, probably from the 1970s. She also scored an amazing leather-cased collapsible telescope for her husband’s anniversary present. You can just see it behind the vases.

Now on to my purchases…Notice a theme to my haul? My ongoing prediliction for aged brass has clearly not abated. These need a little clean-up but I love the lines on the candelabra and the old betel nut holder will be perfect for soaps on the bathroom shelves. The paperweight stopwatch will look lovely on top of a pile of books on the coffee table. And I couldn’t leave the butterflies….

Our stay in Singapore was truly wonderful due to the incredible hospitality of our friends. I cannot thank them enough!

We are now in Thailand, and once again the Mac is dead, so my dream of blogging from the road is fairly curtailed. The kids need the R & R so off to the pool we go.

Before I sign off, I wanted to mention that the design community is kicking off ways to help Japan as well, from Lonny to Design to Help Japan at Elle Decor. Take a look and do what you can!

Mar 22, 2011 By tokyojinja in Earthquake, Expat Life, Metals, Shop Talk, Textiles, Travel Tags: aged brass, antiques, butterflies, Indian block prints, kilims