BEAUTY: Clothing--Fendi

Fendi was one of two guest designers at this year's Pitti Imagine Uomo in Florence, Italy and creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi took the opportunity to show off a new, €50 million state-of-the-art Fendi leather goods factory located about a half hour outside of Florence. This impressive facility is designed with advanced energy efficiency and minimal landscape impact in mind. The main part of the building has a green roof full of flowers and herbs and beautifully disappears into the Tuscan terrain.

The show was actually set inside the factory floor and attendees were allowed access beforehand to wander around, observe how Fendi leather goods are made, and even interact with and ask questions of the artisans at work. Once it was time for the show, it was easy to see how the artisans themselves and their tools and workwear inspired this Spring Summer '24 collection. The aprons and smocks worn by these craftspeople translated into some interesting garments. Aprons and tool belts became skirts and halter tops, some long and flowing. Smocks became long shirts. While many designers have been working with the apron and workwear idea for many, many seasons now (Thom Browne, Junya Watanabe), this iteration feels slim, natural, and sophisticated. Some outerwear pieces were printed with patterns for Fendi products while a few pieces toward the end of the show were illustrated with actual tools of the trade and floral designs from the rooftop garden! In an eco vein, many garments were dyed from botanical pigments, while other pieces featured a softened F-logo jacquard in indigo and undyed denim. And shoes were shiny rubber clogs. For her bow, SIlvia Venturini Fendi came out with a gaggle of artisans from the factory floor. Do take a look at the fascinating video...the first three quarters are shots of the facility and guests arriving but if you want to scrub through to the show, it starts at 52:25.

https://www.fendi.com/

Makin' Stuff

Heath Ceramics

I went to Sausalito last week to visit my dear friend Sherry Page of Culinary Getaways and we took an impromptu field trip to the Heath Ceramics Studio, located right down by the water. I've loved Heath for years but had never had the opportunity to visit the factory and store until now.

Although there are other Heath locations, the Sausalito space is the original factory started in 1948 by Edith and Brian Heath. In the early 40s, Edith began making ceramics and despite the fact that she had no formal training (or perhaps because of it), she quickly made a name for herself. She had a one-woman exhibition at the San Francisco Legion of Honor in 1944 and a few years later, Heath Ceramics was established. Heath creations went on to adorn many Eichler, Neutra, and mid-century modern homes on tables (in the form of hand-crafted dinnerware), and on floors and walls (in the form of stunning dimensional tile). Edith's work led to advances in clay and glaze development, securing Heath a unique place in ceramic history, along with design awards including the Industrial Arts Award from the American Institute of Architects. Many of her original pieces are a part of the permanent collections of museums such as MOMA and LACMA. The factory itself was built in 1959, and was designed by the Heaths and Marquis and Stoller Architects.

In 2003, the company was bought by Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey and all of Heath’s products are still handcrafted by skilled artisans in small runs in the Bay Area. Edith and Brian Heath’s vision of "making good things for good people—the right way—" lives on.

In addition to serving platters and trays, Heath makes dinnerware of all kinds, including some very special collections, such as the Chez Panisse collection designed in collaboration with Alice Waters and made for the legendary Berkeley restaurant (which is ground zero for the modern foodie movement!).

They also produce clocks, house numbers, candle holders, and vases. But for me, as an interior designer, I am most interested in the specialty tiles they produce. The Sausalito location boasts an extensive tile design studio where you can see the many different colors and glazes they use in addition to the stunning shaped and raised tiles which can be used for many applications such as on fireplace breasts, and as kitchen back splashes or even bathroom walls!

Your blogmaster at the Heath Ceramic store and factory
Photo by Sherry Page

Visit the Heath website for more information about the history of the company, how they make their products, and information about visiting as well as tours of the Sausalito dinnerware factory or the San Francisco tile factory.
http://www.heathceramics.com/

Gwynn Griffith's Over-The-Top Texas Home

San Antonio interior designer Gwynn Griffith's home is a kaleidoscope of styles and colors. European antiques mix with mid-century modern chairs and ethnic pieces from Latin America and Asia under mercury glass globes, crystal frigates, and saturated walls.

The 1883 structure was originally the site of Voss Metalworks and the Lone Star Seed Company but Griffiths gutted the industrial space, fitted the oversized windows with French doors, and kept the original wood flooring to create a fantasy space where she is free to experiment with style and color. I love how fearless she is: art is hung salon style, bright green plaster wildly coats walls, and a sense of European Decadence infuses the rooms like incense.