November 27, 2006
I love New York because West Side streets are lined with purple
and pale green cabbages in November. And their amethyst and ivory
and green leaves give me color ideas for a Victorian Palette.
I love New York because you can shop in Little Italy at Midnight.
And the twinkling lights and roaming families and off price accessories
tell another retail story
I love New York because in Central Park White Greyhounds wear
gray cashmere and Dalmatians wear spots. And that makes me think
about grey cashmere with knitted dots.
I love New York because there are many arching bridges in Central
Park—and the architecture of the iron spans makes me think
of iron metal ware and how to shape it.
I love New York because they have outdoor sculpture that honors
individuals and their achievements—like the runner Fred Lebow
right on the running track—and the giant needle and thread
on Seventh Avenue.
I love New York because New York knows how to decorate a city!
And they know how to put on the dog with Macy's Thanksgiving Parade
and Rockefeller Center's Skating Rink and Christmas lights.
I love New York because little children still press their noses
to windows to watch Christmas trains go around.
I love New York because there is a Church of the Heavenly Rest
on Fifth Avenue and carved birds adorn it.
I love New York because its neighborhoods are villages and small
shops have signs to remind you to shop local. And they mean on
their block!
I love New York because it has great museums—like the Guggenheim
where Spanish artists from across the centuries teach me that
"Bodegon" is a Spanish still life and that word comes
from the bodega or pantry and I think about new ways to talk about
kitchens and how our common actions and utensils should be beautiful.
I think of my own still lifes—my own bodegons—a steaming
cup of coffee, a crackling news paper, a round bowl of cereal
and I think of ways to use this visual image that indicates an
appreciation of small moments caught by the artist's eye and incorporate
it into design. And I like that I learned that at the museum—in
New York.
I love New York because actors and writers and artists walk the
streets with everyone else.
I like that New York is an incubator for designers and that designers
can find a market for different ideas—ideas that have not
yet been blessed by chain stores and media. Designers need New
York—and the industry needs New York—because without
innovation and experimentation without a place to practice new
ideas —beautiful design would never reach the public.
And I love New York—because I can walk everywhere! And see
everything! And when I'm done a yellow cab will take me home to
the street with the purple cabbages.
