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April's
Articles for Giftware News:
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Pantry—through
the ages—and why this designer sees similarities from Nova
Scotia to Spain to a photo shoot.
When I was a child I used to visit my grandmothers in Cape Breton,
Nova Scotia. They both had beautiful old houses, homey and warm
and full of baking smell, kitchens—but one of the very coolest
things they had were pantries. The pantry housed all the flour
and raisins and sugar, salt, honey, baking powder, almonds, and
in the summertime—berries that the local boys picked, and
also ceramic mixing bowls, pie pans and loaf pans and muffin tins
and all kinds of cookie tins.
The pantries were wonderful. I thought the idea of such a room
completely magical. My child's mind squirreled away the pantry
image, its sound and smells and meaning for future use.
Did I know then that I would have a career in designing linens?
A career developing product that ended up in the kitchens of many?
Of course I did not. But this favorite kitchen corner was special
to me, so I remembered it. Design, art, and ideas germinate over
long periods, and we artists and designers gather information
from all of our life, and one day we have a chance to use it.
Fast forward to New York and the Guggenheim museum just a few
months ago. Behold an exhibition of Spanish art though the ages—El
Greco to Picasso—with Juan Sanchez Cotan and Zubaran in between…
One of the collection of themes (and the collection was hung thematically—so
interesting, don't you think? Just like we do at retail—museums
take note)—one of the collections that truly intrigued me
was the Bodegon collection. Bodegon means "Pantry"—it
is a Spanish still life—Vie Morte in French (ugh), but the
meaning in Spanish is "Pantry"—their own version
of a still life and how much richer the use of language and how
naturalistic and exciting their interpretation of common kitchen
scenes was. The bodegon themes were less posed, more natural,
more everyday, than the formal still lifes that we are accustomed
to. Like a pantry—like a kitchen brimming with both the ingredients
and the moments of daily life. I felt such excitement—I stared
at those beautiful paintings and wanted to create my own bodegones—my
own uniquely April Cornell still lifes. I couldn’t stop
thinking about the idea and the excitement of it.
This past week I worked with my team on a table linens photo shoot
with our table linens partner, Danica/Now Designs, and experimented
with the "Pantry" theme—and the artful interpretation
of product evoking a homey, vibrant and painterly image—part
Spanish Bodegon, part Cape Breton pantry was the intention.
With an old wooden Manitoba hutch I had (really it looks just
like a pantry, with flour bins and a pie crust detailing in the
woodwork—how convenient!) and some wooden tables and piles
of linens—my team and I created a photo tableaux that is
so colorful and lively in teals and golds and rusts, with wood
and fabric and flowers and plates and books. This tableaux became
the painting that I had wanted to paint—except this time
it was a photograph.
It was the merging of beautiful color, artful design and understanding
its home and inspiration—all in a photograph. I hope that
this photo shoot will stimulate customers and bring them to their
special places, the same way my grandmothers’ homes and
the Guggenheim’s collection did for me.
That's what good design does, right?
It brings us to different places.
Special places—places where we want to be.
Viva Inspiration
Viva Art
Viva Memories
Viva Grandmothers!
April Cornell
Burlington Vermont
Mid winter
2007 |
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