A New Southern Blog About NYC

By Jessica Mischner | August 31, 2010 | NYC

Jessica Mischner in NYC for the G&G April/May issue launch party at Billy Reid.
 
Earlier this year Garden & Gun ran a cover story I wrote about the “Southern Invasion of NYC” (April/May), a look at the explosion of Southern chefs, musicians, designers, and entrepreneurs in the Big Apple. The response was overwhelmingly positive, so we’re going to continue the coverage on my new blog, “Southern in the City.” I’ll be doing twice-weekly updates on all things Dixie in NYC, from Brooklyn’s best fried-chicken joints to hidden bluegrass bars to the rising influence of Southern designers.

Southern culture isn’t just present in New York City. It’s thriving like never before. The best new bars, shops, and restaurants all seem to have Southern roots. A majority of the tastemakers and trendsetters are Southern, too. Everywhere you go, someone’s pickling something or preserving something or handcrafting something or distilling something. Even the city’s social life has taken on a twang. This summer alone was filled with Southern happenings and events, many of which I had the pleasure of attending (our Southern community may be expanding, but we’re still a pretty tight knit circle). The Big Apple BBQ Block Party united barbecue lovers of all states and stripes, with everyone from Charleston’s Jimmy Hagood to Louisville’s Julian Van Winkle joining in. Bespoke suitmaker Alton Lane celebrated its launch with a Southerner-studded party at the Yale Club (which offers reciprocity to University of Virginia alums), and Mississippians converged on Central Park for their annual Mississippi in the Park picnic. At the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic on Governor’s Island, even those of us in the cheap seats got an up-close-and-personal glimpse of Prince Harry when he fell off his horse (much to his extreme embarrassment). And that’s not including all the crawfish boils, state society happy hours, and other get-togethers that dominate social life up here in Gotham—especially now that football season has arrived.

Mischner and Hagood at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party

In the weeks and months ahead, I’ll cover the people, places, and experiences that bring Southern culture to life in the Big Apple. I’ve got a front row seat to the excitement unfolding, and now, thanks to Garden & Gun, you do, too. Welcome to the party and welcome to my blog.

Party Pics from G&G's NYC Bash

By Haskell Harris | April 29, 2010 | Design

Last week, G&G celebrated our "The South Invades NYC" cover story in the April/May 2010 issue with a very Southern soiree in the big city. The whole gang (and friends) gathered there for boiled peanuts, bourbon, and good old-fashioned gab at the Billy Reid shop on Bond Street.

Here's a sneak peek at some of the pics snapped by photographer Sean Sime at the event (that's G&G Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans with former House & Garden Editor-in-Chief Dominique Browning). To scroll through the whole gallery, click here.

Inspired Interiors at Billy Reid

By Haskell Harris | February 16, 2010 | Design

A lot of fashion magazines have written about Billy Reid's clothing (G&G among them). But in my opinion, we should be paying more attention to the interior design of his shops.

Here in Charleston, Reid's shop tells an unmistakably Southern story, and the clothes are characters in the narrative.

The wide plank floors, the worn velvet upholstery, and the dog-eared Walker Percy novels are characters too, as is the smell of hot mulled cider that seeps through the place all winter. 

The whole idea of making a clothing brand part of a bigger lifestyle is nothing new, but Reid has a spectacular knack for it.

Two weeks ago, I made my way up to Manhattan for the New York International Gift Show with a G&G colleague, and during the trip we stopped in to have a cocktail with the designer in his shop on Bond Street before he scooted off to prepare for New York Fashion Week.

When he left, I walked around and around in the store for a long time, taking in the wallpaper in the dressing room, admiring the old-school glassware on the dark wood bar, and looking closely at the linings of his jackets.

In short, my visit did not disappoint. Reid managed to bring the layers of Southern gothic grit he's known for to his Yankee location.

Below, a few of my favorite details.

1) The checkout counter. Notice the plates, the stag head,  the whitewashed wood-paneled walls, the antique apothecary cabinets holding clothes, the ladder holding ties. It's all great.

2) The shirt displays. I love how his shops constantly combine interior elements with clothing. In the photos below, a silver platter shows off belts, and plates are paired with shirts. Very cool.

3) The dried hydrangeas. I never would have described dried flower arrangements as stylish until I saw the way they're done at Billy Reid. It works because the clear glass container keeps the whole look from being matronly, and the papery texture is the perfect counterpoint to the grays and blues and lavenders in the shirts hanging in the background. Beautiful.

4) Last but not least, a sneak peek at Billy Reid's Fall 2010 looks from New York Fashion Week last week. Yet again, the backdrops bring the Billy Reid label to life. Photos by Dan Lecca.

Southern Charmer

By Haskell Harris | August 14, 2009 | Design

It used to be a given that if you wanted to make it big in the world of interior design, you had to establish a practice in New York. In other words, if you were a southern interior designer, you might as well pack it up and move to Manhattan if you wanted anybody to remember your work (Southerners like Bunny Williams and Charlotte Moss ended up there). But the old school rules are changing, thanks to interior designers like Suzanne Kasler, the widely published Atlanta style arbiter who’s stayed put in Georgia, and now has luxury furniture, fabric, floor coverings, wallpaper, and lighting collections that bear her name. And she hasn’t stopped there. This October, she debuts her first book, Inspired Interiors, a lush photographic tour of her favorite projects. A sneak peak follows below. (All images courtesy of © Suzanne Kasler: Inspired Interiors, Rizzoli New York, 2009.)

Even if you don’t know the first thing about decorating, it’s hard not to get inspired by the wide range of looks in the book, from rustic cabins to city houses to laid-back beach cottages. There is literally something for everyone. 

Though the 224-page volume won’t hit stores until the fall, it is available for pre-order here. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a story on Suzanne Kasler's favorite room in our October/November issue.

Office Grace

By Haskell Harris | July 23, 2009 | Design

When I saw these photos of Charleston wedding designer Tara Guerard's new satellite office in Manhattan, I had to post them right away. I love Tara's work and I think this new space embodies the whimsical, luxe vibe of her business perfectly. 

While most of us have to deal with soulless, corporate hand-me-downs at the office, Tara's New York staff gets to walk in every morning to a totally inspiring place.

Before I go on, mull over these colors and textures for a moment:

1) Matador red

2) Raw pine

3) Gold leaf

4) Charcoal black

5) Magnolia leaf green

6) White

7) Hot pink

8) Hermes orange

9) Bamboo 

10) Chocolate brown

11) Horn

Pretty great, right? Now, feast your eyes on those colors and textures in action: 

 All photos by Liz Banfield

And while I love the saturated colors and the exotic contrasts—a chinoiserie screen paired up with African headresses hung over the sofa, traditional mixed with modern—I am most impressed by the fact that the interior designers who collaborated with Tara, Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke (of Scout Designs), did this on a shoestring! Every single element  came from ebay, Ikea, or a flea market. 

Talk about inventive! 

For more great photos and stories about Tara's projects, stay tuned for her new book, Weddings by Tara Guerard, due out in January  2010, and check out her new website: soireebytaraguerard.com

Get Toasted

By John Currence | July 17, 2009 | Food

John T. Edge, as most know, is an almost bottomless vessel of food knowledge, so when he collared me, painfully hungover, on a hot summer morning several years back to share a culinary secret, I didn't bat an eye.

He told me that deep in the Lower East side of Manhattan, beyond the hidden and trendy über cocktail bars of the post-midnight hipster crowds, is an even better secret. A secrets that happen to be open at more civilized hours and offer its finest for more palatable price.

From a décor standpoint, The Dumpling House (118 Eldridge Street) is not particularly inviting, but it serves one of the finest and affordable snacks on the island: the sesame pancake—a pizza-sized pancake covered in perfectly toasted sesame seed; cut into wedges; filleted; and filled with shredded beef, pork, or duck, carrot/cilantro relish, and a thick soy glaze. And practically given away for about $1.50.

  My pal Joe York digging the sesame pancake, too

I love you John T. for sharing this with me. It has saved my life on more than one occasion. It can save you too, people.

The Bookish Type

By Haskell Harris | March 25, 2009 | Design

***Before I begin: Please excuse the long delay between posts. I'm back up and running after a little Spring Break. Thank you for your patience!

Now, on to the post:

If I could live in a library, I would. Preferably an old one with mile-high ceilings and marble floors, but I digress.

Books are, by far, my favorite thing to collect and are, by definition, art. Every detail—from the style of the binding to the fonts used to, most importantly, the words held between the covers—is fascinating to me.

And I'm not alone.

Interior designers have been onto the allure of books since the dawn of decorating. From antique European leather designs, to collections bound in a single color (British designer David Hicks was famous for stocking a library with bold, all-red volumes) to the ever-humble DIY trick of covering a collection in decorative paper, I thought I'd seen, and read, about it all.

Until now.

Months ago, when I was in New York for the gift show, I was mesmerized by the display for a company called Middleton's Library.

Originally, the owner, Brian Wynn, started by selling antique books and binding leather ones for custom interior design projects (both of which they still sell).

But that's not what got me. Mixed in with the traditional examples, I saw books bound in all-white parchment, emblazoned with fabulous old-world type (see image below):

books bound in metallic leathers:

and even books done in bright violet:

The contrast of their designs mixed in together on one huge bookshelf was absolutely stunning.

I stood there looking at it for a very long time, thinking about how genius the idea really is.

Basically, whether you are a private consumer or an interior designer, you can commission a collection of books from them in any leather or any color.

Just picture a striking all-violet library (how cool!) or a demure all-white one (how classic!). The combinations are just endless.

As for me? I won't be able to take things that far, but I would settle for sending my hardback copy of Anna Karenina up there for the silver leather treatment and be a very happy girl.

For more information, please visit middletonslibrary.com.

Fabulous Felt

By Haskell Harris | February 17, 2009 | Design

As promised, I am infusing Belle Decor with more bits of design from the New York International Gift Show.

Here's a company that always stops me dead in my tracks: the Sandor Collection.

They make everything from table runners to Christmas stockings but handmade, felt applique pillows are what they do best.

We've all seen the happy, technicolor pillows of a similar ilk from Hable Construction (if you haven't, you must go to hableconstruction.com), but this entire collection is a foil to that all-American look.

Based on vintage Hungarian embroidery patterns, the Sandor pillows feel old-world and delicate, but not at all stodgy or stiff (my favorite pattern, Madeira, follows below). 

Sweet Success

By Haskell Harris | January 27, 2009 | Design

This week, I am in New York City for the New York International Gift Show. Every year, twice a year, designers from all over the country (and the world) travel to Manhattan to show off their newest wares—from lighting and tableware to bedding and furniture.

When I walked through on Sunday, I was expecting the mood to be different, given the dire economic situation all over the country.

With the exception of being less crowded than usual, things were upbeat and busy.

Retailers were shopping for their stores and magazine editors and design bloggers were talking shop left and right.

Even more reassuring was seeing two of my favorite designers, who, a few years ago, were just starting their small businesses and who are now wildly successful.

I saw Gina Wilcox of Eloquent Ink first. I wrote a story about her gorgeous ceramics two years ago, just a few months after she'd gotten things off the ground. I have not seen her since then, but when I found her booth this year, we both ran through the crowd to hug each other. I knew, by looking around at all the people clamoring for orders, that she'd hit the bigtime. She looked so happy and I loved seeing her, and her new designs. The styles below, from her new Orchid collection, were absolutely beautiful:

Later, I walked into Christopher Jagmin's booth, and he was clearly doing well, too. I was introduced to Christopher's designs several years ago while working on a magazine project with his brother , Greg Jagmin, and interior designer Anne Coyle. At that time, he had just prototyped his amazing number plates. Since then, I've seen them EVERYWHERE, in stores and in magazines, and I'm thrilled for him. Images of the number plates follow below, as well as new designs from his new Baha collection:

Christopher has also started a design blog with his brother, Greg. I logged on last night and hope you will too: http://jagmindesign.wordpress.com/

I'll be posting about more great design all week, but I thought this was the best way to start out—by giving a shout to two designers who've worked very hard to make it to the top—in a recession no less!

Horn of Plenty

By Haskell Harris | January 15, 2009 | Design

The last time I was at ABC Carpet & Home in New York (forgive me for not knowing what's there now–it's been a few months), it looked like the place had been taken over by stags. Ironic interpretations of the real thing, to be precise.

I saw pink stags and green stags and silver stags, big stags and tiny stags. And things like this (from a few of my other favorite sources):

   

Roost

 

Graham and Green

 

Valentin Tinc

Cardboard Safari (a company based in Charlottesville, VA)

The whole look has been big for a while (antlers, faux or not, are very sculptural-looking decorative objects, after all).

I love it, but I'm willing to bet that the trendy versions lose their appeal by next year.

So, for those looking for something similar (stag horn, longhorn, impala horn) but a little more enduring, here are three great sources:

1. Vagabond House. They make the most beautiful pewter and horn tableware I've seen. Yes, the horn is real, but that's exactly what gives it such a rich, organic vibe.

  

2. Old Texas. Some of the things are heavy-handed and "themed," but some are truly chic. Like this:

3. Michael Aram. Everybody knows Michael Aram and his wonderful work. But these trays are new:

 If you have any sources of your own that you'd like to pass along, I'm all ears!