Rubelli tells the story of silk

A new book, chronicling the life of the Rubelli family and the company's extraordinary textiles has hit the bookstores and is worth a celebration.



Last month at the DDB, Margaret Russell, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest, joined Nicolo Favaretto Rubelli, CEO of Rubelli and Andrea Favaretto Rubelli, CEO of Donghia for a special presentation of the book.


“I’ll tell you a Venetian story spanning two centuries. Five generations, six brands, five continents: our history, yesterday, today and tomorrow.” - Alessandro Favaretto Rubelli

Rubelli: A Story of Silk in Venice, written by Irene Favaretto (sister of Alessandro), takes you through the history in photographs, archiving the company's work.



The book is on sale now, pick up your copy and indulge in the rich history.

About Rubelli Textiles:
Currently run by the fifth generation of the Rubelli family, the company produces and sells top end, high-quality furnishing fabrics - brocade, damask, velvet, silk and lampas.

What you missed: Westweek keynote recap

Margaret Russell, Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest, kicked off Westweek at the Pacific Design Center with a keynote presentation in the Silver Screen theatre. The standing-room only event, drew over 400 attendees. Here is Russell with Charles Cohen, President of the PDC:







Russell discussed the latest trends in architectural and interior design photography with photographers Roger Davies (below left) and Grey Crawford (below right) offering their expertise and insight into how they capture the "right" images (hint: fresh air, sunlight and beautiful staging).







Here are some takeaways for those of us who missed it:
1. Take multiple photos of the same room from the exact same angle, on a tripod, and combine them to create perfect lighting of various elements, to show how a space looks in reality. Take a photo with the room well lit, and another in the same spot with natural light from the window window and combine in Photoshop to show the true feeling of the space.

2. Make minor changes in styling to change everything. Small changes in floral selection or pillow placement can make or break a photo. Also, books, flowers and a cashmere throw do wonders for a photo.

3. Look at the space from all different angles.

4. Watermark any image you put online. That way, any of your work that gets re-posted on blogs, pinterest, etc., will always have a small watermark in a corner, so people will easily know the image source.



Cowtan & Tout hosted a reception immediately following Russell's keynote speech. Over 200 guests paid tribute to AD's Editor-in-Chief and celebrated the admired the vibrant new Manuel Canovas collection, devoted to L'art de vivre à la francaise. Elegant designs with ravishing color and pattern provide the essence of French decorating chic. Highlights of the collection include the exuberant silk damask Charlotte, the painterly print Dara featuring Mughal warrior princes and the exotic print inspired by an antique Ikat coat called Boheme.

Here are Russell, Davies and Crawford at the reception, with the cotton-print Dara on the right:

Shop Talk: Brooke Shields, Adam Levine & Other Celebrities Highlight Products We Know & Love (Part 2)

We're back with more from the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest, featuring A-list celebrities in their homes. We've done our homework and are sharing a few of these celebs' personal picks of Cohen Design Center showrooms, which we frequent ourselves.

Lead singer and frontman of the band Maroon 5, Adam Levine has a Hollywood Hills home that combines the attitude of a bachelor and midcentury sophistication. Levine's living room of vintage instruments and comfy seating features a Dunbar sofa in Maharam moheir velvet and a Stilnovo floor lamp.

Beneath an Andy Warhol silkscreen of a revolver in Levine's dining room sits a French Art Deco cabinet from JF Chen. His sensational marble-clad master bath features an antique claw-foot tub from Architectural Detail and a Paul McCobb side table from JF Chen. A Phillippe Starck rifle-lamp can be found bedside in Levine's bedroom.

Julianne Moore's Manhattan-based sanctuary was designed in part by architect and interior designer Brian Sawyer. Her Greenwich Village home—with its enviously green garden and romantic horticulture conscience—proves that New York City isn't just a concrete jungle.

Antique Enlish stone troughs from Lauren Copen Antiques are filled with succulents and moss in Moore's outdoor patio, and an installation of branches against the rear wall perfectly pairs with the troughs and doubles as a functioning treehouse. The patio has climbing ivy and perfectly placed bubbling fountains—and we certainly wouldn't mind taking refuge here for a while just like Moore does.

Check back for more Shop Talk on GoDesignGo to learn more about celebrities who use our favorite Cohen Design Center showrooms to finely furnish their own abodes.

Shop Talk: Brooke Shields, Adam Levine & Other Celebrities Highlight Products We Know & Love (Part 1 of 2)

We have to admit, we love reading about our favorite celebrities using products from the showrooms that we frequent in the Cohen Design Centers. So when we read the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest, featuring Brooke Shields in her Greenwich Village townhouse on the cover, we couldn’t resist learning what showrooms she has been to, along with a few other A-list celebrities featured in AD.

Shields’ family townhouse was renovated in collaboration with designer David Flint Wood and MADE architects, and highlights several DDB showrooms that we're proud to see decked out in her design.

The living room boasts a curule-form stool covered in a David Hicks fabric from Lee Jofa and pillows in a graphic John Robshaw linen accenting the room from John Rosselli & Associates. The dining room shows off an exquisite vintage Ralph Lauren Home marble-top pedestal table with mismatched chairs adorning it, and a John Rosselli & Associates tole chandelier hung above it.

Giorgio Armani's Swiss retreat was another celebrity-showcased home in the March issue of AD. Using deep colors and textures, Armani's chalet in the Swiss Alps goes for dark mahogany rather than golden pine and embraces couture alpine style.

Adorned in Armani/Casa from ceiling to floor, the living room of Armani's winter getaway near Saint Moritz, Switzerland, looks out over the snowy Alps. The sofa, cocktail table, and silk rug are by Armani/Casa and keep the cozy atmosphere chic. A leather cube chair by Armani/Casa sits beside a sofa upholstered in one of Armani/Casa's fabrics by Rubelli, with a matching carpet thrown in front for comfort.

Throughout the rest of the wintery getaway, Armani/Casa products can be found everywhere, making for a decadent, dim hideaway in a home ever-surrounded by snow. Rubelli makes a few more appearances, as seen in the fabric dressing Armani's bed with a bedspread and bolster.

Hear more on celebrity design from the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest, and the Cohen Design Center showrooms chosen by the famous.

WESTWEEK Buzz: The PDC & Architectural Digest Take Over WESTWEEK

The Pacific Design Center's WESTWEEK 2012 presents In Focus: Trends in Interiors Photography with Architectural Digest and AD editor in chief Margaret Russell.

In a concise, informative presentation, Margaret will discuss the latest trends in architectural and interior-design photography, covering widely ranging topics from how to prepare your projects for photo shoots to how to effectively promote your work both in print and online.

Celebrated photographers Roger Davies and Grey Crawford, contributors to Architectural Digest, will join Margaret for a brief Q&A, providing exclusive expert insight from the other side of the camera lens.

The event is set for Wednesday, March 21 at 10 a.m. at the PDC’s Silver Screen Theater. A reception will follow at Cowtan & Tout in Suite B647. For more information, visit the PDC online.

Event Spotlight: DDB Themes Fall Market 'Transcending Boundaries' (Part 1 of 2)

The DDB's semi-annual Fall Market is fast approaching and while the line-up is still in formation, we got a sampling of what designers can expect in the way of presentations, parties and product introductions.

Transcending Boundaries is the theme of this year's market, which features four high-powered keynote programs. On Wednesday, October 12, Architectural Digest Editor in Chief Margaret Russell will present the opening keynote address followed by a panel discussion with the editors of Traditional Home.

On Thursday, October 13, GILT Home Editorial Director Tom Delavan and Vice President Shane Reilly will moderate a panel of designers, followed by a presentation by Interiors Editor in Chief Michael Wollaeger.

Fall market parties will be in full swing with the annual Stars of Design Dinner on Thursday, October 12, and a Grand Opening Party celebrating the newly expanded Donghia showroom on Wednesday, October 13.

Stay tuned to GoDesignGo for more Fall Market Details and to hear the scoop on the DDB's Fall Market Bloggers Lounge, a first-time ever event with fabulous bloggers from the blogs we love.

DDB Spring Market: Market Programs at a Glance

DDB Spring Market kicks off on Tuesday, May 10 and we can't wait to attend!  Here's a taste of some of the Spring Market programs for you to check out on Wednesday, May 11.

Rose Tarlow | Melrose House (Suite 1616) hosts Authenticity in Design: A Series on Living and Entertaining from 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. with Bronson van Wyck, Event Designer and Contributing Editor to Architectural Digest. They'll tell you tips on how to create spectacular settings from the master of environmental design. From tabletop and flower arrangements to lighting and planning, no detail is too small to ignore. Sample great food and drinks and enjoy the opportunity to win a lush flower arrangements, created by Bronson himself!

Duralee/Highland Court (Suite 815) and Philip Gorrivan introduce Philip's newest collection, Philip Gorrivan II from 12:00 - 12:45 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Don't miss the cocktail party at Pierre Frey (Suite 1611) at from 5:00 - 7 p.m. Pierre Frey will be there to celebrate Spring Market with you while sipping a few cocktails and publicize the showroom's brand new website.

Stay tuned to GoDesignGo for more on the DDB's Spring Market Highlights.

Made to Order

Architect, interior designer and furniture and textile designer Campion Platt has taken no breaks in 2010, and is planning to go full force in 2011 as well with his newly released book "Made to Order."

"Made to Order" is a snapshot of his firm's highly specialized approach to interior design. Projects featured in the book range from a beautiful Hudson Valley estate, a Jewel Box apartment, a Murray Hill Townhouse, a historic tropical bungalow in Palm Beach and a beautiful Country Manor in Southampton, NY. The book's forword is written by his friend, novelist Jay McInerney.

Best known as an architect and interior designer, Campion has been included in Architectural Digest's Top 100 Architects and Designers in the world. He has designed two furniture collections, the Campaign and the Crystalline, as well the Metro Cloth textile collection for Jim Thompson. 

Pick up a copy of Campion's book in Potterton Books at their first floor location at both the DDB and PDC.

GDG Gift Guide: "Loom: Woven Paper"

A great gift to adorn the coffee table or design book library is the beautiful, hard-cover book, "Loom: Woven Paper" sold at JANUS et Cie.

The book highlights the elegance of Lloyd Loom, a unique manufacturing process of twisting resin-infused Kraft paper around a galvanized steel wire.

Written by JANUS et Cie president Janice Feldman and featuring a foreword by Architectural Digest’s Editor-in-Chief Paige Rense, the vivid narrative and rich imagery illustrate the history, design and versatility of Lloyd Loom in exotic locales around the world, from the rustic countryside of Provence to the mysterious halls of Marrakesh, Morocco.

"This is a perfect coffee table book and it would make a great holiday gift," Kristina Larson, DCH Director of Marketing, told us. "Every design enthusiast will love it!"

PDC, Suite B146/B193

DCH, Suite 155

DCOTA, Suite A-123

Vanessa Kogevinas Shares the Goods

Meet Vanessa Kogevinas, GoDesignGo’s newest guest blogger from Los Angeles. She’s currently a contributing editor at California Homes and EditorAtLarge.com, not to mention owner and founder of Get It! Consulting. Needless to say, she's no amateur in the biz' and she has many more favorites when it comes to PDC showrooms.

When we twisted her arm to choose one, she named Ralph Pucci. Here’s what she said:

“The Ralph Pucci showroom has a two-story glass wall that allows light to flood in and offers a transparency that begs the visitor to enter.

The showroom itself—a large white open museum-like space—is a study in minimalist space appropriation for pieces by renowned designers such as Andree Putman, Herve Van Der Straeten, Jim Zivic, and Ralph Pucci himself, that double as art in their beauty, lines, ingenuity and color.

Showrooms commonly pack their spaces with the intention of fully representing themselves. However, there are a few that do quite the opposite. That is the case at the Ralph Pucci Showroom in the PDC and it's unforgettable for just that reason.

Not to mention it's a great space for events and Pucci throw some of the best!”

Vanessa Kogevinas’s career in publishing and management has spanned over fifteen years, including positions at Architectural Digest and as a founding editor of Western Interiors and Design magazine. She has also held positions as Project Manager of Veranda's showhouse at Greystone and as a Project Manager at Kathryn M. Ireland design.

To find out more about what Vanessa is up to, email her at vanessakog@gmail.com or check out her website.