Vicente Wolf Blog » Events

Kips Bay – Round 2

Vicente — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:38:01 +0000

After the unfortunate misfire the first time round, I wasn’t completely sure that I wanted to participate in the Kips Bay showhouse again. However, that all changed when I was shown the townhouse at 106 East 71st Street in Manhattan where it will be held from October 14th.

I was blown away by the living room. The beautiful paneled room speaks of an elegance and a formality from another era. And I felt that it would be a great way to show our work in what is a very traditional, dark room. My aim is to bring a sense of freshness, humor and lightness to it. The size of the room is approximately 29′ x 21′, a size which could intimidate some because of the overwhelming quantity of wood in it, but thinking of ying and yang, dark and light, formal and casual, I think that I could make this work. It was designed by the time I got back to the office after seeing it.

To me it was a very obvious plan, but it’s all going to be very white. I got a beautiful rug from Doris Leslie Blau and I want it to have formal elements, but with lots of very mid-century elements in it. As soon as I’m allowed, I’ll post pictures of the room empty so you can see the before and afters.

Here’s the official statement from Kips Bay:
The 38th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House is coming to the Upper East Side this fall with a magnificent and newly-renovated limestone mansion at 106 East 71st Street selected as the venue. Next week, top designers, including Vicente Wolf, Jennifer Post, Robert Couturier, Katie Ridder and Noel Jeffrey, will begin a seven-week renovation in which they will re-imagine each of the 17 rooms in the six-story, 10,000-square-foot townhouse to showcase the best in interior design talent and trends. With six bedrooms, seven baths, five fireplaces and a terrace that overlooks Park Avenue, the show house — the most high-profile renovation project in America — will delight design enthusiasts and anyone looking for inspiration in decorating their own living spaces. The show house will be open to the public from Thursday, October 14 to Thursday, November 11.

A-List

Vicente — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:27:23 +0000

I’m now called “A-List” by HFN!

Antique Show

Vicente — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:19:12 +0000

The last of the shipments from my travels in January have come in from China and it’s so great! I love seeing them open the crates and rediscovering new old friends. And these have arrived just in time for the Antique Show in Bridghampton on Long Island on July 15th.

VW Home will have a booth there and we’re bringing a very diverse group of merchandise. I plan to be manning the booth along with Trudi, the showroom manager, and though it cramps my weekend, it will be so interesting to meet and greet all the visitors to the show.

If you’re in the area – please pop by and say hello. I’d love to hear what you think of the new items and you’ll be sure to find some other great dealers there too.

God’s Love We Deliver Party

Vicente — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:10:41 +0000

Last Saturday in Bridgehampton, God’s Love We Deliver held its 10th Annual Midsummer Night Drinks benefit and I had such a great time with many good friends. I wanted to share this photo from NY Social Diary with you all.

Here I am with Margaret Russell, Sylvia Vogelman and Matthew Yee

Johannesburg & Cape Town – Rooms on View

Vicente — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:11:44 +0000

On my last day in Johannesburg I was the guest speaker at a Conde Nast House & Garden reader event hosted by the Editor in Chief Liz Morris, along with the fabulous Nina Campbell. Both Nina and I had a great time with each other and with Liz, talking about our experiences and sharing our woes and our pleasures. It was the first time I’d seen Nina’s work up close and I was quite amused by the fact that she is a traditional designer that does it with a modern slant and I’m a modern designer who adds a traditional slant. So we were literally at opposite ends of the scale, but still with a lot of things in common.

The next day Nina and I flew to Cape Town and were put up in The Cellars-Hohenhort hotel. Another fantastic hotel, it is on nine acres of extraordinary grounds, beautiful gardens with blooming roses everywhere and a wonderful room. I felt like a king.

Nina and I went shopping and I found my favorite, called Africa Nova (go visit their website!) - where I bought some baby toys for friends who just had babies. I also found these great ottomans made out of washed felt that look like pebbles for my apartment and really great earrings for another friend. I am happy to say that Nina beats me at shopping! We visited some other shops in the colorful Bo-Kaap area and then had a luncheon at the publisher of House & Garden’s house, Elizabeth Rhees-Jones. Again, perfectly manicured gardens and a charming home. The luncheon was great with such interesting people ranging from bankers to landscapers to designers and it was an invigorating experience. Not only because I was drinking pink champagne, but the conversation dealt with politics, travel, global affairs – truly rich on every level. Liz served a combination of different meats and chicken, great little appetizers like glazed red onions on a pastry shell (I think I ate at least 7 of them!) and then we had another breakfast discussion the next day for the Capetonian designers. Again, now that Nina and I knew each other even better, it turned out be a really fun time with lots of laughter and jokes.

From there it was straight to the airport for a grueling flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, then a 2 hour layover, then a flight from Johannesburg to Paris followed by a 90 min wait and then on to New York, totaling 19 hours of traveling. However, I arrived wide-eyed and bushy tailed after sleeping approximately 14 hours!

My trip to South Africa with Rooms on View was an incredible one and the warmth and creativity of the people I came in contact with has left me with lasting memories. If you’ve been lucky enough to have been there, what are your favorite memories?

Johannesburg – Day 3

Vicente — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:07:04 +0000

The third day in Johannesburg saw the launch of the Rooms on View show to dealers and designers and again I was blown away by the number of bloggers who came up to me and said that they love this blog and read it. (Thank you, to all of you!) And so many people were complimentary of my work. It was really touching.

While walking around all the different displays I found many things that tempted me, in particular this amazing sculptural chaise by South African designer Haldane Martin that I immediately decided to use in a project for one of my clients. And yes, I bought one for myself too. Trust me, it looks like a Henry Moore sculpture. It’s called the Baba Papa – how great is this?

That evening we had dinner hosted by Home Fabrics, one of South Africa’s largest fabric provider at this old turbine building in the downtown area called Turbine Hall, right over the Nelson Mandela bridge. The old building had been restored and is now used as a restaurant and entertaining space. We sat at a beautiful table designed by event planner Rudie Stoop and this evening was, again, superb with great food and approximately 40 people. Wonderful evening of good SA wine, great lamb chops and the cream of the South African design crop.

My lecture that afternoon was attended by approximately 300 people and it was a really fun experience. Ninety percent were designers and they all were very open with their questions and I certainly was with my answers, sharing billing and how we work in NY and what problems we are facing. What always fascinates me is that when I say that I have problematic clients everyone thinks that because you’re published you should have no problems, only easy clients with enormous budgets! This unfortunately is not the case. It was fun sharing that with them and they were very content to hear that it doesn’t matter how high you go on the ladder, you still get beaten up!

Johannesburg – Day 2

Vicente — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 12:30:10 +0000

The next day I went shopping at Amatuli – I always shop there when I’m in Johannesburg – to find objects for VW Home. I found a great Ethiopian chair, which I had been looking for for a client, as well as some Dogon ladders.

Earlier that day I had walked through the different booths at the convention center to select my top ten exhibitors at Rooms on View. Trust me, it was really hard to choose from all the creativity on display. From African manufacturers to contemporary furniture lines there were so many designers and so many different booths. It was a really fun experience.

I met the wonderful Liz Morris who is the editor of Conde Nast House and Garden and an absolute gem, charming and delightful. We immediately hit it off! Her magazine’s booth, designed by Maira Koutsoudakis of Life was really exquisite with wonderful objects and it incorporated really refined and outstanding bush elements.

That night I went to drinks at one of SA’s top interior designers Stephen Falcke’s extraordinary black and white townhouse. It looked straight off the pages of Architectural Digest. The house is done entirely in black and white and features incredible artwork and his personal finds from around the world. Naturally it was rounded off by his bushy white cat, which would have given Nene a go in the cuteness factor!

I saw so many people whom I’d met ten years ago on my first SA trip and we discussed many things, from the economy – they’re not in the plush either and it was interesting to again have that reassurance that we’re all hurting together – to how the design industry in South Africa has progressed over the last 10 years. It is quite extraordinary. Wonderful new designers are breaking ground in their style and the sense that we are living in a creative global society is truly proven by what I saw there. Many of the spaces could have been in a top New York apartment.

Johannesburg – Day 1

Vicente — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:30:02 +0000

For my fifth visit to South Africa I had a set plan in my mind of what I wanted to do. But once the social / design / lecture / ball started rolling, my initial plans quickly went by the wayside.

I was put in The Saxon Boutique Hotel in Sandhurst, Johannesburg and was able to live the very grand life. I was in the Presidential Suite – not bad for a Cuban refugee, right? – and the beautiful grounds of this amazing hotel set the perfect foundation from which the whirlwind started.

The first night I went to dinner at CIRCA gallery where a collection of South Africa’s top designers and celebrities and architects gathered, invited by Sumari Krige, the organizer of Rooms on View, the show I was the guest speaker at. We had dinner in a brand new and breathtaking private dining room that offered great views of Johannesburg from its terraces. The menu was distinctly African, mixing different flavors trough small dishes dispersed on the table. I was seated next to the Oprah of SA, Jenny Crwys-Williams from 702 Talk Radio, and she told me about a great new show at the Johannesburg Art Gallery featuring work by a Cuban artist. So that went on my list of things that I just had to do.

That first evening was just really the beginning of what turned out to be a wonderful trip. More about it all tomorrow…

Rooms on View

Vicente — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:11:47 +0000

I am so honored to have been invited to be the 2010 Guest of Honor for South Africa’s Rooms on View. This annual show has established itself as the best in the South African industry, showcasing local talent and sharing international imports. I hear that there will be a mixture of furniture, ceramics, fabrics and other interior design elements all set up in real room settings and am excited to see what impact the impending World Cup will have on their event! The even is sponsored by Condé Nast House & Garden – one of the magazines I’ve really missed having in the US.

If you have plans to be in South Africa in a week’s time, come say hi! Here are the details of the talks I’ll be participating in:

INSPIRATION – A GLOBAL VISION OF DESIGN. Guest-of-Honor Vicente Wolf will take guests through a visual slide presentation and talk, followed by a question and answer session.

When: Friday 28th May 2010
Where: The Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Time: 10h00–12h00
Price: R250 per person
To book: +2784 492 3236 or click here to book (credit card bookings only)

TWO WORLD CLASS DESIGNERS, TWO CONTINENTS, TWO STYLES …

British designer Nina Campbell who was the Rooms on View Guest of Honor in 2004 will also be at Rooms on View 2010. Nina and Vicente Wolf, Rooms on View’s Guest of Honor in 2010, will join forces at two exciting events hosted by Conde Nast House & Garden - Two World Class Designers, Two Continents, Two Styles…

Brunch in Johannesburg

Guest will enjoy a sit-down brunch while these two industry gurus will be interviewed live by Liz Morris, Editor of Conde Nast House & Garden
When: Saturday 29th May 2010
Where: Radisson Blu Hotel, Rivonia Road, Sandton
Time: 09h30 for 10h00
Price: R350 per person
To book: +2784 492 3236 or click here to book (credit card bookings only)

Morning High Tea in Cape Town at the magnificent Cellars-Hohenort Hotel

When: Monday 31st May 2010
Where: The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel in Constantia, Cape Town
Time: 09h30 for 10h00
Price: R350 per person
To book: +2784 492 3236 or click here to book (credit card bookings only)

Lighthouse Posh Kick-Off Dinner

Vicente — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:26:55 +0000

On Tuesday night I attended the Kick-Off dinner for the Lighthouse International’s POSH Affair at the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room. Two awards were handed out – one to Carolina Herrera for her role in Fashion and another to Michael Bruno, the founder of 1stdibs. Both recipients are people who have worked very hard in helping the Lighthouse over the years.

There were a lot of very thin ladies in very expensive gowns with gentlemen attached to them. I had never been in the Oak Room before and it was fun dining in it! Benjamin Moore hosted our table and I was lucky enough to sit next to Wendy Goodman of New York Magazine and Sandra Ballentine from the New York Times. The guests comprised mostly people in fashion and other interior designers and it was quite lively conversation that ranged from ‘What in God’s Name Are We All Watching Reality Shows For?‘ to “texting” and how it takes place in restaurants, theaters and even business meetings with no regard to the rudeness of it all. We spoke about the garment area – which my office is situated in – and how it’s losing more and more design shops and workrooms. The air kisses flew all over the room – all for a very good cause, of course! I had a great time.