West Hollywood, California (Monday, July 6, 2009) - This past month’s home décor trade show, CA BOOM, went beyond tiles and sinks. 
Michael Jackson paean, Man in the Mirror, aka Epic Thriller. Photo by WeHo News. |
A timely art exhibit sent thrills and chills down attendees’ spines. Ed Hardy moved beyond tee-shirts. A normal citizen can live like a rock star. Skate board fanatics prove they have a taste for the finer things in life. Graffiti-turned-graphic artist, Shepard Fairy is now a lifestyle influence.
The biggest thrill, yet the most eerie exhibit of all, was a tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, by artist Kelly Coats.
Inspired by vintage parlor games and toys, she fashioned a phenakistiscope, a spinning disc painted with animated stop-motion figures and carved slots. As the wheel spins, looking through the slots, the viewer watches the drawings move.
Using Mr. Jackson as the muse for the phenakistiscope and a circular wall poster spiraling outward, Ms. Coats sticks a mirror in the center, reflecting the phenakistiscope images spinning inward or outward.
Substituting a young lady who grows old then into a demon, Ms. Coats used Mr. Jackson morphing appearances to make commentaries on image, fame, and aging.
She calls her exhibit, “Epic Thriller,” but because it took her two weeks of work to pull this show together, attendees were calling its timing “Epic Chiller.”
Kelly Coats artist behind Epic Thriller. Photo by WeHo News. |
A person might be surprise by what she or he discovers at an interior design show.
If you yearn for the excitement of a hip nightclub but get too pooped out to go out, why bring the club into your home?
You are not the only one who feels this way. Many rock and pop stars and nightlife impresarios, like Rihanna and Dodd Mitchell, feel that way too.
Partners and designers, Neal Wagner and Thomas Piscitello of MOGUL, an interior design studio/furniture boutique, are here to help.
Their decadent and sinfully lavish Baroque- meets- Goth, Rock Star Collection makes one sexy yet comfortable at the same time.
Rich velvet bathrobes and throw blankets and pillows in black, bedazzled in rhinestone Fleur de Lis and the dangerous Skull and Crossbones.
Michael Jackson Spinning Wheel. Photo by WeHo News. |
Black, distressed leather headboards studded in gun metal nailheads gives a bedroom this distinctive masculine rock star groove, befitting for a Mick Jagger or a Lenny Kravitz, even if one is an accountant.
King Louis XIV Regency Canopy Chairs get the glamorous Hollywood Mid-Century treatment in snow white leather with distressed ebony finish then is rechristened the “Rock Royalty” Chairs.
Their showcased “Royalty Collection” for Summer 2009 aims for the young bachelor rising up in the world with newly acquired refined tastes for women and wine who secretly desires to be a rock star.
If rock royalty is not your thing but alternative skateboarders with more subdued leanings are more your taste, why not give Bottega Montana a try.
Their company’s name is a play on “bottega” a workshop where master craftsmen and students collaborate on projects and innovations. “Montana” is where they are now located, Lima, Montana.
A duo of brothers, Francesco Gillia soaked up the surf and skateboard turf culture of Southern California while designing for Powerline6 whereas his brother, Marco worked for an architectural firm.
Bottega Montana Skateboard Photo by WeHo News. |
Working and living in California give Francesco a brilliant brainstorm, why not incorporate his design training from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome with Californian wood and the ecology mindset and lifestyle.
Once they moved to Lima, Montana, they gave birth to Bottega Montana. This led to fruitful collaborations with Shepard Fairey’s “Obey Giant,” Paul Smith, and Tretorn.
More than post-and-lintel benches and tables, the brothers incorporate wood craftsmanship and Mr. Fairey’s “Obey Giant” insignia on their line of skateboards. For an easier ride, they also designed a line of sneakers for United Krane, in hand-crafted Italian leather.
Made more like an Italian dress shoe, it is comfortable as it is stylish. These sneakers complement the organic but fashionable yet sporty California lifestyle.
The boys of Bottega Montana are a great merger between functionality and fashion.
Ed Hardy Coffee Mug. Photo by WeHo News. |
If you think Ed Hardy only exists on tattoos and tee-shirts and hoodies, here is a revelation for you, Mr. Don Ed Hardy also does coffee mugs and tea cups.
They were his first brand extension before he hooked up with Christian Audigier.
At Ku Ambiance, this homage to Japanese fashion, past and present, were the one of the first places to showcase Mr. Hardy outside tattoo parlors and art galleries.
Ed Hardy Skin Skull coffee mugs are to be expected but delicately painted devils and angels in gold on pink and cream tea cups from the Porcelain Kewpie Tea Cup Set-who would have known.
Each mug and cup is hand-made in Japan then numbered for certificate of authenticity by Mr. Don Ed Hardy.
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