Daniel Oates for dbO Home at Bergdorf Goodman

Last week we loaded up a truck with 9 one of a kind pieces of furniture designed and hand crafted by my husband Daniel Oates and sent them on their way to Bergdorf Goodman. We are so excited to see Danny's creations mixing with natural textiles, blown glass, leather accessories and yes, dbO Home collection ceramics in the Loft on 7. Each piece is made using the natural edge of the highly figured walnut he uses. Some feature his signature steam bent legs and others his meticulously hand hewn straight legs....all are elegant functional sculptures. We hope if you are in NYC you'll check them out.

How dbO Home came to be...and our collaboration with West Elm

When Elektra Entertainment Group, the record label I worked for for over a decade, merged with Atlantic Records in 2004 I was faced with either a predicament or an opportunity. I could A. take a substantial pay cut B. look for a new position at a record label along with all of the others who would be trying to get that spot or C. find a new path.

At the Elektra offices just weeks before the merger with Jet

Gold album award, that's me on the left

Me backstage with AC/DC at Madison Square Garden

With much encouragement from family, friends and even my boss at the time I opted for C.

But it was going to be a challenge. I new I wanted to design. I had ideas, concepts, designs for home objects. My dream job at that time was to design for West Elm - I thought I had a sense for what they did, that I could offer something, that I could do the job. Plus, they were right in Brooklyn - perfect. But with a resume pointing to my marketing experience with bands and artists like Metallica, AC/DC, Pantera, Jet, and Bjork, no matter how I tried to word my experience and skills - there was nothing there that could suggest I knew a thing about designing homewares no matter how deeply I felt I could.

dbO Home Collection Birch dinnerware

I started dbO Home with the thought that the work I did to launch the line would be the addition to my resume one needed to see to give me that interview and land me that job. I had no idea that 7 years later I would be developing a brand and that dbO Home would be much more to me than a starting off point- it would be my very own business to develop and grow. And so when the folks at West Elm asked if I would be interested in collaborating with them on a collection of tabletop pieces I was both stunned and over the moon. On April Fool's 2010 we met at the West Elm headquarters in DUMBO and made the deal. It was no April's Fool joke -the first collection of serveware came out Fall 2011 followed by a group of vases out now.

West Elm along with other brands like Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware etc. are looking to independent designers and artists like me to create special pieces reflecting what we do.

The collections are released seasonally. More like the fashion industry, these items are only around for a short period of time. They offer someone like me the chance to create without the boundaries of production and the challenges of distribution. They offer someone like me the chance to enhance my brand by exposing my style to a wider audience. And they offer someone like me the chance to grow. Here is a great piece from NPR's Marketplace discussing the trend ( I was shocked to hear my name mentioned)

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/your-money/making-art-affordable

how I make the dbO Home Collection - though this is staged outside

where there is better light to photograph

bisqueware pieces from which the West Elm molds were made

In designing for West Elm I wanted to create a group from my point of view while being less refined and delicate. No, I do not make each piece for West Elm and they are not handmade. However, I did make the prototypes the molds were made from. Unlike the dbO Home Collection pieces that are made in thin porcelain one by one in my studio in Connecticut, these pieces are made of a much thicker stoneware and mass produced in a factory. Both collections are quite beautiful but entirely different. Opening up to the collaborations I can offer my work to those who may really appreciate it but not able to afford the handmade line.

And what I hope, what I believe, is that this wonderful opportunity to collaborate with

West Elm will both add value to my handmade work and help my brand grow so I can continue to offer pieces made one by one, no two alike by me (and Jessica). I look forward to the future. Dream coming true.

BIRCH FOR SPRING?

It's a funny thing. We started rolling birch bark into clay a few years ago and loved our Birch Collection dinnerware and vases. We thought these were the perfect pieces for holiday and winter dining. Subtle texture, natural feel and not at all boring. But it wasn't until this holiday season that they caught on. Now it's all about birch (and we're so pleased). So thinking that maybe birch isn't just for the winter table. So as we get ready for NYIGF in January we're thinking fresh, happy, textural birch for Spring. What do you think?

FAVORITE HOLIDAY LUNCH AT dbO HOME

Every year we take the time to leave the studios and enjoy an hour or so for a special lunch together to celebrate the holiday. We're working hard from September til just before the holiday and it's a treat to not rush, set the table, eat well and have a laugh. So this year I made my most favorite spinach tart. Whenever I make this I look like a superstar, but it's so easy I feel guilty for all the gushing. We set the table with our Honeycomb Curve Salad Plates, a prototype for our new bowl, our textural Felicity Runner, colorful placemats from Om Home and vintage danish cutlery. So in the holiday spirit I give you Spinach, Feta & Pine Nut Tart recipe I found in Gourmet Magazine years ago - trust me this will wow your friends and family- and wish you all a very happy holiday!

What's Your Color?

Thinking a lot about color lately. What will be the palette for Spring/Summer 2012? Though I found these boxes of vintage pastels and crayons pulled from a family stash intensely attractive, I think the dinnerware will head towards much softer, paler versions of these lovelies.

Why do we create traditions? What makes them so special that one would be heartbroken to let them go? In my family we certainly have some interesting traditions and the one that burns the brightest (pun most definitely intended) is our Thanksgiving bonfire. A heated conversation about how the fire will be lit ensues...fear of the pyromaniacs overwhelms those of us with common sense ...and always before anyone is actually ready to enjoy the big blaze we are hustled to the spot on the hill overlooking Pemaquid Harbor for the big bang. This year lit with a flaming arrow. With great relief that all our safe we are free to enjoy the warmth and the beauty of the fire.

So have you seen our collaboration collection with West Elm? I could not have been more excited to be asked to design a little collection of serving pieces based on our Plantlife pieces.

I thickened the plates...shaped them by hand and used some really big leaves from plants growing beside our brook to update the idea for West Elm. Dinnerware (seen above in it's greenware state) was replaced with a few serving pieces.

Then I started throwing in hopes for the perfect pitcher. And to my delight the winner is totally wonky! But that's what gives it its personality. You can find dbO Home for West Elm in stores and online now....coming this spring...vases!!