dbO Home blogspot

BIRCH FOR SPRING?

2011-12-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-12-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-12-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

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.

2011-12-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

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!!

Birthday Celebration at Blue Hill At Stone Barns

2011-02-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

We planned it for over a month....the January girls...me and my mom would celebrate our birthdays together this year at the most amazing Blue Hill At Stone Barns. It was to be on January 7 - mom's birthday but as old man winter has been very tough on us in the Northeast this year - a snow/ice storm got in they way. Lucky for us Danny and I have been collaborating with the creatives at the restaurant with plates, vases, and a variety of serving pieces - so we were able to get a table on my birthday the following Friday. Snow, ice...typhoon - we were going! It is impossible to describe the meal which is a "Farmer's Feast". The menu lists the ingredients that are local and in season that the chef will use to prepare your meal. The waiter graciously asks if there are foods you'd rather not see on your plate and then the fun begins. While we opted for the 5 course tasting menu rather than the 8...the meal starts with a host of amazing tastings from the baby vegetables suspended on pins from a wooden block to the tiny beet burgers served in champagne saucer to my favorite fennel cakes that you empty out of a little bag on to a board and slather with a yummy concoction. Then the courses begin. A salad of paper thin sliced vegetables and fruit served on either end of a slab of slate shared with your partner. The most insane brioche made of an ancient grain with an herbal chutney - incredible. Lobster in a perfect pistou that was so fresh and bright - amazing with the rich lobster. And a trio of Berkshire Pork with lady apples...followed by quite a few desserts, my favorite the chocolate streudel and our birthday cakes that arrived on the dbO Home cupcake stands Danny and I make together. What an ending to an amazing meal (that was 4 hours of luxury!) Thank you Dan Barber!!

dbO Home blogspot: New York International Gift Fair January 2011

2011-02-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

dbO Home blogspot: New York International Gift Fair January 2011

New York International Gift Fair January 2011

2011-02-05T07:05:00.000-08:00

Snowstorm on the way in to NYC....snowstorm while there...and ice/snowstorm on the way out...what a week to exhibit at NYIGF. But we made it. And glad we did.

This season we went for color with an indigo and white palette kicked up with a very happy yellow green we call pear. All against a charcoal background with the help of a few colorful birds, bright green moss and lots of yellow and white daisies...we had a very cheerful chic booth this time around.

Our new Broken Egg Bowls and Mini Acorn and Shiitake Vessels were the hit of our show along with our Cupcake Stands. So be on the look out for these items plus our vases and blue & white plates in the lots of retail locations this spring.

We were thrilled to see our old friends including Tatine Candles, Modern-Twist, Tina Frey Designs, Dunes and Duchess and the Soap And Paper Factory ....you've got to check out their new products especially the Foundry and Tisane candle collections from Tatine. These women (and Dunes) are always inspiring. And we were also inspired by our new friend and booth neighbor Lisa Neimeth who creates truly unique ceramic tableware (and has the best boots ever).

Here's a few photos from the show.

Trade Secrets

2010-05-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

First time attending the extremely popular yearly event in our town of Sharon, Trade Secrets, was an inspiration blast. The gardening and antiques event that benefits Women's Support Services of the Northwest Corner is highly anticipated every year and this was it's 10th anniversary. Hosted at the gorgeous LionRock Farm with it's spectacular views of Sharon we had the chance to browse under the tents of dealers including Metropolitan, Germain, Privet House, Hunter Bee and Treillage....exotic plants, garden furnishings and antiques....looking forward to next year already.

dbO Home Images From ABC Home

2010-03-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Somebody recently told me that my blog really needs to say something...that I should spend quite a lot of time on each post researching what I'd like to share with you and crafting the prose. While he may very well be right today I think a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's the latest dbO Home displays at ABC Home & Carpet featured on the first and second floors.

99 Bottles

2010-03-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

What's going on with glass bottles? Looking for inspiration on a recent NYC visit I seemed to have been taken on more than one occasion by displays of glass bottles. The bottles in the image above included laboratory bottles as well...something about the shapes and light...now how to interpret this feeling in porcelain or wood? Hmmmm

Pendant Power

2010-03-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

The dbO Home ceramic studio is attached to our house. And when I say house I mean project. Almost 8 years ago when I was a marketing exec at Elektra Records and Danny was focused on his sculpture in his Williamsburg loft, we decided to purchase our fixer upper... a renovated barn. Well really, it was a cow shed that was renovated by two Czech artists in the 70s....more on this renovation at a later date...but suffice is to say that it is a most unusual space. And possibly the most interesting part of the house is the "pit". A good ole fashioned 70s love pit....a U shaped sunken area surrounding our fireplace in the middle of the open plan room. And for the past almost 8 years it has been screaming for a dramatic chandelier to drop down from the open space above (our bedroom) into the center of the "pit". But every chandelier with oompf that we've seen is oh so expensive....now thinking dramatic pendants are the way to go...and these lovelies could fit the bill - Tom Dixon I covet your pendants!

While I Just Happened To Be At ABC Home

2010-03-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

What's the likelihood? So I happen to be visiting ABC Home ( a great supporter of dbO Home), fondling all the beautiful things I wish I made and now covet. I'm there with my mom - checking everything out and looking for inspiration.

Danny and I recently delivered 4 new Indian Lake live edge tables to the ABC Home warehouse out in Hackensack and I wondered if the tables had found their place in the store. So to the second floor we go. As I step on to the second floor a salesperson is walks in front of me carrying one of the Burl End Tables. She is followed by two guys who are bringing in the other 3 tables that have just arrived at the store. What is the likelihood of that happening? Is this what they call kismet? Of course it was very exciting to see our second batch of handcrafted tables in this amazing store surrounded absolute gorgeousness.

70 Million

2010-02-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

Just found this very entertaining video by Franco-American band Hold Your Horses! I felt compelled to share this video mostly because I'm not a really big fan of music videos (except let's face it David Bowie videos which totally rock) but this one is as advertised "cheeky" and the song's pretty good too.

Just a bit of early spring cleaning

2010-02-28T08:44:00.001-08:00

Just cleaned up my dressing table which admittedly was embarrassingly lackluster, cluttered and yes dirty. So I tossed the old, nasty cosmetics, stored the less appealing items in the drawers of my table and grabbed a few pieces from the studio to display the useful and nicer items. So though the names of these pieces are all about eating...they don't have stay in the kitchen or dining room. Pictured are the Globe Cafe Au Lait and Serving Bowls along with the Hot Chocolate cup and new from dbO Home, Birch Curve Bread and Butter plate.

dbO Home collaborates with Blue Hill At Stone Barns

2010-02-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

We were so excited when dbO Home was approached by Blue Hill At Stone Barns for some samples. What started out as a few samples to the restaurant turned into a wonderful collaboration between the creative folks at Blue Hill and all of us at dbO Home.

The first trip to the amazing property in Pocantico Hills, NY was mind-blowing. The restaurant is within the Stone Barns Center For Food and Agriculture - a spectacular working four-season farm and educational center. The Barbers helped create the philosophical and practical framework for Stone Barns Center. It's just so hard to describe. But the idea of from farm to table is more than just a catch phrase here. All the food is either sourced from the surrounding fields and pastures (pigs, lambs, sheep, chickens, cows all have residence here) as well as other local farms. At the same time there are classes, events and even school field trips for people of all ages to learn about their food. Back to the restaurant, there are no menus, instead a list of seasonal ingredients and Chef Barber prepares your farm feast. Words cannot describe the the experience of a meal at Blue Hill At Stone Barns.

The first piece we made for Blue Hill was a special Honeycomb Platter just the right size for the Chef to serve an incredible dessert.

We bounced many ideas back and forth during this collaboration - all for the very special Bread + Butter plates that would be awaiting each guest on the table when they arrived. The idea was to really bring home the idea of how important the farm is to Blue Hill, to try to be seasonal. Jessica and I had a blast having free reign of the farm to pick anything we thought might make a beautiful imprint in the porcelain. The alpine strawberries, cabbage and wheat were no brainers but the pigs hoof was more than we could handle. In the end Philippe sent us a huge box of grains - each meticulously tagged and named and along with our original Honeycomb and Birch patterns we created custom grain plates using seven different grains all used by Chef Dan Barber in the restaurant. I'll admit, though it was a lot of work, we had a great time making each plate along with the custom Birch vases...but nothing beat having dinner at

Blue Hill which I will say once again, is mind blowing

NYIGF JAN 2010

2010-02-23T12:28:00.000-08:00

Only a few weeks have gone by since we showed at the New York International Gift Fair and already working towards the next show in August. Every six months we set up our booth at Javits intending to create a space that exudes the essence of our brand. Comfort, luxury for everyday...this is what we tried to evoke in a 12'x12' space filled with ceramics, tables, lighting and textiles. We totally redesigned our booth for the January show and I think it really hit the right notes though always looking to improve. The star of this show for us was Danny's new double tripod leg dining table....it won most fondled object in our booth and rightfully saw - she is very sexy. We were also excited to introduce the new Curve dinnerware pieces and Plume pattern along with some absolutely luscious handloomed throws.

But the show is not just about selling our line...we get the chance to see our clients who we appreciate very much, meet new clients and hang out with our friends. The days are long and stressful so those after show dinners with friends are just spectacular. And may I say that not only was the food at The Little Owl in the west village delicious...the music that night was rocktastic - if only we weren't the only ones in the restaurant singing along......

Must thank all of our friends that helped us out at the show....thank you Liv, Max, Jesse, Alli and Anne! And a big shout out to Allison and Lesli for making our most fabulous fondant and foam cake for our Bentleg Cakestand.