Dossier
Left and below: Bob Dinetz wheelthrown pottery, from $68. Right: Jeffrey Levin jewelry, from $90.
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BOOKSHELF
BENCH WARMERS Jewelry designer Jeffrey Levin and his wife, branding specialist Bonnie Powers, recently opened Poet and the Bench, a Mill Valley craft studio featuring decor, fine jewelry and other handicrafts from makers near and far. Guided by the idea that artistry emerging from a workman’s bench is an expression of poetry, Levin and Powers have populated the intimate space with such meaningful pieces as S.F. potter Bob Dinetz’s wheel-thrown bowls, designed to inspire an everyday ritual; and Levin’s sterling-silver-and-reclaimed-wood pendants. 10E Locust Ave., Mill Valley, 415-569-4383. P O E TA N DT H E B E N C H . CO M LOS ANGELES
NANOTECTURE: TINY BUILT THINGS by Rebecca Roke (Phaidon Press, $25).
Foemina Juniper Bonsai in 1950s French concrete pots, price upon request.
Check Mate Dossier (bits) For Heather Taylor, assembling a tabletop is a microcosm of a broader philosophy. “In so many aspects of my life, I love mixing different prints,” says the L.A. textile designer and lifestyle blogger (lainbloom.com). Heather Taylor Home’s latest line of table linens incorporates checkered patterns and bright colors that make for an ideal spring spread. But the new napkins and tablecloths are compatible—and stunning, in fact— when juxtaposed with Taylor’s cotton goods from her popular pre-existing designs that are all handmade in Chiapas, Mexico. “They go together, but it’s a shot of something unexpected,” she notes. H E A T H E R T AY L O R H O M E . C O M
PATINA FARM by Brooke and Steve Giannetti (Gibbs Smith, $40).
CULVER CITY
URBAN ZEN “I’ve always loved them, and I’ve always killed them,” jokes Ray Azoulay about his previous relationship with bonsai. But a funny thing happened at the new Culver City location of his art, antiques and furniture gallery, Obsolete. After keeping a few trees alive, Azoulay morphed into a bona fide curator: “The next thing you know we have 70 bonsai,” he says of the holdings, most of which he sourced from the estate of a late bonsai master in San Diego. His flexible horticultural approach is consistent with his creative outlook; like Obsolete, the bonsai collection “keeps evolving, and becomes its own sort of thing.” 11270 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 310-399-0024. OBSOLETEINC.COM
A WILDER LIFE: A SEASON-BYSEASON GUIDE TO GETTING IN TOUCH WITH NATURE by Celestine Maddy (Artisan, $30).
THE WORLD OF CHARLES AND RAY EAMES, edited by Catherine Ince (Rizzoli, $75).
WRITTEN BY LEILANI MARIE LABONG, JESSICA RITZ AND ANDREA STANFORD. BOWLS: BOB DINETZ. POET AND THE BENCH STORE INTERIORS: JEFFREY LEVIN. OBSOLETE: JESSE STONE. HEATHER TAYLOR HOME: JEANA SOHN. PATINA FARM: LISA ROMEREIN. A WILDER LIFE: KRYSTA JABCZENSKI
MILL VALLEY
Celebrating design, architecture and unique lifestyles as presented in our favorite new tomes, all worthy of top placement in any California home library