The Current, Vol. 2

2

Cover: MONTE-CARLO BEACH CLUB ROQUEBRUNE-CAP-MARTIN

Inside Front Cover: ASPEN HIGHLANDS ASPEN, COLORADO

Inside Back Cover: PA L A I S D E T O K Y O PA R I S , F R A N C E

Back Cover: S T. G I L E S H O U S E D O R S E T, E N G L A N D

THE URBAN ELECTRIC CO. PRESENTS

THE CURRENT Ten months. Five countries. Thirty cities across the globe. This book represents the thousands of miles and hours we spent exploring the world to understand how our collective and individual sense of place shapes us. From city streets and coastal stretches to countrysides and mountain highs, all the way back to our own perch in Charleston, the following pages pay tribute to the destinations and perspectives that both steady our gaze and guide us forward. Welcome to The Current, Volume 2.

VOL. 2

CONTENTS CITY 30 MELISSA PERELLO

48

Destination LA: The Taste Maker

CARL SORENSON

62

My Retreat: New York, New York

STEPHEN EARLE

66

COAST 70 JESSE SANDOLE 88 The Water is Wide

MADELINE STUART 104 My Retreat: Santa Barbara, California

TIM GOSLING 108

COUNTRY 112 NICK ASHLEY–COOPER 130 The Country Man

CEARA DONNELLEY 150 My Retreat: ACE Basin, South Carolina

MADE IN ITALY 154 Mangani and My Light

MOUNTAIN 170 TIM CAMPBELL 188 Channeling Hemingway

HEATHER WELLS 202 My Retreat: Lake Kezar, New Hampshire

CRISTOF EIGELBERGER 206

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 5

HOUGHTON ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH BRONZE ACCENTS INTERIORS BY S.R. GAMBREL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

YVES HANG, CUSTOMIZED HEIRLOOM FINISH HEIRLOOM ACCENTS CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY ASR STUDIOS

MAC R A L 7 0 1 2 B A S A LT G R E Y P O W D E R C O AT F I N I S H HEWN BRASS ACCENTS HEWN BRASS SHADE INTERIOR JACKSON BRONZE FINISH ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS INTERIORS BY SCHEER & CO. P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y R YA N N F O R D

S TA B L E BLACKENED COPPER FINISH CLEAR GLASS I N T E R I O R S B Y PA L M E R W E I S S PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON

FOUNDER’S NOTE

OF PLACE A sense of place means a lot to us at The Urban Electric Co.

designer Madeline Stuart’s coastal hideaway in Santa

the community here over these past many years and we

retreat in Sun Valley and peeked inside Melissa Perello’s

We started in Charleston, we’ve deepened our roots in

Barbara, dug deep inside Hemingway’s restored mountain

continue to open up our workspace to friends and clients

latest culinary paradise in the City of Angels.

in new and exciting ways.

Throughout the process, we were reminded of some

This year, we broadened our factory footprint, bringing

essential truths: that connection and community are vital

a new building into our manufacturing landscape

to creativity; that true visionaries are as invested in how

while continuing to redefine and blur the lines between

they live as in where they live; and that the experience of

showroom and workshop.

being there, wherever there is, is what really matters in

the end.

Yet even as we revel in our new expansion and the place we call home, we are also constantly reminded of all the

We hope you enjoy this exploration of place as much as

other places out there. The places where we travel and

we did.

find inspiration, the places that shape and inspire you and,

of course, the locations and destinations that provide a final home for our lights.

We spent ten months traveling the world to interview,

profile and document an illustrious group of creators,

designers, artists, makers and connectors in various

locales. We traversed the English countryside with Nick

Ashley-Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, explored

Dave Dawson March 2020

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 15

I N T R O D U C I N G B U I L D I N G 45

THIS YEAR WE BROUGHT LIFE TO THE NEWEST ADDITION TO OUR C A M P U S , A F O R M E R N AV Y D E P O T B U I LT I N 193 9 . T H E I M A G E S O N T H E S E N E X T F E W PA G E S R E M I N D U S T H AT THE STRENGTH OF A STRUCTURE AND THE SOUL OF ITS PEOPLE ARE I N H E R E N T LY I N T E R T W I N E D.

FF R RO M L E F T AHMON AND LAUREN / CRAFT M I K E / M AT E R I A L S

FROM LEFT JAMIE AND BRIANNA / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

FROM LEFT C A R LT O N A N D T Y R I Q U E / C R A F T

M A RY M A R G A R E T / C L I E N T S E RV I C E

FROM LEFT J A’ VA N / FA B R I C AT I O N D AV I D / C R A F T J E S S I E / M AT E R I A L S R O B B I E / FA B R I C AT I O N

CONRAD / CRAFT

K R I S T I N / D I G I TA L

FROM BACK JOHN / QUALITY L I N D E N A N D N AT E / E N G I N E E R I N G

COREY / FLEET

FROM LEFT SEAN / FINANCE J E S S I C A / M AT E R I A L S

MACKIE / GLASS

L I N D S AY / C R E AT I V E

N AT E / C R A F T

THERE’S A REASON PEOPLE BORROW FROM THE LANGUAGE OF ANATOMY TO DESCRIBE A CITY: THE DAILY PACE OF LIFE IS ITS PULSE; THE THOROUGHFARES ITS VITAL ARTERIES; THE NEIGHBORHOODS ITS HEART, EACH WITH ITS OWN UNIQUE BEAT. CITIES ARE LIVING— ALWAYS MOVING, ALWAYS GROWING, ALWAYS EVOLVING. AND, YET, DESPITE THE CONSTANT CHANGE, THEY HAVE A FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTER THAT DEFINES THEM—AND, IN TURN, SHAPES THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE, TOO. IT’S A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP, AND EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY.

CITY

L I V I N G , M O V I N G , G R O W I N G , E V O LV I N G

PA L A I S D E T O K Y O PA R I S , F R A N C E M O N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 9 11:44AM

VIEW FROM THE HIGH LINE NEW YORK CITY M O N D AY, O C T O B E R 2 1 , 2 0 1 9 9:13AM

HUNTLEY ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY TRACY HARDENBURG DESIGNS P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y PÄ R B E N G T S S O N

WINSTON POLISHED BRASS FINISH WITH CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY BUNNY WILLIAMS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANCESCO LAGNESE

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 40

FA R M L E I G H BRONZE FINISH WITH MILK GLASS INTERIORS BY S.R. GAMBREL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

MARLBOROUGH HEIRLOOM FINISH PA R T I A L LY E T C H E D G L A S S INTERIORS BY ALEXANDER DOHERTY DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIUS CHIRA

MAC BLACK FINISH WITH HEWN BRASS ACCENTS HEWN BRASS SHADE INTERIOR I N T E R I O R S B Y M A RY M C D O N A L D PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN

K A R D A M Y L I H E I R L O O M F I N I S H W I T H L AV E N D E R G L A S S A N D M I L K G L A S S A C C E N T S INTERIORS BY ALEXANDER DOHERTY DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIUS CHIRA

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 45

STREET ART (ON TREE BARK) PA R I S , F R A N C E S U N D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 9 6:07PM

DESTINATION L A

THE TASTE MAKER Chef Melissa Perello, a talented restaurateur with an equally visionary design sense, ventures south from San Francisco to Los Angeles to open her third, and most ambitious, restaurant yet.

meet us for dinner at

LOS

ANGELES,

M. GEORGINA

CALIFORNIA

M. Georgina is a 4500-square-foot shrine to culinary

ingenuity and not an inch of space is wasted. Whole beasts

her career trajectory now, the road to LA was paved slowly.

smoke and sizzle on hot coals over here. Dry goods stand

Very slowly. “Los Angeles was never part of the plan,” she

at attention on rows of open shelves over there. There

says. “I had no thoughts of leaving San Francisco. At all.”

are stations for prepping the housemade ricotta cheese,

behind ROW DTLA had been courting Melissa from afar,

the menu, plus uncommonly delicious bread and butter

checking in every so often in an effort to convince her

at the ready and an open-air pick-up window called The

that LA—and their complex—was the place for her next

Slip for lunch on the go. Everything about this restaurant,

restaurant. In their minds, she was integral to the project

right down to its slick glass-and-metal construction, exists

and they wanted her as an anchor.

for one reason: to bring chef-owner Melissa Perello’s brand

of elevated yet accessible market-driven food to delicious

“That’s when I started thinking, this might be

worth considering,” Melissa says. “Then I started getting

life in the biggest and best possible way.

Situated prominently within ROW DTLA, a sprawling

interested and it all snowballed from there. The food

mixed-use development in Los Angeles’ burgeoning Arts

scene in LA has changed so dramatically over the past few

District, M. Georgina feels like a secret discovery—at once

years, and I was struck by how exciting it all felt. I wasn’t

unique within the landscape of LA’s evolving food scene

expecting it, but I also couldn’t deny it. It just felt right.”

and also completely at home among the new tastemaker-

To understand the influences behind Melissa’s

culinary vision, it’s crucial to go back in time. Before she

led restaurants propelling the city’s palate forward. Like

became the darling of the food world for reinvigorating

its location, M. Georgina manages a delicate balancing

San Francisco’s fabled Charles Nob Hill restaurant at

act; it is historic yet experimental, old-school with a new

the tender age of twenty-four, before she became one of

vision, foundational in technique yet fluid in expression,

Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs at twenty-seven,

serious and unsentimental but with a whiff of whimsy.

But other forces were at work behind the scenes.

For the better part of the past eight years, the developers

yogurt and other from-scratch ingredients that populate

But while the move feels like the natural next step in

It’s a bigger, bolder, glitzier twist on the kind of high-

before the accolades and the Michelin star she earned at

quality, unpretentious flavor that has become Melissa’s

Fifth Floor restaurant, before she opened two restaurants

signature over the past decade, and propelled both of her

of her own and earned two additional Michelin stars for

San Francisco restaurants, Frances and Octavia, from

those, too, and long before this LA venture ever presented

dining spots to destinations.

itself, Melissa Perello was a little girl toggling between two

seemingly disparate destinations that heavily shaped the kind of chef she would become: New Jersey and Texas.

“When I was younger, we lived in Hackensack, New

Jersey, where my father’s family was from,” she says, “so

in the summers, my parents would ship us off to Texas,

"THE FOOD SCENE IN LA HAS

where my mother’s family was from, for six to eight weeks.

We’d be in the middle of nowhere, in northern Texas, the

CHANGED SO DRAMATICALLY

panhandle, with nothing to do.” To stave off boredom,

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, AND I

Melissa watched cooking shows on PBS. Soon, she was

spellbound by the dishes she saw chefs like Nathalie

WAS STRUCK BY HOW EXCITING IT

Dupree, Jacques Pépin and Julia Child conjuring on

ALL FELT. I WASN’T EXPECTING IT,

the screen. “I’d go home to New Jersey with this whole

repertoire of things to cook,” she says. “I remember being

BUT I ALSO COULDN’T DENY IT.

about seven or eight years old telling my mom that I

IT JUST FELT RIGHT."

just had to cook this leg of lamb dish I had seen and she was like, ‘Alright.’ So we went and got two legs of lamb

and bound them and stuffed them with thyme and dijon

mustard and then roasted them on the grill just like I had

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 50

Chef Melissa Perello preps a tasting menu in the weeks leading up to M. Georgina’s opening.

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 51

A moment of calm in the dining room.

Melissa's second San Francisco restaurant, Octavia.

seen. I was very fortunate that my parents always gave

her culinary credibility in San Francisco, instilled in her

kitchen.” It helped that her grandmother, Frances, for

enduring success: the first, a deeply rooted appreciation

me the opportunity and space to just play around in the

three things that, in hindsight, likely contributed to that

whom Melissa named her first restaurant, was also a

for food inherited from older generations; the second,

proficient and enthusiastic home cook who nurtured the

a love of the energy of restaurant dining, along with an

passion she saw budding in her granddaughter.

awareness of the sense of pageantry that goes along with

Later, when the family moved from New Jersey to

it and a keen ability to separate artistry from artifice; the

Texas, the lure of restaurants continued to tug on her. “I

third, an intuitive understanding that a meal is meant to

can’t remember my first restaurant experience, but I do

savor as well as sustain.

remember dragging my parents out to a lot of fine dining

when combined, have the power to create real culinary

kid growing up in Texas,” she says. “I was obsessed with

alchemy—but the magic extends beyond just the food. As a

the level of service and the way the plates were executed

chef, Melissa has always thrived on the sense of community

so artfully.”

M. Georgina, named for Melissa’s father’s mother

this time, is a reflection of how all of those attributes,

spots in my younger years, which is kind of strange for a

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of

a restaurant naturally creates, from the chemistry of the

America in Hyde Park, New York, in the mid 1990s, Melissa

staff to the vibe of the people in the dining room. As a

moved to San Francisco, cutting her teeth under the toque

restaurateur, she applies that spirit of connection to the

of chef Michael Mina at Aqua. From there, she went on

non-culinary aspects of the business, as well, especially

to Charles Nob Hill, where her star began to rise after she

when it comes to design. “It is extremely important to

took over the head chef reins following her mentor Ron

me to collaborate with people who share my sensibility

Siegel’s departure. “Ron was the first person who showed

and commitment to quality,” she says, “which is why I’m

me the way the front and back of a restaurant could and

involved in every decision that goes into creating and

should work together,” she says. “He was always out in

sustaining my restaurants.”

the dining room, selecting linens and certain types of glassware. He was very exacting, and it made me realize

that a restaurant is more than just its kitchen and I could impact diners beyond just the food I was serving. I could

give them an experience.” A subsequent stint at Fifth Floor, another lauded but now shuttered San Francisco restaurant, earned Melissa her first Michelin star. But she

"I REMEMBER BEING ABOUT SEVEN

was tired.

OR EIGHT YEARS OLD TELLING MY

At the end of 2006, she decided to take a break and

reassess her path. The time away was therapeutic and

MOM THAT I JUST HAD TO COOK

cathartic and by 2009, she had returned to the food world,

THIS LEG OF LAMB DISH THAT I

this time with a restaurant all her own.

Frances was an instant success and a reminder

HAD SEEN ON PBS, AND SHE WAS

soulful flavor didn’t have to be fussy or uptight. Its sister

LIKE, ‘ALRIGHT.’ SO WE WENT AND

that refined food with market-fresh ingredients and restaurant, Octavia, channeled that same message when

GOT TWO LEGS OF LAMB, BOUND

it opened in 2015. By 2017, Melissa had earned two more

THEM, STUFFED THEM WITH THYME

Michelin stars.

In today’s food-obsessed world, where chefs are

AND DIJON MUSTARD AND THEN

influencers whose profiles rise and fall as spectacularly

ROASTED THEM ON THE GRILL."

as those of film stars and reality show celebrities, Melissa’s longevity and steadfast resolve are no small accomplishment.

Those early years and that nascent

spark for cooking, combined with time spent burnishing

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 54

At M. Georgina the details matter, from the type of wood to the tableware.

Evidence of her exacting eye is everywhere: She

personally sourced the water glasses for their superior

hand feel, and worked with Bay Area antiques dealer Laurie Furber at Elsie Green to find culinary collectibles.

“Relationships are very important to me,” Melissa

says. “When we opened Frances, I worked with a ceramicist named Akiko Graham out of Seattle to make a lot of special

things. Then, with Octavia, I met Sarah Kersten, who’s

EVERYTHING ABOUT M. GEORGINA RIGHT DOWN TO ITS SLICK GLASSAND-METAL CONSTRUCTION

another ceramicist out of Berkeley, and really loved her

work. She’s most known for these fermentation crocks,

EXISTS FOR ONE REASON: TO

which are really beautiful. After we collaborated on the

BRING MELISSA'S BRAND OF

dishes for Octavia, everyone wanted them. Now they’re

part of her full line. Most recently, we worked together to

ELEVATED YET ACCESSIBLE

create a whole new set of special plates for M. Georgina.

MARKET-DRIVEN FOOD TO

So in a lot of ways we kind of grew together.”

To build the wood-burning oven and hearth that

sits center stage at M. Georgina, Melissa enlisted the

DELICIOUS LIFE IN THE BIGGEST

Oregon-based specialist, Jeremiah Thorndike Church.

For lighting, she scoured magazines and antiques auctions for inspiration before discovering some Urban Electric

fixtures, which now boost the restaurant’s glow. Her

father, a hobbyist carpenter with near-professional skills,

contributed to the woodworking by building some of the restaurant’s banquette seating—a tradition continued from the days in San Francisco, when he and Melissa supervised

most of the design and build-out of Frances and Octavia.

“I inherited my drive and pluck from my dad,” she says.

Indeed, there isn’t much that escapes Melissa Perello’s watchful eye and uncompromising standards.

Just months into M. Georgina’s run, the restaurant

is already garnering rave reviews from critics and diners,

further cementing Melissa’s place in the firmament of star

chefs. For her part, though, fame is beside the point. The glory of a restaurant, she feels, firmly rests in two things:

the dishes and the details. “It’s about being thoughtful with every element of the experience, whether it’s the cooking or the design. Precision is everything,” she says, “and precision pays off.”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 57

AND BEST POSSIBLE WAY.

ROW DTLA LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 9 4:03PM

DOWNING BRONZE FINISH ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS WHITE LINEN SHADE INTERIORS BY SECRETCAPE

B E N S O N P O L I S H E D N I C K E L F I N I S H W I T H R A L 1 0 2 7 C U R RY A C C E N T S INTERIORS BY ALEXANDER DOHERTY DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIUS CHIRA

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 62

CARL

BOXBRIDGE POLISHED NICKEL FINISH POLISHED NICKEL ACCENTS BLACKENED STEEL BRACKET AND RIBBED GLASS INTERIORS BY S.R. GAMBREL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

ONLY IN NEW YORK

HAND-FINISHED HARDWARE IN THE NANZ SHOWROOM

1

C A R L’ S S I G N AT U R E B L A C K L E AT H E R A L D E N S

2

on the roof to Malcolm McLaren’s “Madam Butterfly.” At the end of the night a bunch of us went for food, and on the street we found cardboard tubes which were used to transport bolts of fabric. We created a wonderful battle, beating one another with the makeshift cardboard weapons. SoHo was desolate. There were no stores, no people, just garbage trucks which would occasionally lumber by to collect the refuse piled up on the dark and empty streets.

I first worked in New York City while living in Jersey City. My rent was $350 per month, which was cheap and good, since in the early days of Nanz, we weren’t making much money. Coincidentally, the rent for our first workshop in a third floor walk-up on the Bowery was also $350 per month. I traveled back and forth each day via the Holland Tunnel in my navy Ford Bronco.

After about nine months, the money began to come more easily, so when my apartment lease was up, I decided to get my first apartment in New York, which was on 22nd Street. I traded in my Bronco for a Bridgestone mountain bike that I rode everywhere— including to the offices of many architects and designers where I was making sales calls. Armed with a backpack filled with early samples of our handmade creations, I diligently persuaded them to give us a chance. It worked, and they did. And as the business continued to grow, we were able to employ more people and add to our stable of products.

When Carl Sorenson, the co-founder of The Nanz Company, a boutique brand specializing in exquisite custom hardware, visited Manhattan during college more than three decades ago, he discovered a city filled with treasures he’s been mining ever since.

My favorite early memory of New York City came while visiting as a sophomore in college. It was Fall, and a bunch of guys piled in a car and drove down. We wound up crashing at a friend’s loft on Crosby Street, on the top floor of the old Canal Jeans building, between Spring and Broome. I remember we threw a party where we danced

I’ve lived in London and Paris, spent a great deal of time in San Francisco, Los Angeles, even Chicago. What’s funny is that I’m not sure that New York is the greatest city—by food, architecture, people, housing stock or any other measure. But the one thing I would say is that New York is the most inspirational and provides an electric charge with which one can achieve great things.

My inspiration comes largely from the street—the people, the scene, the fashion, the music. And I love all good art, both fine and decorative, so the museums, too. MoMA. The Met and The Met Breuer. The Whitney. The Neue Galerie, even The Guggenheim.

Or going to Thursday night open galleries in Chelsea or Brooklyn.

But most importantly, the people inspire me—they’re doing neat things all the time. And not only are the activities neat but as a theater New York can’t be beat.

I used to plan a night out with friends where I’d make a reservation at a Brooklyn restaurant at about 7:00pm. At 6:15pm, we’d begin to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge right as the sun was setting. We’d talk about how beautiful it was, but the best part would come when we’d reach the apex of the bridge and then turn back to look west.

The lights from the lower Manhattan skyscrapers would be twinkling

3

AS TOLD TO THE URBAN ELECTRIC Co.

and the sky would be darkening, but the sun would be glowing from beneath the horizon; it would be so incredibly beautiful that we’d be speechless over the moment. It was just as great every time, and the effect never wore out.

Showing someone something great they’ve never seen before is an activity I still enjoy perhaps more than any other. I think it explains why I delight in exploring my fiefdom more than traveling to far away places.

My ancestors on my mother’s side were Pennsylvania coal miners.

And then, believe it or not, my dad’s grandfather operated a hardware store in Michigan. No wonder digging for treasure and designing hardware are my favorite things to do.

On a typical day, I wake up in my apartment in the West Village, sketch out some new hardware ideas and return emails. Then, I go on a four-mile run on the Hudson River Park, returning via the High Line. It’s so early that there are no tourists to gum up the works. Then, I bike to my office in SoHo in time to join group meditation. I used to be so skeptical of group meditation, but I quickly grew to cherish it.

After that, I spend the morning in the design studio, while also getting updates from my factory director, sales director and COO. I might have a client lunch and (let’s hope) talk about some fun jobs coming our way. Then I head back to the office where I usually engage in some creative project like an ad layout, sketching more hardware, writing some copy or arranging a curated set of samples in the showroom. I have dinner with friends and go to sleep so I can wake up and do it all again.

I can’t imagine Nanz having originated in any other place. It’s such a New York story. Which is probably why I don’t like to travel much.

I love being in New York City—I don’t like leaving, but when I do, I love coming back. As I wind my way back to Manhattan from the airport on the Van Wyck Expressway, I quickly begin to stabilize and return to my normal high.

I feel particularly good about having made it in this tough town.

4

URBAN SANCTUARY

CARL, MAGNIFIED

5

OBJET D’ART N A N Z H A R D W A R E O N D I S P L AY

ROOM WITH A VIEW T H E D O N A L D M A C D O N A L D S TA I N E D G L A S S C E I L I N G AT T H E N AT I O N A L A R T S C L U B , WHERE CARL ENJOYS UNWINDING

L O O K I N G O U T O V E R G R A M E R C Y PA R K

8

B E N S O N P O L I S H E D N I C K E L F I N I S H W I T H R A L 1 0 2 7 C U R RY A C C E N T S INTERIORS BY ALEXANDER DOHERTY DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIUS CHIRA

T H E

C U R R E N T VOL. 2

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 62

BOXBRIDGE POLISHED NICKEL FINISH POLISHED NICKEL ACCENTS BLACKENED STEEL BRACKET AND RIBBED GLASS INTERIORS BY S.R. GAMBREL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

BISHOP BENJAMIN MOORE 2175-50 PEACH BLOSSOM FINISH BENJAMIN MOORE 2175-50 PEACH BLOSSOM ACCENTS INTERIORS BY KEN FULK PHOTOGRAPHY BY REAGAN PETREHN

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

STEPHEN EARLE Having cut his teeth as a lieutenant for boldface names such as Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren before taking up the creative mantle at Related Companies, Stephen Earle is now bringing his discerning eye to bear on one of Manhattan’s most ambitious residential development projects to date.

“When I was little, there was this girl, Emily, who

parents, Stephen set out to study textile design.

lived across the street, and we would go play in a sand pile,”

Stephen says. “My mother took classes there so, naturally,

open the door and say, ‘Kids! Go play!’ and you didn’t worry

I wanted to. Later, after spending a summer studying

about it. Emily had this big bucket of plastic furniture

textiles at RISD, I was officially hooked on both the craft

and we would empty it out into a little pile, pick out our

and the school—and when I found out how few men applied

individual pieces and then create a floorplan. Emily always

to the program, well, even better. It increased my odds!”

drew a big square with furniture stacked around the edges.

For me? Well, I was angry. I distinctly remember saying,

These days, Stephen plays in a much bigger sandbox,

original American textile houses, where he worked under

overseeing residential interiors for Related Companies’

the direction of industry legend Raymond Waites. A chance

twelve New York City developments, but he maintains the

opportunity to step in for a stylist during a photo shoot at

same aesthetic confidence.

Waites’ house led to work creating vignettes and spatial

Related’s properties span a broad spectrum—from

narratives. From there, he learned the nuances of interior

luxury residences to affordable housing complexes (of

photography and how styling and staging influenced

which they are the largest developer in the US) to third-

perception, which led to positions at both Ralph Lauren

space ventures such as the Equinox Fitness Clubs. When

Home and Martha Stewart in the days when those now

Stephen joined the company in 2014, his newly created post

marquee tastemakers were just honing their residential

reflected Related’s commitment to prioritizing superior

visions and establishing their spheres of influence.

design in its residential spaces, including two monumental

An epic reinvigoration of Midtown Manhattan that

posts, and continues to create stories for a living. “Getting

spans 30th through 34th Streets, where the High Line

where I am now was definitely not the result of anything I

disembarks, Hudson Yards is a city within a city. From the

had planned,” he says, “but it makes so much sense for me.”

beginning, the vision for Hudson Yards was ambitious and

He collaborates with Related’s in-house architecture

and design group to oversee partnerships with interior

long-term: a collection of multimillion-dollar residences,

designers, celebrated architects (including Robert A.M.

retail experiences, new and future architectural landmarks

Stern, David Rockwell and Frank Gehry) and artists

and open-air gathering spots that would all launch within

whose pieces he personally selects to outfit the residential

the same time period and become an instant touchstone for

spaces. The end result is a fully realized presentation of

visitors and locals alike. It worked, and Stephen presides

spectacular art and articulation.

over some of the most stunning living spaces at the center

of it all.

Today, through his work at Related, Stephen remains

on the trajectory he established for himself at his earlier

residences located at 15 and 35 Hudson Yards.

At RISD, he fell even more in love with the pursuit

and, upon graduation, found work with GEAR, one of the

‘That’s not how you do it!’”

His passion for textiles took root early. “In the town

where I grew up in Michigan, there was a famous weaver,”

he says. “Those were the days when parents would just

Born into a family of gentlemen who attended,

“Whether working in publishing, product design,

interiors, photography, even television, I’ve been fortunate

with few exceptions, Washington & Lee University, in

to hone my craft at organizations whose core values and

Lexington, Virginia—many when it was all-male—Stephen

goals embraced the importance of design and the drive

was an outlier. “They all went there—uncles, grandfathers,

to be best-in-class,” Stephen says. “My work has always

everyone—and they just assumed I would, too,” he says.

been less about ‘Here’s a blank canvas and go create

“Fortunately, my brother went and represented for my

something from it,’ and more about chess and challenges.

generation. I was free to go where I wanted, which was the

I order things. I make them talk to each other. Above all,

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).” With supportive

I connect the dots.”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 67

3 5 H U D S O N YA R D S NEW YORK CITY T U E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 10:45AM

THERE’S A FRONTIER SPIRIT THAT COMES FROM LIVING ON THE EDGE OF L AND. REGARDLESS OF THE SHORELINE, THE PULL OF THE SEA PUSHES US TO DEFY BOUNDARIES, TEST LIMITS, EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN, DISCOVER NEW WORLDS. AS A LOCATION, THE COAST OFFERS AN UNPARALLELED STUDY IN CONTRASTS: IT CLEANSES AND WEATHERS, GIVES AND TAKES, L APS AND SWELLS. BUT THEREIN LIES THE BEAUT Y, FOR IN ITS EBBING AND FLOWING TIDES WE SEE DAILY PROOF OF OUR OWN GRAVIT Y, AND THE SHEER SCALE OF ITS VASTNESS PUTS EVERY THING ELSE AROUND US INTO SHARPER PERSPECTIVE.

COAST

AN UNPARALLELED STUDY IN CONTRASTS

MONTE-CARLO BEACH CLUB ROQUEBRUNE-CAP-MARTIN W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 9 11:14AM

WILL ROGERS BEACH PA C I F I C PA L I S A D E S , C A L I F O R N I A T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 7 , 2 0 1 9 11:58AM

C H I LT E R N HEWN BRASS FINISH HEWN BRASS ACCENTS WHITE SHADE FINISH WITH HEWN BRASS INTERIOR INTERIORS BY JENKINS INTERIORS P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y F R A M E W O R K C R E AT I V E

URBAN SMOKEBELL BRONZE FINISH TRANSLUCENT MIRROR ON CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY PHILIP MITCHELL DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNIE SCHLECHTER

SCOOP

H E W N B R A S S F I N I S H W I T H C U S T O M P O W D E R C O AT FA R R O W & B A L L 2 3 0 C A L A M I N E I N T E R I O R S B Y J E N N Y K E E N A N D E S I G N , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y J U L I A LY N N

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 81

H A M I LT O N HEWN BRASS FINISH BENJAMIN MOORE 1315 POPPY INTERIOR INTERIORS BY SUMMER THORNTON DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY BY THOMAS LOOF

CAMPION HEIRLOOM FINISH WITH ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS INTERIORS BY PHOEBE HOWARD, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH GIBSON

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 84

MALPLAQUET DOUBLE FA R R O W & B A L L 2 8 9 I N C H Y R A B L U E F I N I S H BLACK ACCENTS AND BLACK BRACKET PA R T I A L LY E T C H E D G L A S S METRO HEWN BRASS FINISH WHITE GLASS SHADE I N T E R I O R S B Y B R I A N PA Q U E T T E I N T E R I O R S PHOTOGRAPHY BY HARIS KENJAR

CISCO BEACH N A N T U C K E T, M A S S A C H U S E T T S W E D N E S D AY, A U G U S T 1 4 , 2 0 1 9 3:13PM

THE WATER IS WIDE The son of a seafood legend, Jesse Sandole followed a coastal path from Nantucket to Charleston to chart his own course.

Today, his two 167 Raw outposts combine new-school versions of briny classics with effortless hospitality and a solid sense of his seaside homes.

fresh catch from two

N A N T U C K E T, CHARLESTON,

PORTS OF CALL

MASSACHUSETTS SOUTH

CAROLINA

During the summer in Nantucket, 167 Raw is home to a fish market, a raw bar and a food truck.

Located thirty miles off the coast of Massachusetts,

Nantucket seems far-removed from the cobblestone

father. As a result, nearly every Nantucket landmark that

streets of Charleston, South Carolina. And yet the coastal

holds significance for Jesse is related to the water and

cousins share more similarities than one might think. Both

those experiences—from Great Point Lighthouse, where

are high-traffic tourist destinations whose sometimes luxe

Bill first started scalloping, to the waters off Madaket

reputations are anchored by strong local communities

Beach, where Bill famously caught the haul of striped bass

characterized by a salty-sweet outlook that comes from

that set his wholesale business in motion.

life beside the sea. Both have long, rich histories filled

grow and evolve to suit the changing times. When he was

have in common? Jesse Sandole and his two temples to

growing up, and later during college breaks, he performed

fresh catch, known as 167 Raw.

Born and raised in Nantucket, Jesse found his way to

a variety of roles: he washed dishes, worked on boats, cut

Charleston during college. It was love at first sight. “I had

fish and prepped ceviche, bluefish patê and other fresh-

a week off from school, so some friends and I drove down

made grocery items to be sold in the market.

and ended up staying the entire week,” he says. “I remem-

Eventually, Jesse began to consider those moments

as more than just a side gig on the path toward adulthood.

ber popping a bottle of champagne on Folly Beach and it

What if, he wondered, he could take the lessons he

was 75 degrees on Easter Sunday, and I’m thinking, ‘I need

learned from dad and make a go of selling seafood full-

more of this.’ I transferred to the College of Charleston the

time? There was a lot he knew he could do to build onto

next semester and the rest is pretty much history.”

Jesse was also a regular fixture around his dad’s

shop, then called 167 Seafood, and witnessed the business

with tragedy and triumph and revival. Another thing they

Jesse was raised in the waterman tradition of his

When he arrived, there was a ready-made crew of

his dad’s Nantucket market. And, he believed, Charleston

familiar faces to receive him. Many of them were either

was primed for the same kind of thing.

friends from home who had ventured South first, or part of

His dad wasn’t so sure at first. Turning your passion

into a profession isn’t always an easy endeavor—or a

an older generation of Nantucket emigreés and summer

financially stable one—especially when it comes to the

regulars who paved the trail between the two cities in

business of selling seafood. But Jesse forged ahead and

the late 1970s. “Whether it was my friends’ parents, older

opened 167 Raw in a tiny storefront on East Bay Street in

kids I knew growing up or people from Charleston, like

Charleston in 2014. He took the reins of his dad’s shop in

[restaurateur] Hank Holliday, who used to paint houses

Nantucket shortly thereafter.

up in Nantucket and now has a house up there, I knew a lot

of people,” he says. “There’s always been this connection between Nantucket and Charleston.” And, of course, nearly all of them knew Jesse’s dad.

Bill Sandole is a Nantucket institution. He started out

“PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF OUR

selling seafood wholesale toward the end of the 1970s. Over the ensuing years, he grew frustrated with the instability

TEAM WILL OFTEN BE IN NEW

by seasonal tourism, but the demand for his speciality

ENGLAND FOR SUMMER AND

of the business as Nantucket became increasingly driven

seafood never wavered and the people who had tasted it

THEN MOVE DOWN SOUTH TO

had so many back-door retail customers, people who were

WORK IN THE WINTER. IT’S NOT

elsewhere began asking to buy from him directly. “He

clamoring for whatever he would sell them,” Jesse says.

VACATION, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY A

in the early 1990s, he already had a backlog of people lined

FUN NEW OUTLET.”

“By the time he finally gave in and opened a retail store, up, thrilled to go in the front door.”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 92

Jesse Sandole at the Nantucket spot that started it all.

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 93

A corner pocket fronts a painstakingly preserved interior brick wall at 167 Raw in Charleston.

The back courtyard just off of lower King Street.

“I’ve been here fourteen years now, and I’ve always

space to grow the business set in not long after Jesse

Nantucket,” Jesse says. “The seafood comparables are

The hunt for the perfect spot took two years. And once

been struck by the parallels between Charleston and

opened the doors on East Bay, and he began searching.

different though. We’re used to big industry in New

he finally settled on the new location, a landmark building

England, with tons of fishing boats and multiple ports—

on lower King Street that had previously housed a beloved

down here, it’s a bit different and you have to work a little

Italian restaurant, it took another two years to complete

bit harder to get really great product.”

construction and restoration on the building.

Jesse’s original idea to create a take-away market

in Charleston similar to the Nantucket business met

establishment, growing his team and strengthening the

with challenges from the beginning. “We were learning

connections between both locations. “People who are part

what worked and didn’t as we went along,” Jesse says.

of our team will often be in New England for summer and

“Ultimately, the problems were mostly good ones—people

then move down South to work in the winter,” Jesse says.

loved coming in and just wanted to stay and eat rather

“It’s not vacation, but it’s definitely a fun new outlet.”

than pick up items and take them home.” He was nimble,

When the dust finally settled on the new King Street

location in early 2020 and Jesse welcomed guests to the

quickly adjusting the offerings and transforming the space

new and improved 167 Raw Charleston, the results were

into a restaurant to suit his customers. “I just refused to

clearly worth the wait. Throngs of eager diners filled the

give up,” he says. His head-down determination, confident

tables, bar stools and outdoor courtyard to sip a newly

leadership and willingness to pitch in when staff was

introduced slate of craft cocktails and feast on crudo,

short—all buoyed by an enthusiastic and infinitely patient

crispy oysters, pastrami’d swordfish and Baha-inspired

crowd of repeat patrons—kept the ship afloat.

In the interim, he kept working on the Nantucket

The sense that he would have to move to a larger

specialities like the house pork carnitas.

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 95

The 167 Raw food truck is a familiar sight around Nantucket.

Fresh selects at the ready in Charleston.

The design is as enticing as the menu. Interior

designer Kathleen Hay, a family friend with whom Jesse

had worked on his Nantucket house, helped define the

aesthetic that brought Jesse’s vision to life. And no detail was too small for their attention. They removed wooden

walls to expose antique bricking, only to have the bricks

“WHEN PEOPLE FROM

removed and restacked by hand to ensure structural

support, something Jesse shows off with pride. They

NANTUCKET COME IN TO 167

nautical-meets-downtown vibe throughout the indoor and

RAW IN CHARLESTON I LOVE

commissioned multiple Urban Electric designs to create a outdoor spaces. Old medicine bottles excavated during

SEEING THEIR REACTION. THEY

the building’s earliest use as a pharmacy. Wooden beams

ARE SURPRISED AND ALSO NOT—

the build-out are on display in the dining room, signalling

pulled from the ceiling during an effort to raise them higher

SOMEHOW IT SEEMS FAMILIAR TO

style walls. A rear Dutch door leading from the kitchen

THEM, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THEIR

were repurposed to refinish floors and create shiplapto the outdoor bar calls to mind boats and beach houses

FIRST TIME HERE.”

in equal measure, and custom azure tiles surrounding the massive oven in the open kitchen pay homage to the

water that inspired it all. And, of course, Jesse brought the long wooden bench that served as overflow seating at the

East Bay location to line the courtyard wall. The overall effect is an organic blending of old and new, Nantucket and Charleston, in a way that feels fresh and nostalgic and totally relevant.

“When people from Nantucket come in, I love seeing

their reaction,” Jesse says. “They are surprised and also not—somehow it seems familiar to them, even though it’s their first time here.”

Transformation and evolution are in the Sandole

DNA, but beneath the surface Jesse remains rooted in the

same values and sense of purpose that drove his father to devote his life to sharing fresh seafood with friends decades ago. “My dad’s always doing something,” Jesse says. “His new thing is baking. In addition to his signature clam sauce that we have him make, he brings us banana bread every morning in the summer.”

That’s how it is at 167 Raw, regardless of location. At

the end of the day, the business is personal and everyone— from the chefs to the customers to the fishermen stocking the coolers—is part of the family.

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 98

Snapshots from the family business.

NOISETTE CREEK

(our own backyard) NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA W E D N E S D AY, J A N U A R Y 2 9 , 2 0 2 0 7:47AM

LUNDY B E N J A M I N M O O R E H C - 1 6 9 C O V E N T R Y G R AY F I N I S H POLISHED BRASS UNLAQUERED ACCENTS WHITBY POLISHED BRASS UNLACQUERED FINISH INTERIORS BY CHRISTINE LANE INTERIORS P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y E VA N S K L A R

R AV E N S P O I N T B L A C K F I N I S H A N D C L E A R G L A S S INTERIORS BY SUMMER THORNTON DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUKE WHITE

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 104

My Santa Barbara MADELINE

BOWLINE BLACKENED PEWTER FINISH BLACKENED PEWTER ACCENTS PA R T I A L LY E T C H E D G L A S S INTERIORS BY PHOEBE HOWARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH GIBSON

STUART

THE

MURAL

ROOM

IN

THE

SANTA

BARBARA

COURTHOUSE

1

AS TOLD TO THE URBAN ELECTRIC Co.

I bought my house in 2014. Quickly. I got the listing on a Tuesday, drove up to see it on Wednesday and bought it on Thursday.

My husband, Steve, and I had been heading up to Santa Barbara long before we bought the house. We would go for long weekends and even for the day—we would walk the dogs on the beach, have lunch and return to LA. I had been desperate to find a place there because I work so hard during the week and needed a getaway.

Set in a tiny enclave hidden in plain sight in the middle of downtown Santa Barbara, designer Madeline Stuart’s jewel box cottage is part of a group of seven historic houses built as artist studios in the 1930s. Today, the Los Angeles–based designer calls it her escape, her weekend sanctuary and the one place in the world where she feels most at peace.

2

When this house came on the market, I asked a friend of mine who grew up in Santa Barbara (his family was one of the original ranching families in the Santa Ynez Valley) if he would run by and take a look for me. Afterward, he called me and said, “You need to see this. It’s so rare and unique.”

Interestingly enough, right before I discovered my home, Casa Caserio, I had decided to suspend my search altogether. Steve had just gotten a fellowship at Harvard and was going to be away for six months—it seemed crazy to be house-hunting in his absence. There was an element of serendipity to the whole thing.

We’re situated on a private road within a little patch of cottages right downtown. Both the house and the garden were in dreadful condition at the outset. There were also major logistical issues with the way the rooms were laid out. Case in point, you had to walk through the bathroom to get to the bedroom, which was not

MADELINE READY FOR A STROLL WITH THE DOGS

MR. PEABODY S I T T I N G I N H I S FAV O R I T E S P O T

an option for me. I’ve been married for thirty-four years but I am not walking through the bathroom when someone else is in there. Despite the myriad problems and general state of decrepitude, I had no doubts—I knew I could do something with it.

Steve, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure in the beginning. When he first saw the house, he was shocked. He thought I had lost my mind.

“Madeline,” he said, “we live in Los Angeles, where we have a beautiful house in the hills. Why do we want another house that’s in the middle of a city, especially one that needs all this work?”

Now, of course, he bows to my wisdom because he loves this place so much and recognizes my genius.

The original architect was Joseph Plunkett, who is something of a legend in Santa Barbara, and this was the studio he built for himself.

He designed some marvelous buildings here—the Arlington Theater, for one—so I knew I had to be sensitive to what he’d created. I wanted to respond to and respect the history of the house as well as what was around me, both with regard to Spanish Revival architecture—my great passion—and the landscape.

There are sight lines out from my windows that catch a side of the mountain or a tangle of incredible fuchsia bougainvillea or a palm or olive tree, so I wanted to keep both of the gardens here incredibly simple and quiet, yet also somewhat architectural.

The center section of the back garden has a semi-formal quality because it’s a parterre, divided into four quadrants. There are certain references to Italian landscaping and garden designs that I’ve seen in Spain. I set out to create zones for living and entertaining.

The fireplace is beyond the center garden, and my dining terrace anchors the other end of the garden. It’s all pretty miniscule, about the size of a bathmat really, so it’s amazing that this much can fit into such a small space, but it’s organized and simple and somehow it all works.

Other than my own house and neighborhood, I’m obsessed with the Santa Barbara Courthouse, which is the most exquisite example of Spanish-Colonial architecture. It has a remarkable mural room which is absolutely breathtaking. I visit it often to study the tile work, stencil designs and vintage light fixtures. I also spend a lot of time at the farmers’ market on Saturdays.

Our road in the neighborhood, El Caserio, is private. I recently convinced all my neighbors to get rid of their cars, and I closed down the road for a party. I hung strands of little white lights above one giant long table set for thirty-four in the middle of the street. You felt like you were in a little village in Spain or Italy—it was quite a magical evening.

5

PA R T E R R E D E L I G H T MADELINE’S BACK GARDEN

CLOCK TOWER S A N TA B A R B A R A C O U R T H O U S E

NATURAL

Santa Barbara is set between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the ocean, and there’s something about the proximity to each that makes this place truly extraordinary and unique. Obviously there are other sites in the world where you have that kind of dichotomy, but there’s something about the light here that is so seductive and captivating for me. Being immersed in it gives me a sense of peace and calm—and quite frankly, I’m not a peaceful or a calm person. I’m like a Tasmanian devil, but when I reach the Santa Barbara county line, that frenetic energy just dissipates.

Before I had a place to escape to, I would find myself working virtually every Saturday. And if I wasn’t working, I was shopping. I think it cost me less to buy this house and restore and furnish it than it did for me to continue spending weekends in LA, where I would pop into Barneys or Neiman Marcus and buy another pair of black pants or black shoes that

8

CURIOSITIES

I probably didn’t need. In the end, it was my version of a cost-saving method. Hah! Anyone who lives in Santa Barbara says, “We live in paradise,” and I find that saying to be quite apt. The beauty is uncompromising and truly awe-inspiring. The foliage. The colors. And the light! And of course you always feel the presence of the ocean, even if it’s not in view. I’m not a surfer or beach type in any way, shape or form, but I could never live too far from the water—I need to be able to sense the coastline. Even though I live in the middle of Los Angeles, way up in the Hollywood Hills, I know the Pacific is still within striking distance.

When I get to Santa Barbara, being able to have that closeness to nature and beauty is just vital. This is a very enchanted place. I love and treasure every single moment I get to spend here.

R AV E N S P O I N T B L A C K F I N I S H A N D C L E A R G L A S S INTERIORS BY SUMMER THORNTON DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY LUKE WHITE

T H E

C U R R E N T VOL. 2

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 104

BOWLINE BLACKENED PEWTER FINISH BLACKENED PEWTER ACCENTS PA R T I A L LY E T C H E D G L A S S INTERIORS BY PHOEBE HOWARD PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH GIBSON

A FRONT HARBOR HOUSE DESIGNED BY PHILIP MITCHELL C H E S T E R , N O VA S C O T I A PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNIE SCHLECHTER

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO

TIM GOSLING Exploring art, product design, superyachts and more with the multifaceted London designer.

An aesthete of all trades, who balances designing

you’re designing within it.”

furniture and judging superyachts with residential design

Gosling is perhaps best described as an artistic polymath.

furniture to restoring his circa 1787 home in London and,

has become one of Tim’s signatures.

and a healthy dose of cabaret and camp on the side, Tim

which hosted President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his

seems to run in the family.

“My father was a scientist obsessed with genes,” Tim

troops during the invasion of Normandy in World War II—

says rather modestly (in truth, his father, Raymond, was

Tim is constantly reinventing and reshaping spaces with a

an accomplished researcher and scientific pioneer, whose

nod to their historical past as well as future preservation.

work was crucial to unlocking the code of both DNA and

what you’re looking at—the beauty, the bone structure. I

as we know it today). By Tim’s account, his father didn’t

feel very much like a custodian on this journey.”

particularly know much about art, but he appreciated it

nevertheless because his parents—Tim’s grandparents— “When I was a child—around six or seven years old—

Yacht Show, held in September, Tim proves that blazing

my grandmother used to take me to the National Gallery,

trails in emerging fields remains a family trait.

and say, ‘Right, go through the gallery, find your favorite

get to creating a space and a structure that responds to

I will buy you the poster,’ ” Tim recalls.

From there, he became fascinated with drawing

the outside environment,” he says. “Over the past ten

and painting everything in his line of sight, from London

years, that world has found its own voice and its own

landmarks like St. Paul’s Cathedral to favorite works like

consciousness—not just by replicating domestic interiors,

Sir Joshua Reynolds’ famous “Angels’ Heads” portrait,

but by applying a new level of technicality and design that

which depicts a then five-year-old Lady Frances Gordon

is specific to the curves and waterline. You aren’t just on

Eventually those innate powers of

the ocean—you’re seeing and experiencing and interacting

observation landed Tim in art school, where he began

with seas and islands. God knows what we’ll be able to do

honing his own vision and expanding his creative palate.

“Yachts, and specifically superyachts, are so exciting

to me because they are literally the closest thing we

oil painting and then come back and describe it to me, and

in cherubic form.

Then there’s his work designing and dissecting

superyachts. As a repeat judge at the annual Monaco

were passionate about it.

“It’s a really strange mix of emotions,” Tim says, “the

whole idea of trying to tame a thing, to really understand

RNA, helping to establish the modern field of genetics

From designing

more recently, his twenty-two-room French chateâu—

His talent for universality comes naturally—in fact it

Fast forward a couple of decades, and that approach

twenty years from now!”

“I can’t separate the space I’m in from how I live in

it and that was always true—as a child, in boarding school

In the end, it’s that promise of possibility that fuels

Tim Gosling the most: pushing boundaries to create

and later at art school,” he says. “It’s always about taking

inspired worlds within spaces. “Landscape is an enormous

the architecture back to its truest form and then deciding

factor in creation, whether it’s a building or a boat,” he says.

how to either follow it or play against it—something that’s

“And that feeling of connecting with the environment

as true when you’re sketching a structure as it is when

around you is, well, really quite a bit of magic, isn’t it?”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 109

MEDITERRANEAN SEA OFF THE COAST OF MONACO T U E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 9 3:38PM

TO BE IN THE COUNTRY IS TO ESCAPE TO THE PRESENT WHERE A NEW KIND OF ACUITY SETS IN. DISTRACTIONS FALL AWAY, NOISES FADE, RELATIONSHIPS GROW AND IMAGINATION REAWAKENS. IT’S A PURPOSEFUL EXISTENCE, BUT IT ISN’T PURPOSE-DRIVEN. IT TAKES RESTRAINT TO PRESERVE THE UNTAMED, BUT WHEN YOU CONNECT WITH AND CREATE FROM THE LAND, OR MAKE ART FROM ITS ELEMENTS, YOU EXPERIENCE A PLACE ON THE DEEPEST LEVEL.

COUNTRY

ESCAPE TO THE PRESENT

M U S T E R F I E L D FA R M NORTH SUTTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE F R I D AY, A U G U S T 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 12:09PM

C O U N T RY L A N E D O R S E T, E N G L A N D T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 9 4:36PM

CLOVER R A L 5 0 0 3 S A P P H I R E B L U E P O W D E R C O AT F I N I S H POLISHED BRASS UNLACQUERED ACCENTS CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY AMIE CORLEY INTERIORS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEY GIESEKING

CLIPPER HEWN BRASS FINISH WITH BLACKENED COPPER ACCENTS AND RIBBED GLASS INTERIORS BY PHILIP MITCHELL DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNIE SCHLECHTER

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 122

C H I LT E R N D O U B L E ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH POLISHED BRASS ACCENTS RAL 7048 PEARL MOUSE GREY SHADE HEWN BRASS INTERIOR GIBSON V I N TA G E F I N I S H HEWN BRASS ACCENTS INTERIORS BY HILDERBRAND INTERIORS

G R AY F O Y ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH BLACKENED PEWTER ACCENTS CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY S.R. GAMBREL PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC PIASECKI

S TA M P R A L 6 0 0 9 F I R G R E E N P O W D E R C O AT F I N I S H ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS INTERIORS BY ELENA PHILLIPS INTERIORS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANE BEILES

W H I T B Y H E W N B R A S S F I N I S H W I T H FA R R O W & B A L L 4 7 G R E E N S M O K E S H A D E INTERIORS BY HAUS LOVE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEE KINDRED

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 127

THE COUNTRY MAN For Nick Ashley-Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, an unexpected twist of fate led to a commitment to reviving and sustaining his ancestral estate. With the help of a merry and talented band of kindred craftsmen and creatives, he continues to transform his family’s house into a home.

a retrospective from

D O R S E T,

ST. GILES HOUSE

ENGLAND

Afternoon light at St. Giles House.

When we arrived on a gloriously sunny morning

those voyages. The unique pattern of the shells, coupled

recording and organizing the thousands of volumes that

such as the whale vertebrae embedded in the floor, sets

last September, the volunteer librarians were nearly done

with Easter egg appearances of other oceanic delights,

make up the vast collection of written works in the library

St. Giles’ grotto apart, as does its condition. Philip Hughes,

at St. Giles House. The bibliophiles were oblivious to the

the surveyor who has supervised much of the restoration

geese on the pond or the mist rising in puffs of vapor off the

efforts on the estate, called the 2013 rehabilitation of the

green lawn outside the library’s floor to ceiling windows,

grotto the most difficult job of his career.

consumed instead with the leather and paperbound parcels

structure—and, indeed, all of the places we encountered

stacked in front of them. Or more specifically, consumed

throughout the course of our visit—is of St. Giles and its

with one parcel.

It’s a diary, a commonplace book of notes according

rarefied presence and place in history. The personalities of

to one of the veteran researchers, and while they had

previous inhabitants are ever-present, and the structures

been able to date it to the time of William Makepeace

and the landscape they populate are the connective tissue

Thackeray (the author of the novel Vanity Fair, among

keeping their contributions alive.

other works), this morning found them investigating its

A few days before we arrived, a renowned storyteller,

from The Society for Storytelling no less, had come to

origins and authorship with the kind of single-minded

the grotto to recount with a group of visitors the tale of

concentration more typically associated with forensic

Alexander Pope, one of the first Englishmen to build

scientists. The diary’s author remained a mystery, at least

a grotto—along the bank of the River Thames. These

for the moment.

It’s impossible to overstate how emblematic this

This type of scene is just part of daily life at St. Giles

are the kind of moments Nick relishes sharing with the

House, a Georgian masterpiece set on the expansive

widening community he’s now cultivating at St. Giles, the

Shaftesbury Estate in the lush, rolling Dorset countryside,

past-meets-present experiences that keep him pushing his

roughly two hours by train from London. Constructed

family’s legacy forward.

circa 1651, with subsequent architectural additions and

demolitions over the ensuing centuries, it is a family

house filled with secrets and treasures, many of which had languished forgotten or overlooked for decades, centuries

even, before Nick Ashley-Cooper, the current and twelfth earl, and our host, embarked upon a massive restoration

“THERE WAS A COMING TO TERMS

effort in 2010.

But this is no time capsule. Under the stewardship

WITH THE WHOLE THING AT FIRST,

of Nick and his wife, Dinah—officially Lord and Lady

BUT ACTUALLY WHAT MADE IT

Shaftesbury—St. Giles is now filled with life and vibrancy.

Thanks to their forward-looking vision and innovative

SUDDENLY SEEM ACHIEVABLE

preservation efforts—not to mention the energetic infusion

WAS GETTING MY TEETH INTO THE

of three children and a range of domesticated animals—the

modern iteration reflects the estate’s past glory without

HOUSE AND ESTATE. IT WAS A

reducing it to a relic and reminds us that change is often a

COMPLETELY NEW PROJECT AND A

necessary part of survival.

The grotto, an eighteenth-century folly filled with

WHOLE NEW KIND OF FUTURE.”

exotic shells arranged in a freestyle pattern, located a short distance from the main house, is a case in point.

Work on the grotto began in the 1740s at a time when

budding exploration of the Caribbean and the Americas manifested in shell-lined structures bearing the fruits of

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 134

The shell-lined interior of the grotto, an eccentric eighteenth-century folly on the grounds of St. Giles.

The Green Room in the main house.

Though we had met Nick through various friends and

fellow makers, it was during these four goldenrod autumn

days together that we came to understand him on a deeper level, as a natural storyteller with a philosopher’s mind, an artist’s heart and an entrepreneur’s spirit.

“THIS WHOLE ENDEAVOR . . . HAS SINCE GROWN TO BECOME AN EVEN BIGGER TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF CREATIVITY, BOTH AMONG INDIVIDUALS AND AS A COLLECTIVE WHOLE. WITHOUT THEIR HELP, WE WOULD BE LOST.”

A once reticent family head who has become its most

impressive modern archivist, Nick began his adult years spinning vinyl as an aspiring DJ in New York City. He never

envisioned himself taking over the family estate. “To the

contrary, I imagined the closest I’d get to the country was a little place in Upstate New York,” he jokes. But fate has a way

of making some decisions for us, and he assumed the helm of

the family seat in 2005 following the tragic death of his older brother, Anthony.

“Growing up seemed so far away to me when I inherited

St. Giles,” Nick says. “There was a coming to terms with the whole thing at first, but actually what made it suddenly

seem achievable was getting my teeth into the house and the estate. It was a completely new project and a whole new kind of future.”

That’s where what Nick describes as his “live mission”

comes into play. For, in all of his efforts to restore and revive

the estate, he also realized something that, while less concrete,

was no less vital: The key to the future of St. Giles lay not just in the craft of preservation but also in the preservation

of craft. And, as it turned out, the area surrounding St. Giles House and nearby Dorset is an under-the-radar hotbed of

artists and makers with the kind of creative community Nick was craving—and needed to mobilize in his efforts to restore St. Giles.

Fortunately, those creatives were feeling the same

way, and one by one they have brought their unique, uncompromising talents and exacting standards to bear on the estate—from Jane Hurst, whose landscape design

expertise and historical knowledge of local flora and fauna inspired the current vision for the grounds and gardens, to her husband, Edward, whose insight and inroads into the

world of antiques and antiquities is unparalleled, to sculptor Stephen Pettifer and rug and textile master Luke Irwin.

Friends, admirers and sources of mutual inspiration, they frequently share knowledge, anecdotes and an appreciation of things made well and with intention.

That’s not to say the project has been easy. And, during

our visit, as he introduced us to these collaborators—or, as

they like to say, co-conspirators—over lunch, drinks, dinner and a late-night trip to the subterranean club (from whence

Nick carries on his passion for music from the DJ booth),

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 139

we heard first-hand how invested they each were in the

any of them ever expected. To an outsider, it all appears

St. Giles, its past, present and future, continues to reveal

entire process.

seamless. But the work here is ongoing, and the story of

“Making things is like a nasty addiction,” says Francis

Russell, a fellow lighting designer, whose studio is housed

itself one day at a time because of everything they are

on the greater Shaftesbury Estate, and the one who first

doing now.

introduced us to Nick. “We’re all obsessed with quality

As the vision for St. Giles has evolved so, too, has

Nick’s approach to the actual running of the estate, where

and history and perfection, and that is all-consuming.

future survival depends on a keen business acumen and

But Nick is an excellent partner to have for anyone in

the ability to both modernize the existing landscape and

our business. He’s also a pretty damn good friend and

disrupt the current model of Downton Abbey-driven

champion. And this project has seized a part of our souls

and none of us could ever imagine walking away or being

tourism for the traveling voyeur.

the storytelling session in the grotto, he has also opened

involved any less deeply.”

Connection is truly at the heart of the matter at St.

Giles, and as we wrapped the evening with this tight-knit

up a collection of impeccably appointed buildings farther

group over multiple courses of an impeccably prepared

out on the grounds for overnight accommodations: the

dinner—including trout raised on the estate—it was clear

Riding House, restored seventeenth-century stables with

that they just enjoy and feel inspired by each other.

eight bedrooms, a communal living and gathering room

“This whole endeavor began in the spirit of

and a dining hall; and the Pepperpot Lodges, an intimate

collaboration—with the esteemed National Trust docents

pair of stone dwellings. He has also introduced a concert

as well with our other partners in restoration and

series that speaks to his first love, music.

archiving—and has since grown to become an even bigger

Other initiatives are sure to follow—in addition to

shepherding St. Giles’s public legacy, Nick is constantly

testament to the power of creativity,” Nick says, “both

coming up with ways to bring the house to life for his own

among individuals and as a collective whole. Without

young family, something that was lost on his generation.

their help, we would be lost.”

In addition to hosting scheduled cultural events like

From the volunteer librarians to the journeymen

“My children get to interact with St. Giles in a way that

storytellers to the people whose daily efforts make St. Giles

was wholly anathema to my brother and me,” Nick says.

a viable and accessible destination for the world to visit and

“We rarely visited and, when we did, we felt totally and

appreciate up close, the tireless group works symbiotically,

completely alien to the place. We were not at all at home

sharing ideas and insights to create something bigger than

here. My children are. And now, finally, I am too.”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 140

C e n t u r i e s - o l d t re a s u re s p o p u l a t e t h e m a i n h o u s e .

Leaning on the past: Nick in the attic with his old records and DJ equipment.

MAC WHITE FINISH HEWN BRASS ACCENTS HEWN BRASS SHADE INTERIOR I N T E R I O R S B Y C A R R I E R A N D C O M PA N Y PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM FROST

BESPOKE PENDANT HEWN BRASS FINISH INTERIORS BY PHILIP MITCHELL DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNIE SCHLECHTER

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 150

CEARA

S O U T H T OWA R D H O M E DONNELLEY

ASHEPOO RED

1

HOME POND

2

AS TOLD TO THE URBAN ELECTRIC Co.

Designer Ceara Donnelley opens the doors to Ashepoo, her family’s decades-old retreat in South Carolina’s ACE Basin, to reveal a time capsule way of living that has been both lovingly preserved and updated to endure for generations to come.

I don’t think I have a distinct first memory of Ashepoo. As a child, it was more synonymous with Thanksgiving. There was such a tradition and ritual to our time there, right down to getting off the train at the Amtrak station in Walterboro, South Carolina, after chugging down from New York City, where I grew up, because my mom didn’t fly. From the smell of the Lowcountry—the pluff mud, the sulphur, scents familiar enough to me now that I live in Charleston as to be almost unnoticeable —to the dampness and humidity in the air, Ashepoo is in my DNA. My grandparents Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley built Ashepoo in the 1960s, after purchasing the land as a retreat from their permanent residence in Illinois. At the time, the Lowcountry felt like a little bit of a secret or an untapped discovery, especially for two devoted conservationists who really connected with wild places and the land and nature in general.

For my grandparents, there was a clear intent in the architecture from the beginning to break down the boundaries between inside and outside. Long, pond-facing porches, low ceilings and rooflines, smart design that blended into the landscape, sweeping windows and rambling single-floor structures. The goal was to ensure that nothing was jarring, and everything was designed to shift your mindset and create an atmosphere conducive to a true retreat.

That’s something I think about a lot in my professional capacity as a designer, both here and elsewhere—that difference between designing a home that is a full-time residence as opposed to a place where you go to purposely feel a certain way and to activate a part of your psyche that’s hard to access during the daily grind and stress of everyday life.

Driving in, through a longleaf pine savanna, the view is pretty iconic all the way to the house. And once you arrive at the main buildings, it’s all just so special. Not a grand estate, just an impactful one.

You’re greeted by azaleas first along the back of the house, which is the road-facing side of the property. There’s a wide staircase leading to this tomato, orangey-red door, which is the signature color of all the doors at Ashepoo. The door to the main house is flanked by two statues by a sculptor named Wheeler Williams, who was a distant relation on my grandmother’s side.

There’s a deck in front of the house where we sit as often as the weather will allow, with a great fish-shaped weathervane that punctuates the view of the pond. There’s a similar weathervane, a cricket, at my grandparents’ home in Chicago. But that view from the deck—I think I’ve painted or photographed it so many times at this point that I could sketch it from memory.

In the living room, there’s a painted cabinet for displaying china and other odds and ends. It was done by a friend of my grandmother’s and has such whimsy and texture. The house is filled with things like that, pieces that carry a lot of personality and personal history. I learned so many design lessons at Ashepoo. The whole atmosphere, the feeling, the character of the place, is so unique. This house was collected and curated over time. Little dishes with funny sayings, needlepoint pillows offering irreverent advice, carved birds everywhere—it all reflects a totally original point of view. There was and is a total unselfconsciousness in the selection of fabrics and furnishings and colors; it was all designed to engender joy and contentment. And there was such a lack of preciousness that defined my grandparents’ existence here.

There are so many moments like that, these visual touchstones that shape my mental image of childhood and my own identity. Which is why, when it came time to update some of the existing buildings to accommodate our growing and evolving family and the needs of a new generation, it became really important to me to maintain the elements that defined Ashepoo for us all, even as we modernized the new spaces to suit new needs.

We now have three members of the family under one year old. We realized that if we wanted Ashepoo to continue to play for them the role it played for us, and the role my grandparents envisioned

3

it playing for future generations—a place that not only brings us together as a family but that also anchors our family identity with respect to this part of the world and our larger commitment to conservation—we would need to add on. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the design of a new house we built as part of that expansion plan.

Within my own family, the collective wisdom was to stay within the vernacular and language of Ashepoo’s history but make it work for us today. For instance, there’s a little den off the living area in the new house, and as I was thinking of the furniture plan with the goal of replicating what my grandparents would have done, it became clear that they would have selected a midcentury-style sofa with two side tables.

But the old aesthetic didn’t work for the way our family would use it today—it’s already where the cousins and dogs pile in for movie nights—so we got a sectional instead, which my grandmother never

would have done. And, yet, when we covered it in a print she would have loved, something that reflected her signature palette, it suddenly felt right at home.

When we were growing up, there was a clearly defined rhythm to life at Ashepoo. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together, and then drifted off to our own pursuits in between, whether it was reading or playing games, exploring the grounds or swimming in the pool house. It was a formal way of living, but not overly so. We dressed up for dinner every night, yes, but we were also more often than not doing cartwheels in the living room as we were on our way to the table.

Everything has definitely loosened up a bit now, but we do try to maintain that sense of formality when we can—because it’s fun and it creates a sense of continuity for our children. If the whole family gathers for a holiday, for example, we get dressed every night for dinner. We stick to the rhythm of our childhood.

S O U R C E O F I N S P I R AT I O N : D O R O T H Y ’ S S O FA I N T H E M A I N H O U S E

4

“ I C O U L D S K E T C H I T F R O M M E M O R Y. ”

5

T h e h o u s e i s f i l l e d w i t h m o re t h a n f i f t y y e a r s of memories, including a photograph of D o ro t h y f l y f i s h i n g w i t h a g u i d e a n d a t r i o of bears, which made the cover of National Geographic. At right, a pool house oasis.

A G AT O R PAT R O L L I N G C O R N P O N D

I feel my grandparents’ and parents’ presence in my life so strongly in this house, and so do my two children and my sisters and nieces and nephews. It’s a way of remaining connected to the past and allowing it to shape who we and they become—both in terms of the people they will be and in the way they see the world.

I have flashbacks pretty regularly when I’m at Ashepoo, experiencing life there through my children—especially my daughter because she’s a little girl. There’s a wooden rocking horse in the living room that she loved to ride when she was younger. Watching her, I could

8

vividly remember the feeling of freedom and fun of rocking on it myself. It’s an amazing full-circle thing.

Also, as a designer, I see things I appreciated and remembered as a child in an entirely new light because I understand it. Back then, I didn’t know the language to explain what I was drawn to or why I responded to certain elements. Now, as an adult who understands how extraordinary my grandparents’ lives and aesthetic choices were—well, it’s incredible. I feel like I’m in a dialogue with the two of them and with my earlier self every time I’m in this place.

BESPOKE PENDANT HEWN BRASS FINISH INTERIORS BY PHILIP MITCHELL DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNIE SCHLECHTER

T H E

C U R R E N T oL l .. 22 VVO

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 150

BETTY FLUSHMOUNT ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH ETCHED GLASS I N T E R I O R S B Y C H R I S T I N E M A R K AT O S D E S I G N PHOTOGRAPHY BY MANOLO LANGIS

GIBSON V I N TA G E F I N I S H HEWN BRASS ACCENTS I N T E R I O R S B Y A M E L I A T. H A N D E G A N PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIE WILLIAMS

MADE I N I TA LY

TO D E LIVER O U R EX TRAOR DI N A RY FI XTUR ES, THER E A R E TI MES WHEN WE S E EK O U T TH E S P E CIALIZED EXPERTI SE OF A RTI SA N A L VEN DOR S A R OUN D TH E WO RLD W H OS E VA LUES FI T WI TH OUR S A N D WHO EN A B LE US TO STRE TCH O U R CRE ATIVE B OUN DA R I ES. A VI SI T WI TH THESE TWO STOR I ED FLO RE NTINE FAM ILIE S R EVEA LS THE MA N Y R EASON S WHY THE QUA LI TY O F TH AT WOR K I S WORTH CELEB R ATI N G.

Porcelain mold for our Leasowe light at the Mangani studio.

Preparing glass to be blown by hand at My Light’s workshop.

Tuscany has always been a land of abundance. A modern hub of art and architecture, commerce and culture, with medieval roots and a Renaissance soul, it remains rich in the quality and craftsmanship that have shaped its unique identity, as well as in the stewards of those traditions whose elevated ideals continue to define the region today. Early last fall, we spent three days criss-crossing the hills and countryside in and around Florence with a few of our partners in the region to capture the modern mastery up close—first at Mangani, a porcelain house with deep Florentine roots, and then at My Light, a glassblowing workshop producing some of the finest examples of this endangered art form. Both offer an incredible window into these time-honored traditions, as well as a reminder that intentional artisanship is not dying in this world of mass production we currently live in. To the contrary. As you’ll see on these pages, it is thriving and, increasingly, influencing the makers and manufacturers of the future.

Mangani We first came to the Mangani family because they’ve been sculpting porcelain—and sharing their expertise and passion for it from one generation to the next—since the nineteenth century. In the 1950s, Alfiero Mangani’s workshop attracted the interest of Tiffany & Co., which launched a collaboration that endured for decades and produced some of the company’s most revered lamps and objects.

Under the direction of the current standard bearers, siblings Giulia and Lorenzo (shown right), the Mangani legacy of superior design, quality raw Italian materials and unparalleled knowledge is secure for yet another generation. And it is on full display in the Leasowe semi-flush, one of our most recent introductions.

GIULIA MANGANI & LORENZO MANGANI

My Light Founded in 1949, My Light is a multigenerational endeavor for both Cristina Corsi and her husband, Riccardo. Cristina’s grandfather started the company, and both her and Riccardo’s fathers carried on the tradition. To talk to Riccardo (shown left) is to experience a lesson in glassblowing history—he can chart the craft’s course through the centuries in minute detail. Which is how it should be. Once a flourishing trade for countless Italian craftsmen, its ranks today have dramatically dwindled. Fortunately, there are experts like Riccardo and Cristina to keep the flame— or, more accurately, the torch—alive. Today, the couple relies on the glassblowing techniques handed down from their forebears to create the incomparable globes that complete some of our signature fixtures like the Eddystone, Grayfoy and Jennifer.

RICCARDO CORSI

ORFORD DARKENED COPPER FINISH DARKENED COPPER ACCENTS O PA L G L A S S INTERIORS BY RICHARD FELIX-ASHMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON LEITZ

CHELSEA BRONZE FINISH ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY HAUS LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ASHLEE KINDRED

CHP ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH WITH TRANSLUCENT ANTIQUE MIRROR GLASS I N T E R I O R S B Y K AT I E R O S E N F E L D D E S I G N , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y R E A D M C K E N D R E E

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 167

HARFORD PENDANTS BENJAMIN MOORE DC-01 BANCROFT WHITE FINISH BLACKENED PEWTER ACCENTS O PA L G L A S S INTERIORS BY JAKE ALEXANDER ARNOLD PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL CLIFFORD

LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS IS ABOUT CALIBRATION AND ADAPTATION. UNLIKE MOST L ANDSCAPES, MOUNTAINS DON’T EASILY YIELD TO HUMAN FORCE. INSTEAD, THEY CHALLENGE US WITH THEIR UNMOVABLE MA JEST Y: THINK BIGGER, AIM HIGHER. THEIR POWER AND SCALE DEMANDS INGENUIT Y AND DEVOTION, AND EACH DAY IS AN ACHIEVEMENT. BUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING THERE, WHETHER IN THE VALLEY OR HIGHER IN THE PEAKS, IS A LESSON IN STRENGTH AND FORM THAT KEEPS US COMING BACK FOR MORE—TO THE RARE PL ACE WHERE WE CAN UNEARTH OUR CREATIVE BEST IN THE PRESENCE OF A L ARGER SHADOW.

MOUNTAIN

A LESSON IN STRENGTH AND FORM

SNAKE RIVER JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING T H U R S D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 9 11:14AM

B L U E R I D G E M O U N TA I N S CASHIERS, NORTH CAROLINA F R I D AY, A U G U S T 9 , 2 0 1 9 10:58AM

BESPOKE POT RACK LIGHT ARCHITECTURE BY BACKEN & GILLAM I N T E R I O R F U R N I S H I N G B Y K E R RY J O Y C E

NYC POLISHED NICKEL FINISH BENJAMIN MOORE 2003-10 MILLION DOLLAR RED ACCENTS ETCHED GLASS INTERIORS BY IKE KLIGERMAN BARKLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM WALDRON

H A M I LT O N A N T I Q U E B R A S S F I N I S H W I T H B E N J A M I N M O O R E 1 3 2 3 C U R R A N T R E D I N T E R I O R I N T E R I O R S B Y PA L M E R W E I S S , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y W I L L I A M W A L D R O N

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 181

GLOBUS ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH ANTIQUE BRASS ACCENTS CLEAR GLASS INTERIORS BY RICHARD FELIX-ASHMAN DESIGN PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON LEITZ

G R AY F O Y B R O N Z E F I N I S H W I T H C L E A R G L A S S I N T E R I O R S B Y K E L LY H O H L A , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y PA U L D Y E R

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 184

MALPLAQUET WHITE FINISH BRONZE ACCENTS PA R T I A L LY E T C H E D G L A S S INTERIORS BY CASHMERE INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY BY WK PHOTOGRAPHY

CHANNELING

HEMINGWAY For designer Tim Campbell, creating an overnight retreat for artists and creatives in Sun Valley’s restored Hemingway House afforded an unexpected opportunity to reflect on his own personal and professional journey.

a project by

TIM CAMPBELL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KARYN MILLET

KETCHUM,

IDAHO

A view from Hemingway House toward Sun Valley.

Though the ghost of Ernest Hemingway looms large

time with Mariel and learning more about what she wanted

in Ketchum, Idaho, there’s nothing remotely haunted or

to achieve, he knew that being a part of the project and

haunting about the midcentury homestead where he spent

designing the apartment was something he was uniquely

his final years after leaving Cuba. Recently restored and

qualified to do. “In so many ways, the house is a testament

invigorated with purpose after decades of near dormancy,

to the power of transforming beauty and pain into healing

the estate—known as Hemingway House—is filled with

and creativity—and to what happens when you don’t do

fresh insights into Hemingway’s life and legacy in the

that since, obviously, this is the place where he died. So

American West.

it really dovetailed perfectly with my philosophy of beauty

and nature as a framework for design.”

It’s also the site of The Hemingway Initiative, an

innovative artist-in-residence program that hosts a rotating

band of visiting artists, educators, writers and thinkers

Bob Topping to resemble the nearby Sun Valley Lodge

from a range of disciplines in a newly minted apartment

(which, legend has it, he loved but had partied in one too

designed by Tim Campbell. It’s a fitting transformation.

many times to be asked back). It’s a sprawling, two-story

For Papa, as Hemingway was affectionately known, life

structure, bigger than it initially appears, and a stunning

was one big adventure, and his zealous commitment

example of midcentury architecture. But the real genius

to pursuing his craft was outpaced only by the demons

of the design is the way it connects the indoors with the

chasing him. How better to pay tribute to the iconic and

outdoor landscape beyond—from nearly every angle, the

complicated life of this 20th-century giant than to channel

peaks of the Pioneer and Smoky Mountains feel close

the creative drive that fueled him as a force for good—a

enough to touch. Hemingway bought it from Topping in

sentiment Tim tapped into for inspiration throughout

1959 and spent his final years there with his fourth wife,

his involvement in the project. “Ultimately, that’s what

Mary, hunting and fishing and, ultimately, becoming a

creativity is in many ways,” he says, “taking the things that

significant presence in the local community. When he

are unseen and then making them known.”

took his life there on July 2, 1961, the long line of mourners

from the area was a testament to his impact.

A native of West Virginia who decamped to New York

The house itself was built in 1953 by tin-plate heir

to launch his interior design career, Tim found his calling early and never looked back. “Some of us just end up with this thing we’re put here to do, and we discover it quickly,” he says. “I needed to create a sense of home and comfort

"TO ME, MOUNTAINS ARE A

that was missing in my life. On paper, sketching, I could

METAPHOR FOR STRENGTH

escape into a world that was different than the one I lived in, a place of intended beauty.”

AND HISTORY. THROUGH THE

Today, he splits time between the East and West

PROCESS OF THEIR FORMATION,

Coasts, where he also maintains a Los Angeles studio. But,

THE SUPERFLUOUS STUFF ALL

he says, he’s always open to the kind of detour of destiny that led him to Hemingway.

FALLS AWAY AND WHAT YOU’RE

“I was at a signing for my book, Intentional Beauty,

LEFT WITH IS EXPOSED AND

and Mariel Hemingway came,” he says. “She had seen

ENDURING."

a short documentary I made about the book, and the approach that I take, and she came to ask if I’d be a part of the work they were doing in Ketchum.” After spending

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 192

Tim Campbell at Hemingway House.

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 193

New and historical inspiration, including Urban Electric lights, inside the artist-in-residence apartment at Hemingway House.

T i m C a m p b e l l re f l e c t s o n h i s work in Hemingway House.

Mary passed away in 1986 and bequeathed the estate

to the Nature Conservancy to be used as a nature library and reference facility. Over the ensuing three decades, the house served many purposes for the organization, even functioning as its offices for a time. By 2014, however, Hemingway House was sitting empty for months on end

“IN SO MANY WAYS, THE HOUSE IS

and in desperate need of repairs that the Conservancy

A TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF

was ill-equipped to undertake. Three years later, with the blessing of the Hemingway family, the Nature Conservancy

TRANSFORMING BEAUTY AND PAIN

transferred ownership to the Community Library, a

INTO HEALING AND CREATIVITY—

privately-funded local institution that had been founded

AND TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN

in 1955 by a group of seventeen women, including Clara

YOU DON’T DO THAT.”

Spiegel and Anita Gray, two of Ernest’s closest friends in Idaho. Restoration soon commenced on the property and the Hemingway Legacy Initiative began taking shape.

“As part of the program,” Tim explains, “the Library

and the family decided to open up a portion of the house, this apartment, to artists from a lot of different backgrounds to come and make work that speaks to this place and the healing, cathartic energy of its landscape.

And that’s why I’m here.”

Of course, that approach to preservation extended to

To create a space that is universally inspiring for

keeping the connection between the indoor and outdoor

artistic-minded visitors requires a strong commitment to

spaces fluid, as well—something Tim intuited from his own

neutrality. “Color and materials become important, as does

experience growing up among the ridges of West Virginia.

putting those into historical context,” Tim says. He relied

“To me, mountains are a metaphor for strength and

on a soft palette of earth tones, along with materials that

history,” he says. “Through the process of their formation,

maximize comfort, such as cotton and linen textiles and

the superfluous stuff all falls away and what you’re left

cork floors that could be easily heated when temperatures

with is exposed and enduring.”

drop. The apartment was originally part of a garage, so

he preserved the exposed concrete walls and finishes—

Matthew Barney would no doubt agree, there is something

paint splatters and all. He replicated the pine cabinets

inherently powerful and refreshing about entering this

found throughout the rest of the house for continuity, and

kind of creative world, shaping and being shaped by the

added a beautiful yet subtle hunting-inspired wallpaper by

landscape and legacy of the location. Here in Ketchum,

Timorous Beasties, an English company, in two spots for

surrounded by Idaho’s celebrated natural beauty and

atmosphere. “Someone once told me that ‘background is

rich history, tomorrow is another day, another source of

foreground’ and that’s how I approached this project,” he

inspiration and another moment for another artist, upon

says, “so as not to distract from the creative energy that

whom the sun will also rise, to make his or her mark on

the inhabitants need."

the world.

As recent residents such as the contemporary artist

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 196

FOLIE FLUSHMOUNT P O W D E R C O AT W H I T E F I N I S H INTERIORS BY TIM CAMPBELL P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 199

M A L P L A Q U E T, C U S T O M I Z E D INTERIORS BY BONESTEEL TROUT HALL ARCHITECTURE BY ERIC OLSEN P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

JACKSON BLACK FINISH WITH HEWN BRASS ACCENTS I N T E R I O R S B Y B O N E S T E E L T R O U T H A L L , A R C H I T E C T U R E B Y E R I C O L S E N , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 202

LADY OF THE LAKE HEATHER

WELLS

V IEW IN T H E W H ITE MOUNTAINS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 19 TH CENTURY

Nestled in the foothills of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, on the shores of Kezar Lake, Boston-based interior designer Heather Wells is putting a fresh spin on a family tradition...

URBAN SMOKEBELL BRONZE FINISH FOLIE FLUSHMOUNT

TRANSLUCENT MIRROR GLASS

P O W D E R C O AT W H I T E F I N I S H INTERIORS BY TIM CAMPBELL P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

INTERIORS BY RICHARD FELIX-ASHMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON LEITZ

KEZAR

LAKE

1

HENRY

2

AS TOLD TO THE URBAN ELECTRIC Co.

I grew up coming to New Hampshire.

My parents have had four different houses up here since I was little.

I’m only the fourth owner in 110 years. In the attic, I have a corner for all of the stuff that’s original to the house. I have the original drawing set, which is amazing. I have dishes from the ladies, two sisters, who first owned it. I have papers from the last owner, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College.

It’s home.

When I was in the eighth grade, I wrote a report about being an interior designer. I interviewed one of my mom’s friends who was a decorator and it was so funny, because I had no memory of it until I found the report in a box of mementos that I had obviously kept for some reason. I think I thought I would be an architect at that point, but the decorating—being a designer—is much more my personality. And, really, being a designer is also so much more personal, too, when you think about it—the whole idea is having to understand personalities, including your own and that of whatever space you’re creating.

About 12 years ago, I said to my mom that it would be nice to have a vacation house of my own up here someday and so we did a drive around the area. I have aunts and uncles on a different lake nearby, and then my parents are on this one. So I knew that if I were going to have a house up here, too, it would have to be on one of those two lakes.

I had an idea that I would get a little cottage, like a tiny cottage, and then this came for sale. It’s actually very substantial. It’s about 2400 square feet on the inside—not massive by any means—but it has this huge porch and roof, and a very stately presence.

It was sort of like a haunted house, really. It’s located down this driveway, surrounded by trees, and it was in a fairly precarious state.

It had been in the same family for forty years, and it was not kept up very well.

I asked my dad, who is educated as an architect and landscape architect—and who ended up helping a lot on the house—if he would go take a look. Because it was scruffy and not winterized at all. So he went in and called me. I kept asking, ‘Dad, how is it?’ and he was being very coy. ‘Do you or don’t you like it?!’

Finally, he said, ‘‘Heather, it’s fan-fucking-tastic.’’ And he was absolutely right.

This house has a grumpy old man personality. It was a moody brooder, sitting here, old and tortured, and I feel like I’ve brought it back to life. I thought I was going to leave it as a summer home.

But it’s such a great house and eventually I thought that was too short a season, so I wanted to winterize it in a way that was very careful and didn’t take away from that original spirit of the house.

And we managed to figure out how to do that.

The house is still very dark outside, but when you come in it’s light and happy. And, above all, it’s friendly and cozy. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but the people that relate to it, love it.

I never thought I would have an all wood house, that’s for sure. I thought, if I’m going to have a vacation house, it’s going to be light and airy and fresh and breezy. This is totally not that. When I first bought it, I thought I would paint the inside. And now, I love the orange-y wood, which I thought I would never like in a home.

3

Slowly, over time, this house sort of told me what it wanted from me. I would say I’m a color and texture person. I definitely like color, but here my sofas are neon green! They don’t look like that in the room they’re in but if you took them out in the sun, you would be like, ‘Why do you have neon green sofas?’ In the room they’re in, they make sense. That’s what decorating this house is like.

A lot of mountain houses have large spaces and tall ceilings. Having big lanterns, or big shaded fixtures or chandeliers balances out the space. Putting light up there draws your eye in and creates a beautiful layer. And then sconces create that essential next layer of lighting I really like, right at eye-level. I have sconces in several rooms, but not as many as I would like just because the architecture wasn’t asking for it. I also think I have thirty lamps in this house. I want every room to have that glow.

Being up here and creating this place of my own is—for me—all about family and friends and hanging out. We cook here. We stay in our pajamas and talk all morning. There’s a lot of reading, walking around the lake, going swimming, lying on a hammock, playing cards and games and just chatting. I do have one TV, but I don’t turn it on if I can help it. It is truly a retreat design-wise, too. It’s compelling visually, and very beautiful.

Honestly, it’s everything I need. Take the Ladies Lounge, for example. It was originally a bedroom, the maid’s room, so it’s halfway up the stairs. It was a uniquely separated space—sunny and well-lit—and since I didn’t really need another bedroom, I ended up turning it into a hangout room. My living room is really big and it has a porch on three sides and can get a little dark, so I wanted something that was just smaller and higher.

The Ladies Lounge has a couch, a couple of chairs and a bathtub in it. And the colors...yes! It’s painted an avocado green, with a dark green rug and a teal blue sofa and a dark teal tub. When I’m in there alone, it feels cozy and intimate, but there’s also room for friends.

In the winter, it’s where we have coffee in the morning and where I might go to take a nap in the afternoon. It’s more like a family room or a library, and it’s always sunny.

I don’t really know how it got labeled as the Ladies Lounge, but it did, and it’s perfect. Once you land on a golden name, the perfect thing, you just keep it and own it.

READING

4

NOOK

THE

LADIES

LOUNGE

5

B R E A K FA S T C O R N E R W H E R E T H E D AY B E G I N S

WRAP-AROUND PORCH NAPS ON DEMAND

MUSTER

8

FIELD

FARM,

HOME

TO

HEATHER’S

GO-TO

MARKET

JACKSON BLACK FINISH WITH HEWN BRASS ACCENTS I N T E R I O R S B Y B O N E S T E E L T R O U T H A L L , A R C H I T E C T U R E B Y E R I C O L S E N , P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

T H E

C U R R E N T VOL. 2

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 202

URBAN SMOKEBELL BRONZE FINISH FOLIE FLUSHMOUNT

TRANSLUCENT MIRROR GLASS

P O W D E R C O AT W H I T E F I N I S H INTERIORS BY TIM CAMPBELL P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y K A RY N M I L L E T

INTERIORS BY RICHARD FELIX-ASHMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON LEITZ

BESPOKE BILLIARD LIGHT ARCHITECTURE BY BACKEN & GILLAM I N T E R I O R F U R N I S H I N G B Y K E R RY J O Y C E

ASPEN, COLORADO

CRISTOF EIGELBERGER Architect and designer Cristof Eigelberger brings an aesthete’s eye and an engineer’s mind to some of the West’s most awe-inspiring mountain homes.

“We take the long view,” Cristof Eigelberger says of

design elements,” he says. “Then, we go from there.” And

architect-designer behind some of Aspen’s most notable

and speak to the outsized scale of mountain homes in

his design ethos. Over the past two decades, the esteemed

while the majority of his projects are large and spacious

properties has established a reputation for delivering

general, he also takes cues from other environments.

perfectly balanced, expertly rendered residences with a

“We’ve taken inspiration from old river homes in North

unique point of view, each one wowing in the moment

and South Carolina. We look everywhere, but always with

while also standing the test of time. “Perfection is only

a firm sense of what will be right here,” he says.

good in the first year,” he says, “but architecture and

1970s and 1980s, Cristof grew up in a restored estate that

continue to become itself.”

The primary designer on most of his projects,

was slated for demolition before his father intervened.

Cristof views interior layouts in much the same way: a

“My brother and I lived in what was essentially the vault

network of multidimensional, livable moments meant to

of the house, the basement area where they’d have kept

inspire and restore in equal measure. “A lot of designing

the silver and other valuables in the 1920s when the

in the mountains comes down to how people enjoy

house was built,” he says, “so I came to understand and

and experience the outdoors,” he says. “The views, the

appreciate purpose-driven spaces very early and that was

connections to land—whether it’s to a river or a far away

a big influence on my career path.” The family became

mountain—are important, and our architecture is rooted

regular part-time residents in Aspen, back when it was

in that. Our team is made up of people who are from the

still becoming Aspen, and the dichotomy of the contrasting

mountains, so we understand that it’s not always about the

geographies—mountain and coastal—also had a profound

obvious. In the mountains, the indirect allows you to play

impact on the budding architect. “The differences between

with light and landscape. You might have this beautiful

the two places are obvious, but it brought into focus the

valley with a big peak in front of you but as the sun wraps

idea of landscape and topography and how they could

around the red rocks behind you, the scene will shift into

affect a design or an experience.”

this bursting, glowing evening vista.”

One look at his slate of recent projects and it’s easy

When Cristof moved to Aspen full-time and opened

his own studio in 2015, he married the same appreciation

to see what he means. At one, dubbed River’s Edge, he

for intentional design he learned growing up with an

positioned the master bedroom as a vantage point from

innate sense of how to uniquely approach the traditional

which to admire a pasture of wildflowers and the highland

mountain aesthetic. “We steer away from super heavy

bowl above it, as well as a nearby mountain range. “It’s the

timber trusses,” he says. “Wood absorbs a lot of light, so

same thing at Roaring Fork Ranch,” Cristof says of another

we’re careful to strike a balance between wood and plaster.

project, “in the way we oriented the rooms and worked the

It creates beautiful layers without weightiness.”

windows to see not just the cinematic shot but the broader

Cristof is passionate about the mountains—their

quirks, crags and enduring majesty—but a bit of his heart

view of the river and everything surrounding it. That’s

is beginning to long for projects a little farther afield,

what makes it original and special.”

As the son of a legendary Palm Beach developer,

who launched that area’s push toward preservation in the

design need to age. Perfection needs to age and grow and

The long view approach applies to his process and

ones that straddle the two landscapes he cherishes most.

material selection, too. “Plaster surfaces, moss rock,

“I would love to find something remote, Hawaii perhaps,

board-and-batten walls, copper roofs—it’s important that

that offers the perfection of the peaks but also touches the

we start with a foundation of textures for furnishings

ocean,” he says. “Can you imagine the light, the view? Now

and interiors that match and complement those exterior

that would be spectacular.”

THE CURRENT VOL. 2 207

ASPEN HIGHLANDS ASPEN, COLORADO M O N D AY, D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 9 8:41AM

BEHIND THE SCENES

$54 USD