‘The Golden Age of American Gardens’ begins “In the 1880s America’s millionaires were looking for new ways to display their new wealth, and the acquisition of a grand house with an equally grand garden became their passion.”

It is said that the style of architecture and gardens, evidenced in Lila Vanderbilt Webb’s 1886 model agricultural farm Shelburne Farm (among others) “was a mix of eclecticism and the latest advances in artistic and cultural developments as promoted in popular English style books and periodicals of the time.” The tubbed bay trees on the terraces overlooking Lake Champlain, as a consequence, were said to have been climatically challenged!

The Golden Age ended with the Jazz Age in which a distinctly American sensibility in gardens and lifestyle emerged. European influe

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Arik Levy, who already experimented working with ceramic, sees this material as both magical and very primitive. The material’s raw aspect, its endless shaping possibilities and the fact that one cannot foresee what will come out of the oven, are what attracted Levy in working with it. The dialog Arik was able to establish with the ceramic expert who manufactured the WellOfLife pieces was an important part of the creation process.

The interaction between the material’s texture and the color, that becomes «liquid» when set in the light, makes each piece look as if it were in constant evolution.

The mat dark gray (elephant skin color) outside and the smooth yet strong colored enamel inside create the contrast I was looking for and bring color into space : a soft color reflection will drop on the walls, while the ceiling will get a white light – Arik Levy.

In many traditions and in everyday life Light is Life…. I wanted

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The Associated PressKate gives Martha a run for her money.My neighbor Jim came over Sunday, stood at the bottom of my steps and said, “I came over to make you feel better about how you look when you garden.”

Now, that may sound mean, but we’ve lived three houses apart for lots of years, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve apologized for the dirt, the sweat, and, most of all, my outfits. I’ve been known to start weeding or watering in my pajamas (one has big red lips printed on them). I stood there with a new hole in my jeans, dirt turned to mud by my sweat and little twigs stuck in my slicked-back hair. At least I had a bra on. Full Post…

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“Commode” – just saying the word brings up images from other periods in time: bourgeois sitting rooms, softly lighted, filled with hand crafted furniture, billowing curtains and gold framed family portraits hanging on the wall. This image, that also brings with it a revival of traditional values and customs, is what stands behind the March Gut Commode.

Cristoph March and Marek Gut are the design duo that decided to revive these feeling in the furniture they design. Traditionally the commode is a small cupboard fitted with a number of drawers and compartments, something between a chest and a cabinet. Stand

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