Archive for the ‘For the Home’ Category
Jazz up your outdoor living space
Friday, August 27th, 2010
Outdoor furniture has come a long way from the white wicker chairs, porch rockers, canvas sling chairs, folding plastic lawn chairs, sand chairs and metal gliders that once were the standard for lawn, beach and porch.
But those icons started it all, made us think, hey, how much can we bring outdoors? And when in New England, where there is a small 10 week window of outdoor-living-friendly weather, it’s all about maximizing that time and being comfortable.
So let’s make that backyard, that patio, that lawn, the most inviting, engaging and comfortable space that we can.
Let’s expand the footprint of our house, just for a little while, and let’s eat lunch, sip cocktails, chat with friends, serve dinner or read, in a special space outside, and on and around furniture that is comfortable, and unique.
Maybe it’s teak, maybe aluminum, or perhaps steel, but whatever it is that feels right to you, if you want more choices, stroll around and check out what we have at the nursery.
A Vivid Example of Art and Functionality
Monday, August 9th, 2010
One of Martha Stewart’s favorite potters is Guy Wolff, and we agree.
http://www.guywolff.com
Based in Washington Connecticut, Guy was discovered by Martha on one of her many excursions through the state to seek out the best craftspeople and artisans. He has since become her favorite potter and her homes are filled with examples of his pieces, many of them custom-made for her.
Wolff has been doing his art since 1971 and is a strong believer in architectural pottery, pots that stand the test of time, both in terms of their functionality and their style. Drawing inspiration from the 18th and 19th centuries, Wolff is as prolific as any of the great masters.
On his site, Guy writes that the over the years the pots he has made may have taken on different jobs and were made in different kinds of clays, but with every project the key that drives his work has been his interest in understanding what makes old pots so vital, so alive, and so good.
The architecture of the piece is his passion. He looks at 18th and 19th century English flowerpots and centuries old Asian vases and sees the architectural integrity of the pot and the potter’s reverence and knowledge of the materials he is using. He believes that this where traditional craftsmanship is born, in the knowledge of a particular material and its attributes after years of working with it, and respecting the true potential of that material.
Guy’s father, Robert Jay Wolff, was an Abstract Expressionist and wrote in 1949 a thought that has stayed with Guy for many years. “Tradition is not a form to be imitated but the discipline that gives integrity to the new.”
You can experience the vibrancy and integrity of Guy Wolff’s work at Thayer Nursery 270 Hillside Street Milton this week.