Saturday, December 3, 2016
Friday, November 25, 2016
Princes & Crows Wallpaper, Murals and Decor by Alix Soubiran
Photo by Miles Najera
Even since the days of early human existence, mankind has shared an inexplicable need to decorate their humble abodes. From archaic cave drawings to complex hieroglyphs, beautifying the walls which surround us has become a part of human nature. Wallpaper is an extension of this need but has vastly evolved. Artist Alix Soubiran is the catalyst of this evolution taking her hand painted images and turning them into one-of-a-kind wall coverings. Born and raised in Paris, she studied fine art and graduated with a Master of Political Science in Lyon, France. Wanderlust lead her to Los Angeles in 2008 where she founded the micro company, Princes & Crows, which focuses on wallpaper and decor for high-end clientele. In addition to specializing in custom wallpapers, she offers custom paintings, rugs, textiles and murals. Alix also provides a one stop shop for interior designers and architects creating custom murals and wallpapers for their projects.
The Princes & Crows team consists of Alix and her second in command, Miles Najera. Studying and working in the field of graphic design for six years, Miles has developed a distinctive style that utilizes geometric lines and shapes, kaleidoscopic patterns and bold color palettes. Skilled in drawing as well as experienced in logo design and branding identity, his work is inspired by nature, music, vintage design and life experiences. Miles translates Alix’s paintings into digital renderings then converts them into a flawless repeating pattern that can be printed to any size. His keen design intuition is apparent in his work as he creates pieces that are sleek and eye-catching. Miles fuses elements of classic design sensibilities with his own prismatic visions. Both sharing very similar inspirations, Alix and Miles approach their designs with an artistic eye that produces a natural elegance and whimsical narrative to their wallpaper art.
Miles and Alix / Photo by Alexander Bauer
Alix’s designs encompass a broad spectrum of styles that range from antique, French-inspired decors, to innovative and contemporary patterns. She’s not just covering walls, but dressing them, often inspiring a mood, giving them an identity, or even telling a story. Her wallpapers will breathe life into white walls, turn a square room into another dimension, and give a home a history. Her line of children’s wallpapers are full of character, creatures, fascination, narrative and charm. Pouring her passion into these papers is what makes them truly unique. Any wall adorned by Alix’s designs will forever emanate her love and energy. It is this element that makes her wallpapers so popular amongst high-end clientele. Dressing the walls of celebrity’s homes and chic hotels in Paris, London, St. Tropez, Mustique Island, Italy and Beverly Hills, has made her an extremely valuable asset in the world of interior design. Her custom murals will turn even the most mundane surface into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Individuality is one of the most sought after commodities in the world and to Alix, originality is second nature. Those who desire more personality in their homes and spaces call upon Alix Soubiran to decorate them.
Princes & Crows’ wallpapers are always produced on the highest quality paper and are printed to order for any sized surface. The paper itself is a tactile experience with a rich texture that feels sensual beneath your fingertips. All wallpapers, textiles and rugs are designed and made in Los Angeles. A select collection of Alix’s wallpapers can be found at Zuber in Paris, a highly esteemed manufacturer of historic French wallpapers. Known for their elegant, panoramic wall coverings, Zuber has been a lifelong influence in much of Alix’s design and decor. Since her move to Los Angeles, her concepts have evolved with the change of scenery. Using L.A. as her muse, the aesthetic of her 2015 collection is imaginative, contemporary and a reflection of her ever-broadening artistic horizons. This is also the first collection created by Miles and Alix together, marking a turning point for Princes & Crows. With a fresh set of eyes and ideas, Alix is able to expand her company, one Miles at a time. Finding inspiration in animals, the changing of seasons and the vivid colors and textures found in nature, her wallpapers will blanket any room with vibrancy and illumination. For those who seek an art that not only hangs on your walls but wraps them, evokes emotion, surrounds you, comforts you, excites you, tells you a story, sparks conversation, creates your history, and tickles your senses, will find it at Princes & Crows. Let the walls of your home beautify the walls of your mind.
A Bigger Splash in yellow / Photo by Corey Marsau
A Bigger Splash in grayscale / Photo by Miles Najera
Feathery in blue / Photo by Corey Marsau
Feathery in gray / Photo by Corey Marsau
Holiday in Waikiki in soft white / Photo by Miles Najera
Holiday in Waikiki in soft blue / Photo by Miles Najera
Rolling Stone in bluish / Photo by Miles Najera
Rolling Stone in sepia / Photo by Miles Najera
Install / Photo by Corey Marsau
DON'T FORGET TO GO TO: www.sacredimprint.com
In These Tech Companies, Art Thrives
The Cool Kids is a HuffPost series documenting creative humans shaping present day society with their work and outlook.
Lauren Geremia | Founder | Geremia Design
Lauren Geremia is the founder and principal designer of Geremia Design. Her work designing interiors has been acclaimed by Forbes Magazine in “30 Under 30” and Architectural Digest‘s “Ones to Watch.” What gives Lauren the edge is her innovative mind, collaborative spirit and fantastic sense of humor. With a painter’s degree from Rhode Island School of Design, Lauren has established herself as the premier designer amongst the Tech Giant Elite. Her client list includes Dropbox, Lumosity, Invuity, PayPal and Hightail to name a few.
Lauren stays true to her artist roots in all of her work. Known as somewhat of a Robin Hood for the art world, Lauren uses a good portion of her design budget to invest in artists. She curates each space with hand selected art utilizing her relationships with artists, galleries and product designers. She talks with great passion about using interiors as a platform to showcase artists and create authentic environments that best represent a company’s ethos.
I recently met up with Lauren Geremia at Regen Projects to talk more about her work as a designer and art curator. We caught the last weekend of the Anish Kapoor show which we (much like all the gallery’s visitors) successfully documented on Instagram, which, coincidentally, is one of Lauren’s clients.
Why interior design?
Interior design is a way I can directly access and collaborate with artists and designers that I admire. I love the process of working with clients and architects; diving deep in connections to the client’s needs and solving the unique problems and challenges inherent in each space.
What role does art play in your work?
Art is of particular interest in my work because it was a starting point for me in terms of my aesthetic education. My background as a painter energized my creative problem-solving skills and solidified my ability to combine elements in a space cohesively.
When I start out on a new design project, I look for inspiration via the art world. I think that art often takes the the spotlight of my work. I like to have the language or mood of an art piece inspire the type of furniture that we pull for project. Art is an investment for me that is always exhilarating, even when I don’t get to personally live with it. Starting my own collection of art work has given me the sensibility around the experience, it helps when I’m building collections for my clients.
How are you serving as the conduit between artists and the tech world?
One of our favorite things to do is make artist introductions to our tech world clients.
Artist’s like Dan Walsh, Tauba Auerbach and Jessica Eaton do particularly well; graphic quality and color speak to the tech world visual language. When given the privilege we expand our clients their tastes by showing them more unexpected work, like sultry Mona Kuhn photographs and up and coming art works by our friends who also attended RISD.
We love to be inspired by our clients companies and values when making connections in terms of content and subject matter. In our office projects, installations are often in response to the product, and we love to push the boundaries when connecting to a brand.
For our most recent office project, Invuity, we included artistic touches through lighting. Invuity is a company that creates innovative LED lighting for surgical purposes. In the reception a sculptural LED chandelier by Quasar hangs over a custom reception desk by our team.
When we designed the Hightail (formally YouSendIt) satellite office space in SF, they asked us to propose ideas for signage but didn’t want it to feel too corporate. There was no receptionist in the office, so as a way finding tool we suspended hundred of paper planes from the ceiling. The visual was exciting way to bring the companies logo and branding in to the space, and it also functioned as sound abatement softening the concrete floors.
Who are your go-to artists and galleries when curating for your projects?
We have a ton of connections with contemporary art galleries. I have a roster of galleries in each city that I make sure to visit frequently. Recently, I’ve been keen on placing photography in my projects. Photographs add a timeless quality to any space. M+B Gallery & Yossi Milo Gallery are my go to providers for work by contemporary photographers.
For my local clients who are just getting started collecting, I always take them to these Bay Area gems: Jessica Silverman Gallery, Paulson Bott Press and Altman Siegel Gallery. Recently I’ve been honored to work with and purchase from Salon94, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Canada Gallery in NYC and ACME Gallery in Los Angeles.
We have a few galleries representing artists that inspire our work that we’d love to work up to the tier of purchasing from: Regen Projects and PACE Gallery to name a few.
What do you love about design?
I love solving problems with specific parameters. I enjoy making other peoples lives more thoughtful and interesting.
What do you love about art consulting ?
I love helping people buy pieces that will potentially be in their lives forever; I like the weight of the decision. I like the contribution that purchasing art work has on the art world; I love supporting artists that are smart in ways that I understand.
What does your work contribute to society?
I like to inspire people to live or work up to their highest potential. Connecting people that deserve to be appreciated for their craft to people that are in need of beautiful things. Add creativity to spaces and a different way to look and think about the world.
What is your personal mantra?
“Turn your wounds into wisdom,” (Oprah).
DON'T FORGET TO GO TO: www.sacredimprint.com
14 Stunning Designs That Perfectly Illustrate America’s Decades-Long Fascination With Posters
Uniquely situated at the point where art and consumerism intersect, posters serve a purpose slightly different than other design objects.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching, they must convey information, be it the title of a summer blockbuster, the location of an upcoming concert, or the reasons why you should buy pricier shampoo. When tasked with this range of roles, poster designers often follow certain rules to effectively captivate passersby. In an upcoming exhibit at New York City’s Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, “How Posters Work,” curator Ellen Lupton hoped to explain these practices to visitors who admire or covet posters, but don’t necessarily grasp why they’re such intriguing phenomena.
“There have been many exhibitions about the history of posters or about different subjects – posters for trains, wars, or movies,” Lupton told The Huffington Post. Instead, she aims to help the public understand visual concepts designers rely on. Perhaps the most important rule of poster-design, according to Lupton: “Simplify.” She cites Lucian Bernhard –- whose iconic images featured a single product atop a pithy slogan –- as the purveyor of this method. A similar approach was taken during the 1968 Paris uprisings -– a single-color image trumpeting a bold message.
As always, there are exceptions; the psychedelic poster art of the ‘60s is designed to overwhelm the eye. “Designers today continue to experiment with the edges of perception,” Lupton said, “using software and visual overload to create restless compositions where the eye has no place to rest.”
Posters have evolved in other ways to adapt to the over-stimulating nature of the age of information –- no longer just static images, they’ve moved off the page, and now take the form of animations and even three-dimensional spaces that viewers can immerse themselves in. Even without trying to stay relevant during a time on online consumerism, the art form persists. This may be because, as Lupton put it, “anyone can make a poster!”
Take a look at a few iconic posters from the last several decades, on view May 9 at Cooper Hewitt:
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