Hasta La Ideas

A finely crafted cover for a range of artisanal jobs

Venerable leather goods purveyor Moore & Giles sources the finest hides from around the world to find the perfect fit for each product. For their latest release, a leather work apron, Moore & Giles worked with two types of vegetable-tanned leather—gorgeously dark hides from Virginia and supple, honey-colored Tuscan skins. Using centuries-old tanning techniques, these two leathers have been traditionally constructed to hold up to the abuse inherent in bartending, wood working or, really, any other job that requires an apron.

After working with New York cocktail bar PDT on a leather-bound encyclopedia of recipes, Moore & Giles returned to have mixologist Jeff Bell give the robust apron a test behind the bar. The artisanal craftsmanship of the leather offers an appropriate parallel to Bell’s finely crafted cocktails, while the apron’s two front pockets and kangaroo-style pouch offered plenty of easy access storage.

The leather work apron features an adjustable neck strap and two body ties, and is available in two distinct colors that age with time to develop a beautifully worn, naturally polished patina. For more information see Moore & Giles online where the apron sells for $375.

Roughshod elegance marks a designer’s handmade jewelry

In Albert Zuger‘s jewelry you can see Aphrodite taking Hephaestus’ hand; it is a heavenly marriage of beauty and the forge. The Toronto-based designer hammers out earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets in bronze that carry an unpretentious elegance, marks of the hammer, and the spirit of the American craftsmanship.

Zuger’s involvement with jewelry began with an actual wedding—his own. As a metalworker since high school and a sculptor by trade, when he proposed to his wife, Sasha Suda, he didn’t feel it was right for them to wear rings he hadn’t made himself. What he produced, and what now rests on both of their fingers, features hundreds of layers of several steel alloys, with a lining of gold peeking out around the edge. Those who saw the ring went mad for it, and Zuger—who was leaving his metal fabrication outfit in New York for Suda’s hometown of Toronto—saw an opportunity to start a new career that combined his love of sculpture, jewelry and traditional metalwork.

“I’ve been a metalworker since age 15,” says Zuger, who moved to Kansas City as a teenager and volunteered with historic blacksmith shop there. Meanwhile, he took every jewelry design class his high school offered and learned to weld in a metal fabrication studio before driving his 1950 Ford pickup to the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where he studied sculpture. After college, he opened his own metal fabrication business in an 1850s warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, fabricating elements of artists’ large-scale sculptures, ornate arch metalwork, and unique structures like a pair of giant bronze doors for an Upper East Side mansion.

Zuger works all of this experience into his jewelry design, citing Samuel Maloof, and the revival of the American Arts and Crafts movement in the 1950s as his inspiration. “I see myself more than anything else as a sculptor,” he says. “I wouldn’t call myself a jeweler.” Whether sculptural pieces or jewelry, the resulting golden bangles, rings and collar necklaces befit strong women from Gramercy to “Game of Thrones” (there are also shoehorns, keychains, and cufflinks for all). Their details and refinement speak to a marked sophistication, but their hand-hammered shape and construction speak to a deep connection to the process in which they were crafted.

“I’m inspired by Calder, Noguchi, Hans Hofman. It’s a cultural exploration of form and surface in a wearable sort of way,” says Zuger.

For Zuger, the key is in the craftsmanship. “Every surface has been changed from what it started out as. It’s a transformative process that creates these objects that are both and very sculptural,” he says. “The most important thing to me is to have my hands in the stuff, to be actually making it. Having studied sculpture and making things all these years, that’s what I enjoy most. It’s all hand-hammered. I don’t have other people cast stuff. I don’t have other people do my stamping.”

With no disrespect to David Yurman or Chanel (fine, some disrespect), or even the smaller, trendy jewelry-makers—the Pamela Loves, the Philip Crangis—I believe this is what is called a labor of love.

Hand-finished linens in geometric stylings from an LA artisan

Textile designer Rachel Craven works out of her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Angelino Heights, a historic neighborhood that provides the perfect setting for creating her Southwestern-style, handmade printed pillows, tablecloths and linens.

Craven, who cites influences from Agnes Martin to Marimekko, grew up in New York with parents who were both painters. After studying at The School of Visual Arts and working as a fashion stylist, she moved to LA to transition back to visual art.

Now, her hand-block-printed Italian linens are being sold at the Heath Los Angeles Studio & Showroom. The geometric “Circles, Arrows and Dots” collection provides a crisp backdrop for Heath’s simple mid-century pottery.

“My Circles, Arrows and Dots collection marries my attraction to bright geometric pattern with my love for the tactile qualities of linen-combined I find the effect vibrant, comforting and subtly seductive,” says Craven. Heath Gallery Director Adam Silverman was thrilled to bring in the designer’s textiles along the classic ceramics, and “highlight a local artist whose design-focused textiles complement Heath’s dinnerware at the table.”

Craven’s textiles are also available at deKor in Echo Park and she co-organizes the Echo Park Craft Fair with Beatrice Valenzuela, a Los Angeles artist collective, which will be making an appearance Beautiful Dreamers in Brooklyn, New York later this month.

Heath Ceramics

7525 Beverly Blvd


Los Angeles, CA 90036

A well-curated collection of local artists and their work on view daily

During a recent stay at the Four Seasons Resort at Wailea in Maui, Hawaii, we wandered through the artists showcase in the hotel’s lower lobby area. The open-air gallery rotates throughout the week, featuring six different local artists each day. It’s a great way for tourists to engage directly with the local arts community, as the artists present their work directly. Being selected to participate is considered a local honor, and the group is edited each year to keep things fresh. We were impressed with both the quality of the work (hotel lobbies don’t tend to deliver awesome art) but also with the breadth—native basket weaving, photography, sculpture, glass making, and painting. It was great to be able to speak with the artists directly about their work and process.

Of the artists we met, two stood out for their creativity and innovation. They happen to be mother (Nancy Mosely) and daughter (Lisa Widell) who share the Shepards Beads studio in the middle of a Christmas tree farm on Maui, where they create work independently and collaboratively. Nancy works with fimo, which she extrudes to different shapes using a pasta machine. She works the various strands together to make tubes of kaleidoscopic patterns, which are then cut. The sliced fimo is put around beads and glazed, which Lisa then takes and makes into all types of jewelry.

Nancy also uses the cut fimo to make colorful “fabrics” which she then transforms into miniature aloha shirts and muu’muus, many of which feature amazingly intricate fimo flower leis with very, very small petals, each made by hand. The “Aloha” shirt sculptures are then framed in Koa shadow boxes

In addition to clay, Lisa also does Italian lampwork glass beadmaking, finishing her delicate products in precious stones, gold, and swarovski crystals. The jewelry is unique, handmade and bears the distinct mark of the Maui spirit. Had we seen their work in a gallery we probably wouldn’t have given it a second look, but having the opportunity to speak with them about their art and process made us fans, and we left with several pieces. Their work is also available through the Shepards Beads online shop.

We also loved the photography of Cameron Nelson, a technical photographer who captures fleeting moments of ecological beauty. With a spirit of adventure, Nelson travels to global locales in search of original environments. In his extensive career photographing the islands, Nelson has recorded everything from the rugged Napali Coast and Hana’s bamboo forests to competitive surfers in the Banzai Pipeline. Nelson’s camera is equipped with waterproof housing for use when lying in wait for the perfect spray of sea foam.

The artist showcase at the Four Seasons Maui runs year round, with new artists added each year. The collection celebrates local craftsmanship and the aesthetic spirit of a prized Hawaiian island.

A contemporary twist on Bosnian Konjic furniture-making

Having survived WWII, the rise and fall of communism and the breakup of Yugoslavia, Bosnian furniture line Manulution has established an enduring legacy. Last spring, the company caused a stir at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), and is now launching American operations from its Washington, D.C. headquarters. With a history of handcrafted wood furniture dating back to 1927 under parent company Rukotvorine (“handcrafts” in English), the avant-garde collection promises to be a big hit for North Americans yearning for some old-world regal craftsmanship.

A large part of Manulution’s appeal lies in their impeccable track record. With pieces often lasting across three generations, their collection runs in stark contrast to the recent surge of self-assembled disposable furniture. The wood is responsibly sourced from local Bosnian growers, mostly comprising old trees that have ceased to bear fruit and are ready to be replaced with younger saplings. Manulution also reclaims their old furniture from previous owners for resale to discerning antique collectors to ensure that their products never end up in a landfill.

The company has three distinct lines that show a range of aesthetic leanings. The traditional selection features hyper-intricate detailing on ottoman tea tables and chairs while the modern and artisanal collections err on the side of pared-down modernism. Unique to this level of craftsmanship are virtually seamless joints, which give the pieces a fluid finish. The technique draws from the Bosnian tradition of Konjic woodcarving, which is currently under consideration for UNESCO’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Some of Manulution’s pieces are available at the Mondo Collection in NYC and Haute Living in Chicago. Anthropologie has just started carrying Manulution’s “wave table,” a unique dining piece that features embedded “pockets” that swivel on the table’s planar surface to hold flowers, condiments, or other dinner-time essentials.