Hasta La Ideas

Anthropologie buyer-at-large Keith Johnson continues to scour the world for interesting stuff in Man Shops Globe. Now in its second season, the Sundance Channel series follows Johnson as he visits all manner of shops, markets, and studios and seeks out artists and craftspeople. Tonight’s episode promises merchandise-laden adventures Down Under (fingers crossed for marsupial footage!), as Johnson plans an Australian home design showcase for Anthropologie’s Rockefeller Center store in New York City. Tune in to watch him prowl Sydney for new talent and seek advice from Aussie interior designer and author Sibella Court.

Also in store this season for our favorite globe-shopper are expeditions with goals that go beyond the retail sphere. Johnson scouts out Scotland for items to be auctioned for an animal rescue organization in Philadelphia. In Cyprus, he’ll help a friend pitch a book about Cypriot food and design, and in Italy he travels with a student from the Savannah College of Art and Design—and along the way meets with Italian design luminaries including Alberto Alessi and Rossana Orlandi. Johnson will also tour Syria with fashion designer Anna Sui, explore innovative Mexican ironworks with interior designer Michael Smith, and, most intriguingly, encounter a figure known as “the Gnome Lady” in Sweden. Look for artfully distressed and possibly sequined Gnome Lady t-shirts to appear in your local Anthropologie any day now.

Previously on UnBeige: