Nick Garrett

Tag: Shopping

  • Photographer William Curtis Rolf

    Photographer William Curtis Rolf to Speak on The Stable: Unsung Glory of British Architecture

        

         

       
    Photographer and architecture enthusiast William Curtis Rolf spoke at the National Sporting Library on Saturday, June 14, at 2 p.m., on the topic The Stable: Unsung Glory of British Architecture.

    The lecture was part of the Library’s Saturday Public Lecture series. Made possible by the generosity of an anonymous supporter, this series features talks and an annual symposium on subjects relating to the Library’s collections of equestrian sporting books and art.

    Rolf’s life-long affection for the lifestyles of 17th through 19th century England and France, combined with his love of all things equestrian, bring a sense of elegance and gentility to his photographic imagery. In 2005, Rolf collaborated with architectural historian, Giles Worsley, on the The British Stable, published by Yale University Press for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. Rolf’s captivating color and black-and-white photographs document stables from the twelfth century through 1914, with special attention to country house stables—including those at Chatsworth and Kedleston. Rolf also photographed historic French stables for Les Écuries des Châteaux Français [The Stables of French Country Houses] for a volume written byPascal Liévaux.

    Rolf graduated in English Literature from UCLA and in Photography from Art Center College of Design. In addition to photographing at locations throughout the world and making fine art edition prints found in collections and exhibited in museums and galleries in the US, England, and France, his commercial clients include: Ralph Lauren, HSBC Bank, Foster Farms, Anthropologie, E & J Gallo Winery, Chandon Vineyards, and Newsweek. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area. To see examples of Rolf’s photography, visit www.williamcurtisrolf.com.

    A few signed copies of The British Stable from the event are available for sale from Stoutamyer Fine Books at 12 E. Washington St., #12-E, Middleburg, Virginia or by calling 540-687-6766.

  • A designer who Lives it – Classics and Quality

    For a designer having quality furniture in your own life means constant reference to the real deal and continual reference to detail.  Designers and quality controllers need to not only have grown through a driving career based on technical experience, but they need to have the rub off from historical richness and detail: The best retail design practitioners (and I’m thinking of Rob Scarlett for example) seem to breathe it; it’s a given and they have it in their DNA from birth.


    To find the right quality in a designer look at not only a good CV but peer into his world, where he or she lives and how they seek out their daily inspiration.  It is so important to have the right fundamental appreciation framework.  It keeps your ideas intact when working under the daily design production process. Fundamentals which recur and manifest through to the surface even under pressure or jet lag.

    With the right fundamentals the client/designer relationship shares the common ground: a love of quality and classics could be enough to carry forward long term partnerships.

    Casa Parma lounge restored 17th century chest and fire surround
    In our family home we are lucky enough to be surrounded by 17th century Italian classics.  It is an inspiration and a place where ones centre, or core interests, become honed.

    If I need to check a Louise cabriole leg proportion I go into the dining room.

    Beyond that if one were to strip back the ornamentation of these fair pieces one would have a stunning modern sku!… ready for lacquer and glass top… and shooting next day for a web launch for example.

    You can do that alongside the real article in a way that strikes more powerful chord … out of what is known and measurable. The result should resonate, become easily ranged and simply sell well because of its genuine pedigree.

    Fundamentals in classics, I believe are the crucial building blocks of success in retail design today.

    Wild Italian cabriole gilded tavolino with faux Sienna marble top 17th century
    Nick Garrett
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