Getting to Re-Purpose

 

Cardboard - yes, we recycle it everyday.  But the scale of cardboard boxes that came along with our Herman Miller shipment seemed too inspiring to simply haul it off to the bin.  These are the kind of boxes you want to share with kids and build imaginary worlds... let them explore creativity within structures...

It came as a relief when Sara found the perfect match for our stash of cardboard caverns... and local artist/illustrator Pete Talbot came and picked them up to re-purpose them for a children's theater production.  (Check out Pete's etsy shop!)

Not everyone knows about Herman Miller's extraordinary commitment to environmental advocacy - but take a look at a company who sets the bar high - and starts considering impact from design conception while walking the walk with a goal for a zero footprint.   So it goes with further satisfaction, that our showroom packaging gets hauled off for a good round of re-purposing and play before its next life.  Thanks Pete!

Herman Miller, A Sweeter Solution

http://www.hermanmiller.com/About-Us/A-Better-World-Report/Environmental-Advocacy

Learn how Herman Miller products can contribute to your environmental goals

  

H Keith Wagner Partnership

Hilltop Residence, Richmond Vermont

Within Vermont's springtime, there exist just a few precious weeks between snow melt and bloom.  During this period we experience a renewed visual vocabulary, so welcome after the long winter.  We bear witness to a seemingly endless spectrum of greens in the natural world -  a single frame of landscape possesses a metrically staged drama, as rapid and alive as the bands of clouds moving overhead - change visible within the course of a day's light.   


A talented landscape architect sculpts the play of time, light, material and palette around our living environments - often providing us with an enhanced emotional response to the beauty that is literally alive and changing both independently and concurrently from our human conditions.  

Smith Point Residence, Shelburne Vermont

Which brings us to the Burlington based partnership of H. Keith Wagner  Landscape Architects whose award winning executions grace both the private and public domain and exercise the full expression of possibilities within landscape architecture.  Enjoy these snapshots of their work and explore more on their website. 

Hilltop Residence, Richmond Vermont

Smith Point Residence, Shelburne Vermon t

POKETO!

  We are excited about the arrival of Poketo next week!  Poketo is a designer of limited edition art products, accessories, apparel, and decor. Founded by Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung, Poketo promotes the work of top international artists by showcasing original artwork through their fun and accessible wares. Poketo takes art off of gallery walls and makes them a part of your everyday life.  Wallets (just $20) and Mugs ($15) are first on our list...  and are so happy to have them as part of the Weller offerings!

Hanako Clulow Wallet 1

Tim Biskup Wallet

Anke Weckmann Wallet

Treeson Mug (designed by Bubi Au Yeung)

Sidney Pink's Octopus Raygun Mug

New arrivals from Egg Press

Just in - fresh Egg Press cards include Mother's Day, Congrats and Father's Day... a full table!

Eames Hang-It-All Now in Stock

We have three of the classic Eames Hang It All Racks in stock and ready for you to purchase at Weller.  The perfect pop to any entry or hang-it spot.

Our sign has arrived!

Eco House Book by Terence Conran

Here at Weller, we were thrilled to get a large delivery of books this week.  (Nothing like kicking back in our Eames Lounge and Ottoman at days end, pouring through piles of new books!!)  Among the many new titles, we thought today (Earth Day) would be the perfect opportunity to say "cheers" to Terence Conran's beautiful Eco House Book.


As we have come to expect from Conran's Publishing House, The Eco House Book is an impeccable piece of eye candy balanced out by a confident, insightful point of view that encourages you to reflect upon your relationship with concepts of Home - and in this case to consider options from the perspective of green design. 


"What you won't find here are guilt inducing doomsday scenarios.  There are enough of them in the papers and I believe them to be counterproductive.  I have always been optimistic about the role design can play in improving the quality of people's lives.  Today, more than ever before, intelligent design and green design are one and the same." - Terence Conran

We can assure you will not be disappointed with this addition to your design library.  Our hardcover edition features over 300 pages and clocks in at 4.2 lbs.  ($45.)

 

HM Vintage Poster

Courtesy of Herman Miller - click thru to Design Story 

Wallpaper* Travel Guides

British magazine Wallpaper* is a treasure trove of international design, art, architecture and travel finds .  More of a source book than typical magazine (sorry, you'll find them very hard to recycle), they have used their vantage point and teamed up with Phaidon Press to create the Wallpaper* City Guide series.

Despite the convenience of traveling with smart phones apps and international internet hook up - we find it is still nice to have a paperback in our hands.  
We are pleased to stock a selection of Wallpaper* City Guides at Weller  (collect them all!)  Simple discreet covers and handy sizing, these paperbacks tuck away quietly in a pocket.  They make a great gift for even those considering a quick escape or putting some color in a business trip.  With over 60 guides, these insiders' checklists attractively dot the globe and give you a case of the wanderlust if you don't have it already.  

Smells like...

Heaven.  With West Third Brand , we have chosen something wonderful;   unique scents, clean burn, aesthetically pleasing artesian candles made with essential oils and dimensional fragrance blends, hand crafted in California.  

At Weller, we offer the Classic Stock Glass Jar Candles packaged in canvas drawstring sacks which burn for a marathon 95 hours and also the hand wrapped wax paper Spell Candles with secret formulas and names such as Bonne Chance, Les Amoureux, Abundance and C'est La Vie,  complete with "cures" on the label in old world apothecary style.  West Third Brand expertly combines aromatherapy with old world styling - and none of the obvious pomp and frivolity.   


Personally, I would rather fresh air than any of the popular brightly artificially colored and scented candles which offer nothing but sickly, overdone, cloying, synthetic, headache inducing smells.  Refreshingly, West Third is nothing of the sort, nothing excessive or unnecessary, pure conscious craftsmanship.  


West Third Brand has created some subtle (and some quite rich) fragrances that need only be burned for minimal periods of time (thus extending their already laudable burn life).  At Weller, we enjoy imbuing our space with their more subtle blends (typically Santal Blanc, Vanille de Santos, L'Orangerie, or with the arrival of spring, a new favorite, Fleur de Citron) - and are struck by the balance reached between exotic notes (for example, ylang ylang, amber, tonka bean, orris root, sicilian bergamot...) and those unexpected (fennel, cucumber, raw sugar, bourbon, honey, cocoa, tobacco leaf).  We appreciate a candle which does not dominate, but rather compliments and strives to both invoke and create experience.  We are so pleased that West Third is of the same mind.


Founder Michael Loring Probst has "assembled ideas and aesthetics of vintage Americana with a fine weave of European splendor.  West Third Brand's coherent style, which never seems to try too hard, takes us on a humble journey back to another time."

Yelping

Yes, I admit, I am new to Yelp   I'm a little behind with some things, particularly if they involve a task one does while checking emails and walking or otherwise having a symbiotic wired and real life....


That aside, Weller is now on Yelp  - and if it helps one person find the store and have that perfect shopping experience, I embrace it.  For those of the reviewing mind, thanks for sharing kind words (and forgive us our flaws, (yes - the sign is coming next week)... and remember there is always something awesome to say about Sara!).  And thanks for your help (uh-huh - it rhymes with "yelp")

Spring evening breeze

A toast to spring winds with the Eames Molded Plywood Rocker.

After a long, long, long winter here in Vermont - it is a pleasure to have the windows open,  hints of earthy smells of spring in the air,  the chatter of birds fading in and out, muffled by the occasional dancing warm wind kicking up off the lake - as the sky still has light at 7:30pm.  


And tonight we dream of porches, of horizons, decks and friends, rocking chairs and novels and the promise of all that spring brings with it.

Michael Minadeo and Partners

For those who don't know, Burlington, Vermont (where Weller is located) is a small town.  One to two degrees of separation at best.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the shop - where serendipitous meetings are common occurrence.  

All Photos by Westpalen Photography & (C) M.Minadeo + Partners

One such example was meeting Michael Minadeo several months back.  Since then, we have revisited his website and are pleased to see he has launched a facebook networking page.    For those with a Dwell sensibility, often left hungry for modern design up here in the frozen north,  Michael Minadeo + Partners offers simple, elegant and environmentally sustainable design solutions - not to mention some local eye candy and at the very least, a bookmark for following this like minded team.  We wonder, of course, what their dream project would be... look forward to seeing future work and hopefully the opportunity to execute their vision unleashed.  Check back, as "Regional Desgin" will be a regular feature on the Weller blog.   

All Photos by Westpalen Photography & (C) M.Minadeo + Partners

The Stowe Pool House won the distinction of the 2009 AIA Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture .  Landscape Architecture by Burlington's H. Keith Wagner Partnership 

We believe Design is a process of discovery where ideas are communicated through the nature of materials, spatial relationships, and the quality of light. Our residential work displays our firm philosophy - we offer elegant and environmentally sustainable design solutions with roots grounded in the New England tradition.

In store: MOMA's Modern Playhouse

Back in stock at Weller - MOMA's modern playhouse  ($19.95 and matching family, $9.95 if you wish...)  enjoyed by kids and adults alike - perfect for dreaming of your first home and other imaginative wonders.  Also makes a fun housewarming present or a just little creative distraction on your desk. 


Create a delightfully modern house with this innovative set of modular nesting boxes! Aspiring architects and designers of all ages can create modern spaces, arrange furniture and accessories, and pack it all up to go with this distinctive house! 

The kit Includes: 6 nesting boxes, 8 mix-and-match furniture pieces, 12 removable vinyl clings, and endless possibilities! 

From the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

Enjoy the fun stop action video...

Save the date: Colin Stetson w/Swale +DJ Disco Phantom

MSR & Burlington City Arts Presents...
4/20 @ The BCA Center (formerly The Firehouse Gallery)
Colin Stetson
w/ Swale, DJ Disco Phantom
Doors: 8, Show: 8:30
$10, All Ages!

Arcade Fire, LCD Soundstystem, Tom Waits, David Byrne, and TV On The Radio are just a few of many bands that have recruited Colin Stetson to record and tour with them. He is considered one of the greatest Bass Saxophone players in the world and with the show taking place in the intimate setting of the BCA Center, we will surely be treated to a remarkable evening of music. Support will be announced shortly.

Check 'em out...
 http://colinstetson.com/
http://www.msrlive.com/home.cfm
http://www.bcacentervt.org/



Find it on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=215410645138948 


And if you have never seen Burlington's Swale , well, just do.  Best best.  Beg them to finish up their new release.  And we know, it's a Wednesday night show... but sometimes you just have to do it.  In the name of music. Rock on.

Pippo Lionni at UVM's The Robert Hull Fleming Museum

Always a breath of fresh air and inspiration lies within the marble galleries up on the hill  The Robert Hull Fleming Museum provides a breath of fresh inspiration on the campus green.  (Read more about the wonderful history of this beautiful building. ) 

This month, we wanted to note the diverse work of Pippo Lionni,  running through May 22, 2011 in the European and American Gallery.  The exhibit, curated by Museum Director, Janie Cohen.

The Fleming Museum is delighted to present work this spring by Paris-based artist Pippo Lionni , in the Museum's New Media Niche, located in the lobby. In a series of animations by the artist from his ongoing body of work, Facts of Life, Lionni combines common signs, symbols, and icons into a visual lexicon that conveys the complexities of human relations, with subtlety and humor. Running continuously will be 7 short video works, including Freneticology , Linerunner, and Lovespace, in which the artist utilizes the figural symbols for man and woman that identify restrooms and other public amenities throughout the world. 

On view in the Fleming's European and American Gallery, on the second floor, is a related large-scale print by Lionni entitled Urbanopolis. In it, Lionni presents an expansive human landscape constructed of globally recognized pictograms. It hangs in the Genre section of the gallery, introducing a 21st-century take on the historical category of genre: scenes of everyday life. Together the two installations video and print, transform a trove of universal visual symbols into vibrant and compelling scenarios.

Be sure to visit his website and explore his artist statements and  Pippo Lionni's blog .
And as always, thanks Janie and the museum crew for putting together such a fresh exhibit!  

More photos of the HM Eames arrivals