I become another person when I land at JFK – Superperson. No time to smell the daisies, no time to chill in the park.

I switch to a New York pace.  sprinting across the highway that is Park Avenue when the green light says there’s five seconds to go, zigzagging the city when the light turns red. No stopping for lunch. Only breaks allowed are for blister pads,  battery charging and the bathroom.   I am a woman on the go, and yet nothing ever goes to plan. I get distracted, sidetracked by the city.

Turns out, I’m not the only one. My sister Diana who lives in Connecticut joined me a few weeks ago to look at art. I had a list of shows for us to see based around women artists, starting with the Museum of Modern Art. Pretty straightforward. Not when the shop Belgian Shoes lies between us and the museum.

This will only take a second, Diana promised as she disappeared through the door.

The handmade leather shoes are known for their second skin comfort and rainbow of colours. Each size comes in four different widths.

It’s the next best thing to wearing nothing, says Pat, the store manager. The Palm Beach crew go for the pastels, anything pink and blue.

You can (and we did) spend valuable art viewing time sampling faux-lizard, croc, camouflouge, leopard and Palm Beach pastels.

The 55th street shop is  the only Belgian Shoes in the world. The company was started more than sixty years ago by Henri Bendel, the nephew of the founder of Bendel’s Fifth Avenue department store.

From there we went to see  Making Space:Women Artists and Abstraction at MOMA focusing on the often unappreciated achievements of women artists between the end of WWII and the late 1960’s start of the Feminist Movement. More than 50 artists and 100 works are shown, including pieces by Lygia Clark, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Agnes Martin, Louise Bourgeois and Ruth Asawa (see below)

Next on my list was the Brooklyn Museum to see We Wanted a Revolution:Black Radical Women, 1965-85. But as Diana pointed out, the Manolo Blahnik shoe shop is so close to MOMA that it’s practically another wing.  By the time we’d finished browsing Manolo’s witty designs, my sister had shoes on the brain. So we nipped into Bergdorf’s 5th floor where the less pricey shoes are.

Time’s up – Diana needed to catch her train home. But NY-me never   stops.  To Brooklyn I went.

Funny, there are no people or lights on, I thought as I approached the pretty Beaux Art Building.

Then I spotted the sign …

Who knew museums closed on Tuesdays? This is often how my trips go – two steps forward, one step back. The city is not quite as 24/7 as it proclaims. Determined not to let this setback discourage me, I went to see my friend Jussara Lee  in her  lovely West Village boutique. Apart from Jussara’s gorgeous hand-tailored fashion label often made from recycled or leftover fabric,

she is also starting a monthly “Hand-Me-Up” sale where friends can bring unwanted clothes, and Jussara will retweak and update them and then sell them on.  She got inspired to do this after reading that people don’t wear 75% of their clothes. She wants to inject some glamour and love into second hand clothes.

While it’s slightly annoying that I never see as many shows as I had planned, I do always leave the city excited to return. I guess it’s all about the journey, the detours are the journey.

Here are the women-artist shows I missed:

Rei Kawakubo Art of the In-Between at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, only the second time in the Institute’s 70-year history that a living designer has been honoured.

The modernist founder of  fashion label Comme des Garçons is a complex woman, whose life obsession gives her as much pleasure as pain.

Designer Paul Smith interviewed the forward-looking designer for Dazed  several years ago. Here’s a brief illustrative excerpt of that Q&A as re-reported in The Business of Fashion:

PS: What do you fear the most?

RK: The next collection.

PS: What do you feel you’d still like to achieve in life?

RK: The next collection.

PS: What is your favourite month and why?

RK: The ones that do not have collections.

The closest I got to the exhibition was a Barney’s window display tribute to her along with the late sculptor Louise Bourgeois…

Next trip I am taking the ferry to Governors Island, just off the tip of Manhattan, to see British artist Rachel Whiteread’s Cabin sculpture. It’s her first installation in the city in nearly twenty years. I can’t wait to go back!

May, 2017

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I have selected four one-off, unusual sales/shops to buy things for that choosey friend where a scarf from Harvey Nick’s, a hamper from Fortnum’s or a candle from Jo Malone just won’t do, the kind of friend where you must prove your devotion by the effort and originality you expend. These friends are demanding, but we’re, I mean, they’re worth it.

Top on my list is this jewellery sale tomorrow at 61 Victoria Road from 11am-6pm …

For those who don’t know Elie Top, he was accessories designer at Lanvin for 15 years, collaborating closely with Alber Elbaz. Inspired by 18th c. French and Italian Renaissance, Top, who launched his own label last year,  is known for his large metal pendants inlaid with precious stones and diamonds.

If, on the other hand, your discerning  friend is into funky town beads, Indonesian head dresses or pompoms sported by the flamboyant flamingoed Iris Apfel, then head to Peter Adler’s Pebble London Christmas sale this weekend where everything is 10% off.

Bead lovers need never despair again with Adler’s Cave of  hanging treasures. Fancy some Afghan tribal trinkets …

or perhaps something still vibrant but a tad more conventional …

…

Not feeling colourful? No problem …

Now if your someone special devours Pinterest, gets excited by tangerine roses in a bud vase, a new coloured moleskin journal, you know the type (Kate, Lauren, thinking of you), then interiors shop Pentreath & Hall on Lamb’s Conduit Street is just the ticket.

Recently featured in NYT’s T Magazine, the shop is owned by the multi-talented Ben Pentreath, who in addition to being decorator to William and Kate, is a skilled architect, interior designer and blogger. These alphabet pots above make organising fun – especially for you know who (Kate, Lauren, party time!)

Fuchsia hued Merino wool coasters will make your design-devotee pal blush …

while  decoupage plates and slick lacquered trays will send them to the moon.

What’s more, today only (Thursday, December 1st) from noon to 8pm all the quaint shops on both Lamb’s Conduit and Rugby Street are offering a 10% discount.

Final stop on Secret Santa’s mystery tour is for that friend who’d prefer  something on the wall to something on the bod.

Pop-up House of Voltaire on Cork Street

is selling a cornucopia of artist donated pieces. With over 150 artists and designer contributions including Carsten Holler, Simone Rocha, Phyllida Barlow, Michael Craig Martin, Chris Offili, Ed Ruscha and a host of others. From limited-edition prints by the likes of Belgian superstar Luc Tuymans …

and Trafalgar Square’s Forth Plinth artist David Shrigley

to a festive lambswool blanket by Jonas Wood …

or a  prison tray by London-based Argentine artist Pablo Bronstein (my personal fave),

there’s a lot to choose from for that certain visual someone.  House of Voltaire runs until December 18th. Money raised goes to the London-based arts charity Studio’s Voltaire gallery and education programs.

Happy Hunting!

December, 2016

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Young Bright Things (YBT) which opened last night and runs until May 13th features ten artists – a mix of  sculptors,  jewellers,  graphic, textile and fashion designers. Above are Petra Palumbo, Annie Morris and Jordana Yechiel. Ages range from 19 year old potter Tancredi di Carcaci – who was influenced by a trip to Cordoba,  icons of the Virgin Mary and 18th c. Baroque decorations …

– to the cool and coquettish 32 year old shoe designer Charlotte Dellal. Mondrian, Lichtenstein and Picasso give Dellal’s Charlotte Olympia brand heels an arty kick . The painted velvet tote bag is also by  Charlotte Olympia.

All the works in the show are either one-off’s or limited editions for David Gill

W’s Contributing European Editor and curator of  YBT Gianluca Longo says the show is about craftsmanship.

I come from Italy and I love stuff that is hand-made with a lot of passion and history behind it.

He adds that the idea for the show came to him and gallery owner David Gill at a wedding.

David and I were at a wedding last year surrounded by young creatives. He said ‘Oh my God, I would love to have them all in my gallery’. And I said, ‘Why don’t we just do it? And that’s how it started.

Pretty straightforward? Only if you can overcome dealing with chilled millennials.

Oh, you need it now? imitates Longo of his relaxed participants. ‘But I’m skiing in Gstaad’ or ‘But I’m with my grandmother.’

Luckily, Longo prevailed, the artists delivered and the show looks fab.

Fresh-faced illustrator and textile designer Luke Edward Hall

created a dinner set for six inspired by Greek mythology …

Longo with Palumbo below who makes hand-painted inspired embroidery for her family label Tapisserie. She collaborated with artist Rhys Coren and designer Francis Sultana to make these stools below.

Longo with Tudor-mad jeweller Yechiel …

Yechiel’s JY Shields get a  Rock n’ Roll twist

I love the Tudor period, the court life, the richness, the extremities. They were so bling, these women with their outfits, their dresses and bodices. It was just so decadent…Shields are not only protective armour, but symbols of who you are and where you come from.

Or go for something softer, delicate and very wearable with Noor Fares’ delectable chains below …

If a modern take on a classical marble bust is your thing, Nick Hornby is your man….

Walk around the bust and observe the different profiles as they appear.

Going to a show of Post-Modernist works? Brazilian-American designer Alexander Lewis’s lilac PoMo sweater is  the one to don.

Be bold with this pigment stack sculpture by Annie Morris …

Or blow your friends away with a hand-blown sensual work by  French-Lebanese artist Flavie Audi …

April, 2016

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