by david, Tue February 14th, 2012
We’ve noticed the amper&and has found a home in some of our favorite establishments in San Francisco. The amper&and has always had a home in cocktail parlance; Gin&Tonic, Scotch&Soda. The cocktail lounge Bourbon&Branch’s name comes from the 1800’s when ‘branch’ was a tiny stream of clean water and you would ask for that water to be mixed with your bourbon. It’s in the location of an old Speakeasy. (Did you know the term Speakeasy was coined when bartenders during the prohibition would ask patrons to ’speak easy’ when ordering so as not to raise suspicion of the
authortities.) It’s a fun place to tie one on.
Baker&Banker’s name was conceived by a partnership, one of marriage&commerce. Lori Baker is a trained pastry chef. Her husband, Jeff Banker, is chef, not a bean counter. Their restaurant is located in an old apothecary and serves up delicious farm to table fare.
Anchor&Hope is named after an old tavern in London that the owners love. It sounds like it could be a wacky San Fran religion. But alas, it serves up fish in a great lofty space that was once a turn of the century mechanic’s warehouse. It’s a little East Coast and a little West Coast & a lot of tasty.
Not sure how Sons&Daughters got their name but it would be easy enough to guess. We like that they are young, already have a Michelin star & that their restaurant was not ‘built to cater to any specific market or population.’ They have a farm in Los Gatos where a lot of the produce is grown and they get the rest from around the Bay area.
Happy San&Francisco-ing.
February 14th, 2012 | Posted by: david
Tags: Anchor&Hope, Baker&Banker, Bourbon&Branch, San Francisco, Sons&Daughters
Categories: Inspiration
by david, Wed February 8th, 2012
Prosciutto from Iowa? Sounds like making furniture in Connecticut! (Full disclosure, I am from Iowa, like pork products and we make our furniture in Connecticut.) Number 10 of this series Sky Full of Bacon is worth a look. The company is called La Quercia and the owners, Kathy and Herb Eckhouse, are thoughtful and passionate about their business of making traditional Italian meats in Iowa. They have won acclaim from the food world and proven the naysayers wrong. They also have a sense of humor about it all. Kathy mentions, “Babe,” and that their pigs get to express their, “piggyness appropriately, and then they have a really bad day.” And the prosciutto is delicious.
February 8th, 2012 | Posted by: david
Categories: Inspiration
by david, Fri January 20th, 2012
January 20th, 2012 | Posted by: david
Categories: Inspiration
by Lily, Thu December 8th, 2011
I don’t think I actually slept last night. I think I just did that thing where you sort of half sleep, half keep checking your phone every hour, and by the time your alarm goes off (in literally the most annoying sound you could find), you just convince yourself that you really did have your eyes closed and your brain off and maybe even dreamed, about something, sort of, that you can almost remember, but not entirely, because again, you were sleeping. Either way, by the time I made coffee and breakfast and found clothes and keys and a coat and hat (finally, New York, finally), I’d convinced myself I’d slept well and was ready for work and responsibilities and life in general. But I’m pretty sure the lie was destined to fail, because by noon I was literally sitting at my desk, looking up pictures of beds. Luckily, we just started a Polyvore account (http://thenewtraditionalists.polyvore.com/), so it was completely easy to search for an entire bedroom to imagine myself at home in.
I started with our own, obviously, because Bed no. Twenty One is sort of what I constantly imagine hauling up my walk-up and cramming into my tiny little room on the Upper West Side, until I remember I’d actually have to evict my roommates and tear down there walls for it to fit. But beyond that, it’s super simple. Click on the tag, or just search “beds,” in the Items section. Voila. Dream room pieces galore; your personal oasis at your desk. Or in your actual oasis, I guess, if you’re not at work but you’re just sort of bored.
Try it out, with anything you want. Living room, chairs, pizza, Morocco – whatever you’re feeling. It’s an easy, clean way to build up a visual collective, with links and price-tags if you want to make it official. Let us know what you find! We’ll probably just keep searching of pillows. For today, anyway.
http://thenewtraditionalists.polyvore.com/
December 8th, 2011 | Posted by: Lily
Tags: bed no. twenty one, beds, polyvore, sleep
Categories: Inspiration
by Lily, Thu December 1st, 2011
Wonder, a unique children’s store in Deerfield, IL, recently put up a display featuring the ducduc Campaign and The New Traditionalists Regency cribs and dressers, and we think it looks great.
Wonder is a cool place. It’s more like an interactive center for new families than just a giant store – parents can take all sorts of classes on how to manage parent-y things, while the kids are entertained elsewhere. Except they don’t just set up, you know, a craft table and a bowl of Goldfish. They put the kids in a chess tournament, or a cooking class, if your child is ready to advance beyond the Easy Bake Oven. Basically, this isn’t your grandmother’s baby boutique. Or your mother’s, I guess. It’s more like yours, and your kids’.
Check it out if you’re in the Chicago area. If you can’t make it there, stop by our own showroom in New York. Maybe we can get Philip to challenge you to a game of checkers. Or at least set out some wholesome snacks.
http://www.shopwonder.com/
December 1st, 2011 | Posted by: Lily
Categories: Inspiration
by Philip, Thu December 1st, 2011
We were blown away by the response to our Desk no. 211 design contest with ABCD Designs. Your entries were beautiful, and it was definitely hard to choose. And seriously, guys, way to take risks. We absolutely love that you weren’t scared to play around with our swatches – that’s what they’re there for, after all.
The Top 10 are over on Amy’s blog. (http://bit.ly/rBESJd) Vote for your favorites (or your own, if you’re there, because, obviously), and check back in on December 7th for the three finalists. We’re excited.
Thanks again to absolutely everyone who submitted! Stop by and see us sometime!
December 1st, 2011 | Posted by: Philip
Categories: Inspiration
by david, Fri September 23rd, 2011
We are busy here re-designing our offices to accomadate our Chief Creative Officer Brady’s request for rocking chairs around his conference table. Whatever helps the creative juices to keep flowing. Check out his article in the New York Times for all the details. 
September 23rd, 2011 | Posted by: david
Categories: Inspiration
by david, Fri September 9th, 2011
If Blossom Dearie were alive today, she may have changed the lyrics to her signature song, ‘I’m Hip’, to ‘I watch webisodes, cause I’m hip!’ Check out The Trivial Pursuits of Arthur Banks on AMC. Imagine a young Woody Allen living in Los Angeles in 2011 . The script is clever and the cinematography is LA film noir meets mid century modern. Best of all, you can sneak in an episode at work.
September 9th, 2011 | Posted by: david
Categories: Los Angeles
by david, Fri August 19th, 2011
Is burger a food group? Cuz it should be. And since LA is the city that spits out American culture at its highest form, it is fitting they should also be the purveyor of the classic American meal.
Here is our short list. We don’t want to debate it or tell you why. There’s Google and Yelp for that. If you like burgers, you will like these. That we can be sure of. In alphabetical order…
Apple Pan
Comme Ca
Father’s Office
Umami Burger
Bon appetit!
August 19th, 2011 | Posted by: david
Tags: Los Angeles, Restaurants
Categories: Los Angeles, Mmmm!
by david, Thu August 11th, 2011
A few weeks ago Andrea and Leslie with Cepale&Associates who represent us in Dallas, took me to a great cocktail party for the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality (no, I was not the only guy) at the Rachofsky House. What an amazing modern art collection. The house, designed by Richard Meier, is another piece of art. Designed to lead you through a series of zones while framing the landscape and focusing your views on the lawn and the art. It was great to meet everyone in Dallas amidst the spectacular backdrop of the house and gardens. And thanks to Dallas designer Abbe Fenimore of Studio ten 25 for her blog posting! Looking forward to meeting her next time we are in Dallas.
August 11th, 2011 | Posted by: david
Categories: Inspiration
The New Traditionalists
