Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!



Here is wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

Barbara & David

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Memories - Living In A Winter Wonderland!


I think Christmas time will always be filtered through one’s experiences as a child. I was lucky enough to spend my childhood living in Colorado, where one of the most magical things was the existence of four seasons…four distinct seasons. In San Francisco it can be hard to tell what timeof year it is by the weather, and a change in season can be lost on sunshine or torrential rain.

It seemed that we were always prepped for Christmas by the weather well in advance with snow (this sometimes happened as early as Halloween) so it always “felt” likeChristmas was coming. It seemed that if it didn’t snow at least a little that Christmas wasn’t going to be as good. Besides thesnow, some of my most treasure memories of Christmas were:

An annual Christmas shopping trip with my Grandmother, where she would take me to the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver for lunch,

Going to see the Nutcracker ballet each year with my Mother,

Buying a fresh Noble Fir from our local tree lot,

Seeing the Christmas lights in Denver’s Civic Center,

Helping to decorate and attending midnight mass at our church, St. Luke’s Episcopal,

And of course gifts!

The gift of a cowboy hat from my Godparents in Dallas, Texas.

Merry Christmas, and best wishes to you and yours!

David Hansen

Photos from top:

1) Pine tree photo from Apartment Therapy.

2) Brown Palace Hotel postcard from cardcow.com.

3) Nutcracker photo from The Denver Post web site.

4) Tree photo from GearPatrol.com.

5) Denver Civic Center from flickr.com.

6) Interior of St. Luke’s Church Denver, Co.

7) Statue of St. Michael from St. Luke’s church courtyard.

8) Vintage photo of the author.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Bieder-Merry Christmas!



The spirit of Christmas was ever-present in San Francisco last Thursday night when the “Jingle & Mingle” event took place at the Presidio Officers Club, an event known for beautiful and creative wreaths designed by some of San Francisco’s best and brightest creative minds. The premise was simple: Design a non-perishable wreath to be sold to the highestbidder …a la silent auction. The event is sponsored by Children of Shelters, who donate all proceeds to assist the City’s children living in transitional shelters by providing for both their basic and in-depth needs. The organization has been around since 1995, and was founded by Lois Pavlow.

Early sketches on a Starbucks napkin.

The creative process for our wreath started over a cup of coffee and a sample of veneer; a beautiful piece of birds-eye maple. What followed was a lively conversation about the Biedermeier period and restrained classicism. Ultimately, we decided on a starburst design, further reinforcing the idea with the star edged in black. Crowning our star was a very wide vintage stripe ribbon in black and cream from The Ribbonerie. As for the wreath construction itself, Barbara and I knew we didn’t want anything too “out-there” or trendy. After many sketches, we finalized our star, seeking the advice and direction of an expert wood shop. We enlisted the help and support of an old friend, Segale Bros. Wood Products, a local custom cabinet shop with whom I have been designing for years. They were kind enough to keep with the spirit of giving by making the donation of product and labor to further the cause. The wreath was cut out using a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine. The expertly crafted star matched our vision perfectly. It was indeed a Bieder-Merry wreath, evoking in our minds, a classic holiday symbol.

The star shape in the birds eye maple after being cut out on the CNC machine.

The Jingle & Mingle event was beautiful, one to be remembered and to participate in again.

Laying out the vintage ribbon.

Have a Bieder-Merry Christmas!

David Hansen

Top Photo:

The finished wreath on a festive Red door.

All photos by David Hansen for Ashfield Hansen Design Inc.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Recap From Dining By Design 2010


We’ve been busy preparing our clients for the holidays, but we didn’t want to miss posting some highlights of our local Dining by Design event.

DIFFA’s Dining by Design celebrated 10 years in San Francisco on November 17th & 18th with the annual “Table Hop & Taste” on Wednesday and the gala dinner on Thursday. Here are some highlights from the event.

The lead photo is of a table designed by Robert Fung for Hartmann Studios.

Detail of a table by Adeeni Design Group for Poggenpohl that utilized poetry and referenced the sea.

"La Cage Aux Fauxnique" was designed by Steven Miller and Paul Benson.

A table referencing a "Tee Pee" covered in illuminated Ektachrome slides by Gensler and Haworth.

Slide detail.

The interior of the table by Gensler & Haworth.

A table for Restoration Hardware designed by Gary Spain with Will Wick.

A table for the San Francisco Design Center designed by Candace Barnes.

Barbara Ashfield & David Hansen

All photos by David Hansen for Ashfield Hansen Design Inc.