LOST ART IS A NEW WAY TO SEE

Lost Art Salon in San Francisco is a haven of vintage, antique and modernist paintings dating from the late 1800s to the 1960s, all found in a retro chic space at the crossroads of South Van Ness and Division streets in San Francisco. Arriving a little early for my four o’clock appointment with one of the owners, I soon realized that I had been there before as a guest at a cocktail reception during Market Week in 2009. I also recalled having been previously impressed with the overall cache of great pieces, not to mention the incredibly inviting ambience reminiscent of another era. My visit this day was made altogether even more delightful as my host offered me a seat on the sofa and a cup of tea and so began our conversation..

The Collection, assembled by owners Rob Delamater and Gaétan Caron, encompasses work by artists whose names have been forgotten or “lost in time”, hence, the name, Lost Art Salon. Delamater relayed that he feels people are very afraid to combine periods and mediums and their hope is that for individuals interested in purchasing art will try blending, thus allowing them to be in the “atmosphere” of what art should be; personal. Work is presented in a “salon” environment, with comfortable seating and lighting enhancing the overall experience of enjoying art. Specifically, “…the fine art collection at Lost Art Salon is comprised of over 4,000 works of rediscovered and historically significant artists. It reflects the major styles and movements of the 20th Century (1900-1960s). Sourced at art auctions, estate sales and flea markets, every piece is researched, reconditioned and catalogued for art historical records at Lost Art Salon. They use restored period frames combined with archival framing techniques.

Delamater and Caron own the entire collection and they do not accept any pieces on consignment. The focus is to buy entire collections when found, and each partner selects one piece from each buying spree. Each partner selects pieces for their private collections first – with Delamater’s favorites being self-portraits of artists and Caron collecting abstract impressionist works. All of the works are original period artwork with the average price range in the $350 to $750 neighborhood, with 10% of the collection coming in at prices greater than $1000. Art is reframed on site and that is art in and of itself. Delamater claims that new frames bring artistic power to once lost pieces, giving “wallpower” to many of the works found. The enormous collection of period art frames is amazing however such frames are sold only with pieces purchased.

Lost Art Salon has a significant online presence selling online at www.lostartsalon.com and often rents out pieces to stylists and designer showhouses. I say Bravo!

Barbara Ashfield

*Photo courtesy of Lost Art Salon

Peer Pleasure!

Running a business is always challenging, interesting and as many of us know, unpredictable. The latter became obvious to many of us back in 2008 when the business climate started to change drastically. It was at this point when the opportunity presented itself to look for a fresh idea. In retrospect, one of the smartest business decisions we made during that time was to join forces with other designers in San Francisco, and by that we mean getting together socially to talk about the industry and commiserate about our respective businesses.

Not long after that initial meeting, we realized that we had become a “group”; meeting regularly, once a month, usually taking turns in one another’s homes, where we would have a meeting first, then on to dinner and more conversation. We also concluded that every group deserves a name; hence Decorum was born.

Decorum is made up of 4 firms. The firms are: Ashfield Hansen Design. Adeeni Design Group, Sagrera-Brazil Design and Brian Dittmar Design.

So, where has Decorum taken us? Collectively, our businesses have thrived. Why? We think in part because of our willingness to be intimate with our peers, share resources and give input into each others business dilemmas. There is also a remarkable amount of trust that has evolved from this and the realization that there is enough business for us all to thrive.

This year we are particularly proud of our fellow Decorum members for their professional achievements. Claudia Juestel has established a feature on the SF Luxe and Reside SF web sites called “Tea with Claudia”. Brian of Brian Dittmar Design, and Cecilia and George of Sagrera-Brazil Design were chosen to design rooms in this year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

To Claudia, (Principal, Adeeni Design Group) whose regular feature “Tea With Claudia” on SF Luxe’ has given her the enviable opportunity to interview notable personalities in the design arena, most recently Lord Wedgwood, John Saladino and Bunny Williams.

Claudia Juestel and John Saladino. Photograph by Moanalani Jeffrey.

Claudia Juestel with Lord Wedgewood. Photograph by Moanalani Jeffrey.

Claudia Juestel with design icon Bunny Williams. Photograph by Moanalani Jeffrey.

To Brian, (Principal, Brian Dittmar Design) who designed “Poetry In Time: The Horologist’s Labratory” on the third floor of this year’s Showcase house. The room itself was reviewed by Diane Dorrans Saeks and featured in The Style Saloniste prior to the unveiling.

Brian Dittmar of Brian Dittmar Design.

View of Brian Dittmar's room "Poetry In TIme: A Horologist's Labratory" with a floor lamp designed by Paul Benson. Photograph by David Duncan Livingston.

Detail of neoclassical chair used in Brian Dittmar's "Poetry In Time".

To Cecilia (who is a new mother) and George, (Sagrera-Brazil Design) who created “La Suite” at the San Francisco Showcase,designed “A Dressing Room and Bath designed for a young ’Fashionista’”.

George Brazil and Cecilia Sagrera-Hill in the bathroom they designed.

Bathroom from the San Francisco Decorator Showcase designed by Sagrera Brazil Design. Photograph by David Duncan Livingston.

Detail of "book-matched" stone in the bathroom designed by Sagrera Brazil Design. Photograph by David Duncan Livingston.

Both rooms were stunning and were very well received.

In closing, we too are proud of our achievement with our own blog, Design Squared, which has become an extension of our design personas. It continues to stimulate our creativity, as we are always searching for a topic that piques our interest while simultaneously expanding our horizons. We are proud to say that we have prospered in the blogosphere. Our clients seem to love it and it gives the potential client a chance to get to know us on a more personal level before engaging in a new endeavor. All in all, we believe that Design Squared has become synonymous with Ashfield Hansen Design, giving us a stronger voice in the design arena.

Our group is fortunate to have many of our sessions moderated by Lisa Boquiren, a marketing strategist and the former long-time Director of Marketing for the San Francisco Design Center. Lisa has helped us to stay focused and achieve our goals, not to mention becoming a friend and mentor as well.

More than anything we have prospered, both personally and professionally. We have made some incredible friends, some great business allies, and have enjoyed lots of laughter along the way.

See you in the blogosphere!

Barbara and David

Does Absence Make The Heart Grow Fonder?

We’ve been a little out of touch lately, in fact it’s the first time we’ve been gone this long since we started blogging in earnest about a year ago.

We have good excuses, although typical; We have been busy with clients (a good thing), we made a submission to do a room at the San Francisco Decorator Showcase (alas we did not get said room, but more about that later), and most recently we attended “Design San Francisco” (more about that later as well).

Being so busy of course has given us more ideas about what to write about, but there just haven’t been enough hours in the day.

We look forward to getting back to our “Design journal online” with old subjects, new features and much more.

See you soon!

Barbara and David

Georgian on My Mind!

Barbara and I planned to visit the 2009 San Francisco Decorator’s Showcase as we always do. For designers, this is our “Super bowl” as it were, and is always a must! This year would be a little different. We had done the walk-through in January to see the house, and find out if there was a space that inspired us into action. Sadly, we decided this was not the year for us to participate, but couldn’t wait to see the ways that other designers had transformed the beautiful Georgian mansion which was built in 1910.


The official image for the San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2009. Illustration by Clay Seibert

This year instead of just visiting the house during touring hours, we decided that we would attend the Opening Night party. The event was absolutely beautiful, and I was amazed to see the house completely transformed. The first thing I noticed (and loved) was that there were more spaces with a clearly contemporary bent than most years. I was so happy to see an ultra modern kitchen in this Georgian jewel, which strikes me as a more European approach to design. I think overall this Showcase is one of the best (as a whole) that I can remember in recent history. I guess the economic climate had a positive effect in this particular instance.


A shot I took of the house opening day Saturday April 25, 2009

My plan when I went to the party was to snap loads of photos with my iPhone to use for a blog post, but I was so dazzled by the rooms, seeing friends, the food, and the lively atmosphere that it completely slipped my mind until I was on the sidewalk waiting for the valet to bring my car around.

We had planned to go again (yes again) the next day (Saturday), because Barbara’s cousin Wendy was coming to visit from England. Wendy is also a designer, so it was a must for her as well. Seeing the house in the morning with less people was quite a treat. I felt like I was able to pick up on loads of details that I didn’t see the night before. We were also able to talk to some of the designers that we had not previously met to get their insights on inspiration and the design process.


A vignette from "The Dweller's Lodge" by Darren Geise at Coup D'etat

I thought I would snap some pictures on my return, but it was made clear that photographs were not allowed. I did manage to snap a couple of shots in the lower level in a room done by Darren Geise of Coup D’etat entitled “Dweller’s Lodge” which was amazing in its content and execution. This was a tiny room with a grand personality. Rustic wood paneling (clearly custom made for the space) and beautiful (albeit masculine) furniture and paintings gave this room serious “wow” factor. The room even smelled amazing. Coup D’etat always seems to get it right!


A view into the room "A Dweller's Lodge" by Darren Geise at Coup D'etat

I am happy to report that the San Francisco design scene is alive and well and producing beautiful interiors. To all my design industry peers who participated….Well done!

This year’s San Francisco Decorator Showcase, which benefits University High School is at 2830 Pacific Avenue now through May 25th. Please visit:
www.decoratorshowcase.org

David Hansen