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Darwin Martin House

Published: April 2, 2009 under Architecture

Photo: © Biff Henrich/courtesy Darwin D. Martin House

The Frank Lloyd Wright–designed Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York is following the lead of Falling Water and the Glass-House: Funding preservation efforts by encouraging tourism and generating buzz. Where Falling Water has gone the route of unobtrusive—and uninspired—wooden tourist center and the glass-house has an off-site welcoming center, the folks at the Martin House Restoration Corporation are being far more ambitious: they’ve built a $5m pavilion by New York architect Toshiko Mori within the complex. Perhaps inspired by the multi-building nature of Wright’s sprawling five-structure homestead, the move challenges preservationists and titillates archi-tourists.

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Village Voice Choice Eats

By Maggie Shi

Published: April 1, 2009 under Dining & Food

Inside the cavernous Lexington Avenue Armory

Photo: Maggie Shi

Last night’s Choice Eats wasn’t your usual tasting event. Tickets didn’t cost $100 and upscale restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Café Boulud and Telepan weren’t present. No, this was the Village Voice’s second annual food tasting, bringing together more than 50 restaurants representing 37 different cuisines – everything from Cuban sandwiches to mac and cheese to Indian street snacks – in the cavernous Lexington Avenue Armory. Rows of tables and endless trays of food were set up, with dozens of chefs doling out delicious bites of international fare as fast as hungry ticketholders were grabbing them. Tickets were a mere $35 – a relief in these cash-strapped times – and bought three hours of unlimited snacks and drinks.

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Jean-Philippe Delhomme at Partners & Spade

By Tom Ran

Published: April 1, 2009 under Art

Opening tonight from 6-8pm at Partners & Spade

Photo: Jean-Philippe Delhomme

Many people people may recognize Jean-Philippe Delhomme’s work from Glen O’ Brien’s GQ column, “The Style Guy.” With his career spanning over 20 years, Delhomme’s output has mainly been through magazines and books though he’s ventured outside of the publishing industry and entered the broadcast world. Tonight, Partners & Spade will celebrate the illustrator with an opening, showcasing Jean-Philippe’s new work. Opening will be from 6-8.

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Kim Gordon, Mirror/Dash

By Sarah Williams

Published: April 1, 2009 under Fashion & Style

Space 15 Twenty opening party for Mirror/Dash

Photo: Mirror/Dash

Kim Gordon has always been a force. She was critical to the downtown New York scene that spawned the No Wave anti-movement during the early 80’s, and has been influencing pop culture ever since. Her throaty voice and raw guitar for Sonic Youth brought her to iconic indie status. Following the success of the band, Gordon established the street label X-Girl in 1994 as her first foray into fashion, recruiting Mike Mills and Geoff McFetridge for their design talents during their early careers.

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Grain Edit Interview with House Industries

By Tom Ran

Published: March 31, 2009 under Design

Alexander Girard sketches

Photo: House Industries

Alexander Girard has been a design hero of ours for some time. Avoiding the cold and sometimes austere aesthetic of modernism, Girard incorporated color into everything he produced, from textiles and toys to graphic design and furniture. This past winter House Industries released some amazing products to coincide with the launch of their Alexander Girard font collection. The entire line took about four years to produce, taking the team into the archives of Vitra, Herman Miller, and maXimo, as well as family and friends including the Neuharts. Grain Edit has more as they interview House Industries’s founder and art director Andy Cruz about the process leading up to the development of collection.

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Postopolis at The Standard LA

By Tom Ran

Published: March 30, 2009 under Architecture

Postopolis at The Standard in LA

Photo: Postopolis

New York’s Storefront for Art and Architecture in association with ForYourArt will host a five day event “themed around landscape and the built environment.” Postopolis will be held on the rooftop of The Standard in downtown LA during LA Art Weekend. The event will include discussions, interviews, slide shows, panels, talks, and presentations. Among the many speakers is Fritz Haeg, an artist and writer that’s been a proponent of the victory garden. His version, known as the edible estates, has garnered much attention through his book and the Regional Prototype Gardens. Along with numerous blogs, speakers from the publishing world will also participate, including Dwell, Good Magazine, and the LA Times. Visit Storefront’s site for further details.

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FEATURES

Back Track

By Tom Ran
A sampling of Jordan Viray’s vintage backpack collection that has grown to over 80 packs in the past two and a half years.

Photo: Daniel Bernauer

When Jansport introduced their heritage line in 2010, it was a signal to the industry that heritage had made its way to the outdoors market. The backpacks that were once…

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Greenpoint and the Brothers from hOmE

By Craig Cavallo
The designers of Alameda, Evan and Oliver Haslegrave of hOmE.

Photo: Daniel Bernauer

At the beginning of The Big Lebowski, Sam Elliot’s gravelly voiceover brings the audience into the scene. “Sometimes there a man,” he says, “well, he’s the man for his time…

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What’s In Store? - Daiki Suzuki

By Andrew Craig
Daiki Suzuki of Engineered Garments

Photo: Rose Callahan

Despite being a native of Japan, Daiki Suzuki is the designer behind some the best Americana-inspired clothes out there today. After some years in America as a buyer, Suzuki founded…

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