from Atlanta Hawks news http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/hawks-exploring-options-to-replace-horford/ncZLn/
via IFTTT
by Jas Faulkner The last meeting of the Central Avenue Readers Group did not happen in the usual place. There was no collection of chairs gathered from throughout the store and placed in a circle near the big front window of Central Avenue Books. There was no dimming of the[Read More...]
The post Auld Lang Sign of the Times appeared first on The Bookshop Blog.
Chef Joshua Skenes and sommelier Mark Bright launched Saison as a pop-up restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District a few short years ago; it's since skyrocketed to the top of the city's culinary scene and earned two Michelin stars (as well as the priciest-prix-fixe-in-town honor). Last winter, the restaurant reopened in new quarters in the city's SoMA neighborhood, right next to our SF offices; on our way to work, we peeked in. This is what we found:
With 35-foot-high ceilings and just 18 seats, the interiors of the restaurant, located in an 1880s building that once housed the California Electric Light Company, could be cold and foreboding. Instead, the dining spaces feel intimate and inviting (chairs are draped in cashmere throws, in case diners catch a chill); like "a good friend's home," which is what the partners aspired to create. The kitchen and the dining room are one, so diners can observe the chefs fishing lobsters out of a tank, grilling on an open fire, and painstakingly chopping, dicing, slicing, saucing. "We've removed the barriers from the dining experience," the partners say. "Our kitchen is open to all guests, and the seating is one and the same, weaved throughout so we can share the sights, smells, and sounds we love with our guests."
The nightly 18- to 20-course tasting menu costs $248 per person (optional wine pairings are an additional $148), making it San Francisco's most expensive restaurant. Diners are not deterred; you must reserve well in advance for a seat at the table. For more information, go to Saison.
Photos by Alanna Hale via Grub Street, except where noted.
Above: A view of the double-height dining room in the former California Electric Light Company; cashmere throws are draped over the dining chairs. "The experience is designed around the senses," the partners say. "Every material you come in contact with should be a joy to use." The owners worked with a design team that included architects Bassel Samaha and Michael Gibson and interior designer Jiun Ho.
Above: The bar area, where custom cocktails such as the Rhubarb Shrub are mixed.
Above: Cocktails are served in hand-etched glasses from Japan. Photo by Allie Pape via SF Eater.
Above: Fringed cashmere throws and a copper bucket; image via Saison.
Above: A tray of cocktail accoutrements.
Above: Wooly throws are provided for banquette diners.
Above: Live-edge walnut tables ("polished by hand to be smooth to the touch," say the owners) and comfortable Danish modern-inspired seating.
Above: The menus are handwritten, an intimate touch. Photo by Allie Pape via SF Eater.
Above: A view of the reception desk (it's on wheels so it can be moved as needed).
Above: A stack of inspirational reading.
Above: The kitchen, which was designed by Tim Harrison of Mill Valley-based Harrison & Koellner (a firm whose portfolio includes work for the French Laundry and Per Se in NYC), opens directly onto the dining area: "There are no boundaries," say the owners.
Above: The owners imported a custom Molteni stove from Italy (it's the only one in SF) and a wood-fired Miwe baking oven from Germany. "Our mission is to blend the art of ancient fire cooking with modern techniques," according to Skenes.
Above: Spices are meticulously hand labeled. Photo by Allie Pape via SF Eater.
Above: Food prep inches from the tables. Photo by Allie Pape via SF Eater.
Above: Stacked wood destined for the eight-foot-long open hearth.
Looking for more SF recommendations? Check out the 107 posts in our Bay Area City Guide.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on February 4, 2013 as part of our On the Mountain issue.
Location of Saison in San Francisco:
If the magical wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were to go modern, it might look something like this holiday retreat in the Italian alpine village of Madesimo.
While alpine conditions are conducive to small and cozy living, Italian architect Enrico Scaramellini's insertion of a finely crafted, narrow wooden box (380 square feet) between two existing farm buildings is so small and cozy, it could actually be mistaken for a wardrobe. And with the omnipresent wintry landscape, who knows? This could be Narnia.
Photography by Marcello Mariana via This Is Paper.
Above: A view out into the wintry alpine landscape.
Above: Scaramellini used silver-gray paints to echo the existing aged and weathered wood of the surrounding rural buildings.
Above: The natural tones of the wood warm up the new construction.
Above: The scale and material of the wood-lined bedroom is similar to the inside of a cedar closet.
Above: Scaramellini uses the vertical and horizontal grains of the wood to create abstract geometrical compositions.
Above: The wooden panels in their closed position.
Above: The wooden panels offer different levels of transparency.
Above: The wooden panels open in the morning (L) and return to their closed position in the early evening (R).
Above: A plan of the ground and first floors illustrating the narrow insertion.
Warm and cozy on your mind? See our photo gallery of Swiss design. Also don't miss, 12 Wood-Paneled Alcove Beds, Winter Edition.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on February 4, 2013 as part of our On the Mountain week.
We like this concept: oversized lanterns with rustic raw linen shades, spotted in an Italian interior designed by Orietta Marcon.
The Lampade Bigger by Vicenza-based Orietta Marcon of Oggetti measures about 20 to 24 inches in diameter and is made from hand-finished linen fabric. Interested in something similar as a DIY project? See our sources and instructions below for making a 20-inch-sized lamp.
Above: Marcon's installation in an open stairwell. See more of her work at Designer Visit: Civico Quattro in Vicenze.
Above: The natural linen filters bright light from naked pendant bulbs.
Above: Imperfections are welcome; note the slightly lopsided hem.
Above: Detail of the red hem on the Lampade Bigger shown with a painted iron base.
Here's What You'll Need:
Instructions:
For more DIY fabric light fixtures, go to Julie's roundup of Camouflage for Unsightly Lights. Also don't miss Izabella's recent DIY: Pendant Lights Made From Drinking Straws (for Less Than $20).
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on January 14, 2013 as part of our Roman Holiday issue.
The holiday shopping frenzy is coming to an end and this shopkeeper is officially exhausted! This is my second Christmas as a bookseller and I am pleased to announce that every special order came in on time and we did a much better job keeping popular books and other items[Read More...]
The post Reading List 2013 appeared first on The Bookshop Blog.
Six hundred miles north of Stockholm, on a remote hunting estate near Jarpen, Magnus Nilsson mans the kitchens at a restaurant straight out of ancient agrarian times.
"We do things as they have always been done at Jämtland mountain farms," he says. "We follow seasonal variations and our existing traditions." Everything on the 12-course tasting menu at Faviken is made with just-foraged ingredients: local garden produce, locally raised meat, wild game, herbs, and mushrooms from the estate, cheese and other dairy from the surrounding region of Jämtland, and seafood from the neighboring region of Trøndelag, Norway. During the summer, the chefs build up their stores for the dark winter months: "We dry, salt, jelly, pickle, and bottle."
N.B. If you're not planning a trip to the northern edges of Sweden anytime soon, Phaidon has just published Faviken, a cookbook by Nilsson. All photos via Faviken unless otherwise noted.
Above: Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson in his trademark furs. Photo by Howard Sooley via Nowness.
Above: The dining room accommodates just 12 diners.
Above: Local scallops.
Above: Dried bundled and jarred herbs function as decor.
Above: A single log serves as a side table. . Photo by Howard Sooley via Nowness.
Above: Scenes from the dining room; hanging cured meats add a medieval touch.
Above: Illumination by fire: candles and a wood-burning stove.
Above: Nilsson's furs, at the ready. Photo by Howard Sooley via Nowness.
Above: Diners can opt to spend the night; snowy landscape and sauna included.
Above: Fäviken, by Magnus Nilsson, is $36.03 from Amazon. Photograph via Eater National.
Taking a trip? Have a look at our City Guides to see all of the Remodelista recommended hotels, restaurants, and shops. A restaurant not to miss in Stockholm: Museet, A Modern Bistro that Doubles as a Museum.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on December 19, 2012 as part of our Winter Cabins issue.
Tis the season for holiday celebrations, and when we have time to breathe, reflection on the year that is whirling toward its end. Last week I inadvertently insulted a friend-of-a-friend when I said I wasn’t in it [bookselling] for the money. We were at a holiday party and our conversation[Read More...]
The post Reflections and Pots of Gold appeared first on The Bookshop Blog.
Who doesn't need a pinboard (an actual pinboard, that is)? Swedish interior stylist Pella Hedeby has come up with the most glamorous DIY pinboard we've seen yet.
For full instructions, go to Hitta Hem.
Above: Hedeby clips tearsheets and other memorabilia to her pinboard using HAY's brass Clip Clips.
Above: Brass Wire Mesh is available in several different weights from TWP Inc. You'll also need brass screws and spacers,
Above: The finished product.
How can a well-curated pinboard enhance your life? See Zero-Cost Wall Art, Pinboard Edition.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men (Oft Go Awry) In the earliest days of my bookstore, we carried mostly romances: historical, Gothic, Harlequins and Regency Romances. The biggest romance writer at the time was Dame Barbara Cartland, Regency romance author, who penned 500+ novels and was buried in[Read More...]
The post Bookstore Inventory Decisions – Do I Stock Romances? appeared first on The Bookshop Blog.
I'm never going to be that person with a designated gift-wrapping room; I might, however, put one of these storage solutions to work in an unused corner.
Above: A back-of-the-door solution involves metal hooks and wooden dowels.
Above: The Wrapping Cart from Crate & Barrel is $159.95.
Above: The 50 Compartment Roll Storage Cart on wheels is designed for architects' blueprint storage (we'd use it for wrapping paper); $328 from ULine.
Above: A DIY Wrapping Station Project from Home Depot. N.B. Home Depot also sells the Martha Stewart Living 42-Inch Gift Wrap Hutch for $179.
Above: The Whitney Wrapping Paper Hutch from Pottery Barn is $399.
Above: The easiest route? Storing rolls of paper in a metal bin on wheels; for a DIY project, go to Chez Larsson.