The International Fair Season Begins, Auctions to Watch & Industry In-Sites Launch
A TDR expansion, A Le Corb villa hits the market, Fashion meets decorative arts at the Louvre’s anticipated exhibition - while behind the scenes, the museum faces challenges.
A quick note for new readers: TDR started in 2017 when my co-founder, Leo Lei, and I (Julia - hello!) couldn't find a source for design exhibition listings while working in NYC and traveling internationally scouting new talent for a furniture fair and Leo’s store, Leibal. With our third founder Zack, we've built what we wished existed then - a platform tracking collectible and independent design shows globally. After coming up in New York's design scene, we know seeing exhibitions and meeting the community firsthand is how design lovers become design insiders, and we hope TDR becomes your go-to guide for navigating the global design landscape.
Below you’ll find exhibitions that have caught my attention, news, stuff I like, and my commentary! I hope you enjoy.
Hello Friends,
I was going to go ahead and pretend this entire month didn’t happen and just move things along here, but I'd be remiss not to say: if the LA fires have impacted any of our readers, please get in touch, we want to help get your message out there. Our pals, furniture designer/architect Ben Willett, and design couple Annabel and Brendan Sowersby have lost their homes. You can click here to help Annabel & Brendan rebuild, and you can support Ben by following his ig here - it’s a Very Good Follow™.
LA is a crazy and strange place, it’s where I got my start in design, where I landed during peak USA recession (2009), and where I straight up lied to people’s faces and said “hey yes, you can trust me, I’m an interior designer and I know what I’m doing.” Lo and Behold - 17 years later - I am, and I do!! It worked out.
LA is a place of creative reinvention, glamour, spookiness, and the ultimate cinematic vibes. I’ll never forget my first time waking up in Beachwood Canyon to the sun and palm trees and the Hollywood sign and thinking, wow this is the American dream. The fact that people will rebuild homes in areas that continue to be a risk just goes to show how enchanting the magic of the city is. LA exists in this kind of surreal tension, which makes it such a fascinating place.
This all brings me back to some crazy LA stories during my early 20s struggle era (along with some fun names I can drop). One day on a slow news day I’ll get into it.
In the meantime, here I am in London now on my tenth reinvention, freshly graduated with my Furniture History MA, back to self-employment, working happily from Roof Gardens. (Goodbye Soho House, this is where it’s at in West London. Come join me for a coffee if you’re local - send me an email.)
In TDR news, we’re launching Industry In-Sites, a new subscriber-only newsletter where we’ll get more personal and answer your career questions. Leo is the retail specialist, I’m the fair specialist - we’ve consulted for big brands and government agencies, and now we’re bringing that insight directly to you.
We’ll also be tackling your interior design, marketing, PR, and social media questions with help from industry guests - each a specialist in their own niche of the design world. Plus, subscribers will get access to VIP and private exhibition invites via our subscriber chat.
And, of course, expect more of my blah blah thoughts and monthly irritations - the things I need to get off my back without annoying too many people at once. I sometimes worry this newsletter gets a little too personal, but I want to get even more personal - if you’re up for it!
You can sign up for the secondary newsletter below - just to test the waters we are starting at $40 for the year to see how it lands. As always, we’d love it if you’d grow we us, and we are loyal friends to our loyal friends. We hope to see you on Industry In-Sites, and send us your questions!
And as always, don’t forget to check the website for new and upcoming exhibitions. February is the starting point for a very busy season, with big fairs in Stockholm, ZⓈONAMACO Mexico City, Madrid, Rotterdam (from the people behind Collectible), and Frieze in Los Angeles. Check out the website for more, we add new events every day.
In this issue:
News News News 🚨
Fair of the month ⛷️
Exhibition of the month 🧴
News News News
“Outside of Paris, a Le Corbusier Villa Just Hit the Market for $5M.” Dwell.
From January 18 to February 13th, Christie’s is auctioning off fashion, decor, art, and glasses - of course - that belonged to the late Iris Apfel. Seeing the results will be fun, and the prices of some items are still quite low. An exhibition of the collection has been making the rounds, first in Florida, showing at Miami Design District before heading to The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach (January 29-31). The final viewing will be at Christie's New York from February 8-12. Christie’s.
Giulia Castelli’s GC Agency now represents Italian Radical Design, the group founded by Sandra and Charley Vezza. The group includes Memphis and Gufram. Congratulations Giulia and team! 🥂
Earlier this month Sight Unseen announced their American Hot List. As always, it is a fantastic list of talented independent designers. Congratulations to the honorees. 🥂
Where were all your fancy Parisan friends this week? At the opening of LOUVRE COUTURE, where forty-five fashion houses from Balenciaga to van Herpen are showing pieces in dialogue with the museum's decorative arts collection.
Speaking of the Louvre, the building is “dilapidated,” according to a leaked letter from the institution's president. Le Monde.
I’m enjoying my “Back Row” subscription, especially this article featuring the costume designer of The Substance - which, like literally everything I do, started as a mood board on Pinterest (and ended up landing her the job). Read it here.
Salon Art + Design heads to Bergdorf Goodman for a three-month takeover of the seventh floor. Opening January 17 and running through April 13, 2025, the exhibition brings together pieces from Salon regulars Onishi Gallery, Galerie Gabriel, J. Lohmann Gallery, Liz O'Brien, Verso, and Room 57 Gallery.
For the design history nerds: Bonhams will present The Julius Hummel Collection, a curated selection of works by Christopher Dresser (1834–1904), a pioneering designer and revolutionary influence on modern design, in an online auction from 25 February – 6 March. Leading the sale is a rare Hukin & Heath Toast Rack (Model 1987, 1878), estimated at £10,000–15,000.
If I were to get anything it would be this little friend here:
Faye Toogood on adapting to “design’s male-dominated club.” FT.
P:S, one of the main press agencies handling Milan’s design week, announced dates as April 5 - 13th. The fair itself is from April 8 - 13th, and Fuori Salone (the catch-all offsite website) set the dates as April 7 - 13 2025.
Speaking of, I just saw DesignBoom owns the ig handle for Milan Design Week, which has 375k followers likely because people think it’s the official page. Weird. We should just let P:S handle this methinks. Anyways - for new visitors just prepping now - you’re late! I suggest locking down an airbnb or hotel one or two days before the offite’s official start date (so maybe the 4th/5th) and staying until the 2nd day of the trade show, and then escaping to Tuscany. The best offsite exhibitions tend to open early, and then all of corporate design descends on Milan a day or two before the start of the trade show, so at that point, you will not find a place to stay. Next month we will touch on more of the Design Week stand-outs.
Sadly, a long list of architecturally significant houses that were destroyed in L.A.’s fires. LA Times.
Amy Lau wasn’t just a Big Deal Interior Designer in NYC—she was also so kind and generous. She treated everyone with warmth and respect, no matter their status. Amy was passionate about elevating emerging furniture designers alongside the greats, creating truly dynamic spaces. We’re incredibly saddened by her passing. Rest in peace, Amy.
Fair of the Month: NOMAD St. Moritz
The most elegant fair in the most elegant location, NOMAD is back at a new venue in St. Moritz for those of us enjoying our annual sojourn to the slopes. Their gallery lineup has been announced, featuring l'Appartement Geneve, Shak Gallery, and Volumnia (god what I would do to furnish my home with their vintage inventory), and more established guys like Todd Merrill, Galerie Negropontes, and Spazio Nobile Gallery. The gallery list is quite long and many new and unfamiliar names to me which is very exciting! We tend to see the same 15 galleries at every collectible fair, so I love that NOMAD is always keeping their eye out for the new and exciting.
February 20, 2025 - February 23, 2025
Klinik Gut St. Moritz
Via Arona 34, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Exhibition of the Month: Perfume in Exile
Washington DC can feel a bit devoid of design culture, putting it lightly, so I am thrilled that my hometown has a cool gallery - Friends Art Space - presenting avant-garde art and design. Inspired by the French term, sillage, (how a scent lingers in the air) selected artists and studios tap into their cultural roots and design backgrounds, creating deeply personal pieces in ceramic, glass, textile, plaster, and light.
On view until April 26, 2025
Friends Art Space
2400 North Edgewood Street, Arlington, VA 22207
Thank you for reading our February newsletter!
We’re excited to grow our new Industry In-Sites and hope to see you there. If you have any questions, or if there is something you feel we should be touching on, or expanding upon, I would love to hear from you. Just hit reply.
And if you’re new here, check out our annual fair guide newsletters: Part 1 and Part 2. Our website remains updated with current and future events.
Cheers,
Julia (and hello from Leo and Zack)
Looking to share your design work with our community? We welcome collaborations with galleries and individual artists/designers.
Contact: julia@thedesignrelease.com